On June 11, 1997 during a portion of his visit to Argonne National Laboratory, Secretary Penahad the opportunity to experience the lastest technology in on-line interactive collaborations being developed within DoE. From a remote internet site he connected to the ANL Advanced Analytical Electron Microscope in the Materials Science Divison at ANL using TelePresence Microscopy (http://tpm.amc.anl.gov). At the TPM Site, he electronically connected to an on-line video conference, (Figure 1-2) and discussed TelePresence, Microscopy and Interactive Collaboratories for use in Research and Education.

Later using the TPM WWW based GUI he controlled remotely the Advanced Analytical Electron Microscope where he studied the microstructure of a Re/TiO2 catalyst (Figure 3). Shown on the Screen is one of the many areas of the catalyst material he was observing and manipulating using the TPM Tools.
The TPM Site is part of the DoE 2000 Materials Microcharacterization Collaboratory (http://tpm.amc.anl.gov/mmc) funded under DMS-BES, DMS-EE, and CTR-MICS. The MMC is developing the technology basis for accessing expertise and instrumentation at DoE Materials User Facilities from off-site locations by creating a single cohesive virtual laboratory, accessible from anywhere on the Internet.