Dear IAUS 361 participants,
As you are probably aware the current COVID-19 situation looks quite bleak in many parts of the world, and some of you may be wondering about our plans for the postponed meeting (currently scheduled for 2-7 May 2021).
We would like to stress that we will not hold a face-to-face meeting until we are confident that:
- it is safe to do so;
- we are allowed to have a large gathering by local Irish authorities (see current restrictions [1]); and
- air travel is up and running, and the vast majority of participants are allowed to travel by their local employers.
It seems probable that these conditions will not be fulfilled by May 2020, although we will wait until mid-December before making a decision. We are still aiming to have a face-to-face IAU Symposium at some point in the future (e.g. September 2021, or later) instead of “Going Virtual”, which many of us feel is not optimal for a large 200- or 300-person IAUS, as planned.
We are aware that the postponement of the IAUS has a potential negative impact on more junior participants and we are therefore also considering organising a “Virtual Preview meeting”. This would be shorter and focused on previously allocated contributed talks from the more junior participants if they choose to opt in (details to follow in due course).
In the meantime, stay safe!
Jonathan and Jorick – on behalf of the SOC/LOC
[1] https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/resilience-recovery-2020-2021-plan-for-living-with-covid-19/