The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is taking advantage of online opportunities during its 237th meeting, which will take place almost fully this week due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The self-proclaimed ‘Super Bowl of Astronomy’, which runs until Friday (January 15), usually covers a wide range of topics, and this year’s edition will be no different, although it’s completely online. The full agenda is available here. Some popular topics that participants can expect include fast radio bursts, dark matter, aerial recordings, gravity waves, and trying to understand why different teams have different measurements to calculate the expansion of the universe.
AAS has already included iPosters (PowerPoint-like posters with combinations of text, images, video and audio) at its personal meetings, along with brief scientific talks, before the pandemic broke out in March. The association tested these meeting formats online with the June 2020 meeting, which was moved only a few weeks before the Internet hit because quarantine restrictions have expanded across the United States.
Full coverage: The 237th American Astronomical Society Meeting of 2021
Participants can expect even more adjustments to online for AAS 237, press officer Rick Fienberg said in an email interview with Space.com.
“For AAS 237, we’re adding ‘Turbo Talks’ – 2 minute introductory videos by writers to grab attention and spark interest in their iPosters,” he said. Other changes the participants can expect include Slack channels during the conversations for people around ‘kibitz’, Fienberg said, and the distribution of the meeting over five days instead of four around the time participants have to computer each day. spend, reduce.
The virtual exhibition hall will be very different from what the participants saw in June. This time, AAS will use a meeting environment called vFairs, which enables sponsors and exhibitors to create custom virtual booths, Fienberg said.
“They can place brochures and other files to download, have staff at the stall at certain times of the day to communicate with participants one-on-one or in small groups, and host webinars to widen audiences of participants in their products. and introduce services, “he said.
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The ultimate goal is to attract more attendees to the virtual exhibition hall, reflecting the experience of ‘coffee break’ and ‘cocktail cocktail’ by wandering one in the physical hall during a personal meeting, he added.
“At our first virtual event in June, exhibitors did not get the traffic they were used to for obvious reasons,” Fienberg said. “So we set aside a time each day for January where the only activity is in the exhibition hall, and we have successfully encouraged almost all of our exhibitors to present webinars, which are listed along with everyone else in the program. not to get lost in the shuffle. ‘
Student participants can also look forward to the very first virtual “postgraduate school” and undergraduate “experience screen” that enables students to share resumes, meetings via text and video chat, and learn more about participating institutions – all without the need to pay for personal travel. People at all stages of their careers can also take advantage of various social networking opportunities, such as a trivia night, speed networks and a virtual scavenger hunt.
Looking back at the June meeting, Fienberg said AAS staff “really had to scramble” to move all activities online, including building the infrastructure, finding vendors and bringing members and other stakeholders together. The hard work paid off, as about 1,400 people attended the virtual activities. Double the expected attendance. AAS thought he would see in person in Madison, Wisc.
Fienberg said that in June, AAS listened carefully to the feedback from participants to prepare for January; another change they are making is the inclusion of two-day workshops not offered in June. The winter meeting usually has a higher attendance than the summer meeting, with more sessions and activities.
“With five days of scientific sessions and two people a day for press conferences, I planned ten briefings, rather than my usual eight, so I have 25% more presenters to communicate with – plus their institutional public information officers,” Fienberg said. “Everyone involved in planning and conducting the meeting is really exhausted, but it’s also true when we do meetings in person. What we have learned about these two meetings is that a virtual meeting involves as much work as a person. “
Fienberg added that some participants expressed concern about high registration fees for the virtual meeting, but he noted that the infrastructure is not free. Although venues and caterers are not required for online conferencing, AAS continues to work with vendors and software to provide the best experience possible. “It’s a fairly even trade,” he said of the cost to AAS.
With a vaccine slowly expanding in the United States and other countries, AAS is anticipating when personal meetings will be possible again in the coming months. Even before the pandemic broke out, members were already asking for virtual options due to cost and environmental issues related to activities such as flying, Fienberg said. Journalists have been able to attend virtual press conferences for many years now, and Fienberg said the pandemic has caused even more types of attendees to strongly consider the online option.
“I think it is inevitable that the meeting of the future will be hybrid,” he said. “We just have to figure out how to make it work financially.”
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