Institute or Associates?

Walter McCrone founded three related organizations in Chicago: McCrone Associates, McCrone Research Institute, and McCrone Accessories and Components (now McCrone Microscopes and Accessories). In 1987, Walter transferred all operations and interest in McCrone Associates and McCrone Accessories and Components to Don Brooks, who relocated these companies to Westmont, IL. For the remaining, continuously productive, 15 years Walter was involved exclusively with the McCrone Research Institute as Director and Director Emeritus.*

There is an understandable, ongoing confusion between the McCrone Research Institute and McCrone Associates. Not that either group really minds: were both proud and appreciative of the other and, in a sense, we feed off of each others accomplishments. There is a clear distinction, however.

The McCrone Research Institute is an independent, not-for-profit, center for teaching and research in applied microscopy, publisher of The Microscope journal and sponsor of the INTER/MICRO symposia. We have taught over 23,000 students in more than 2100 classes since 1960. McCrone Associates (MA) is a commercial, operational laboratory, focused on ultramicro-analysis as applied to many disciplines, including industrial, forensic and environmental applications. Both organizations conduct casework and contract research consistent with their missions, but the Institute routinely refers almost all casework to MA (or other casework alternatives) and the Institute has been the sole provider of courses. Historically, and through the end of this year, a small proportion of the Institute courses have used members of the McCrone Associates staff as adjunct professors. This has worked well for decades, as the Institute has drawn upon the expertise of many current and former MA employees. Most recently (the past 5 years) the Institute has taught two of its courses at MA in Westmont: Scanning Electron Microscopy and Advanced FTIR Microspectroscopy.

As of 2004, McCrone Associates has decided to begin offering courses directly (without McCrone Research Institute involvement) and to restrict its staff from teaching at the Institute. This applies to the two courses above, as well as the course “Particle Isolation, Manipulation and Mounting for Additional Analyses”, which has been taught by Anna Teetsov at the McCrone Research Institute for the last 10 years. Although this breaks with tradition and with the well-defined missions of the two organizations, I am certain that the McCrone Associates instructors for these courses will continue with a high level of commitment and performance.

These courses should not, however, be confused with those offered by the McCrone Research Institute. As a not-for-profit teaching and research institute, McRI is committed to a non-commercial, academic setting with more than 6000 sq. feet of dedicated teaching space, more than 100 polarized, phase, and other light microscopes, hot and cold stages, and a 3000 volume library. They have more than 500 students a year in 50+ courses. They are not affiliated with any particular microscope manufacturer, they do not have a division that sells microscope accessories and supplies, and they do not (either directly or indirectly) benefit from consulting work with their students companies. McRI courses are taught by full-time professors, including 4.2 PhDs** as well as adjunct and guest professors at the top of their fields including Skip Palenik, Tony Havics, John Reffner, Connie Jenkins, John Haines, James Scott, Maren Klich, Steve Ruzin and (until 2004) Anna Teetsov, Wayne Niemeyer, Kent Rhodes, Joe Rebstock, and Ken Smith. On behalf of McCrone Research Institute, we would like to thank these ‘retiring’ adjunct professors for their excellent contributions to our curriculum. We wish them all the best and would be pleased to work with them again.

We also wish to give a belated thanks and recognition to Joe Barabe of McCrone Associates for the photographs of our INTER/MICRO meeting that appeared on pages 141 through 174 of our last issue. I was so enjoying these excellent photographs, that I forgot the obvious. Thanks Joe.
———————————————————————

• * In 1994 he made the (perhaps questionable) decision to make me his Director. In reality we ‘team taught’ for the next eight years.

• **Andy Bowen is currently working on his PhD in Inorganic Chemistry (see his guest editorial, last issue)

  Stoney, D.A., Editorial, The Microscope, 51(4), pp. 179-184, 2003.