History

1987
Dr. Bruce H. McCormick establishes the Scientific Visualization Laboratory, the predecessor of the Brain Networks Laboratory.

2000
The lab receives an NSF Major Research Instrumentation grant (#0079874). Design of the KESM instrument begins.

2001
Assembly of KESM begins.

Summer 2002
KESM assembly and control interface software complete. Polymerization algorithm for 3D reconstruction developed.

Spring 2003
First KESM data become available (Golgi). Nissl and Golgi sections obtained. Use of white light source.

Summer 2003
Presentation of KESM progress at the Computational Neuroscience meeting in Alicante, Spain. C elegans web experimental studies.

Fall 2003
Presentation of KESM progress at the Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting's satellite symposium on "Images as Phenotypes", sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health Human Brain Project (by invitation).

Spring 2004
Design of second-generation KESM begun. The goal is to abate knife chatter and increase data bandwidth (in collaboration with Prof. Marian Wiercigroch at the University of Aberdeen, UK).

Spring 2005
A reinforced knife and collimator mount has been designed and installed on the first generation KESM, which greatly improved resistence to chatter.

Fall 2005
Code development of fully automated sectioning and imaging begins. Design for the second generation KESM (KESM 2.0) begins.

Spring 2005
Near completion of fully automated sectioning and imaging software. KESM 2.0 design continues (optics).

Summer 2005
Completion of fully automated sectioning and imaging software. Sectioning of large volumes of mouse brain tissue begins. KESM 2.0 design mostly complete.