All of us have faced change over the past few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re all doing our best to adapt and thrive as we share our improvised workspaces with family and pets, and test new technologies with uncertain internet connections. Along the way, we struggle to connect with colleagues away from the office.
We understand that shuttered labs and universities, canceled travel, and lack of face-to-face meetings have impacted your ASR projects. We’re dealing with similar work challenges ourselves. At such a time, communication with ASR program management may be useful.
Reach out to us to share your challenges or to ask questions. We want you to be comfortable sharing with us the issues you are facing; we’ll work together to find solutions.
Register for the ARM/ASR Joint Meeting Today
Like many professional meetings and conferences, the 2020 Joint ARM/ASR User Facility and Principal Investigators Meeting has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be online, June 23 to 26. A benefit of the virtual meeting format is it opens sessions to more participants. This is good in that one of the best ways to communicate with ASR program managers and colleagues is through active participation in the upcoming meeting.
Each year, we look forward to this meeting; it’s how we get to know you and your work better. And for you, it is a great way to learn about new opportunities and to network with others in your field. Importantly, this event brings the ARM and ASR communities together. Our ASR PI’s not only network, but they learn about the resources, capabilities, and opportunities available through ARM. These include field campaigns, data products, and the new ARM Data Discovery. Likewise, ARM users learn about opportunities through ASR. We hope by forging ahead virtually, you will be able to find ways to connect with your peers and us, even virtually!
Registration for the 2020 Joint Meeting is now open. You must register separately for plenaries and each breakout session, so please take time to review the itinerary and select those sessions that best fit your interests. We understand the registration process is complicated, but we want to address potential security issues.
Our sessions will use Zoom video conferencing. Plenary and breakout sessions will be moderated, and the Q&A function will allow you to interact with presenters and ask questions. Please feel free to have sidebar discussions and networking with other attendees on any platform you choose.
The revised itinerary features fewer breakout sessions than originally planned. However, more are being scheduled later this year as independent online conferences. We, and the Working Group chairs, would like your thoughts and ideas about these.
Moving Forward
One of our biggest questions is, “How do we deal with the ‘new normal’ for as long as it exists?” We expect that our PIs will be more discerning about travel, and we want to consider that as we plan ahead. If something can be done virtually, then it’s likely that we will try it.
Ultimately, we want to serve your needs. If you have thoughts and ideas, please share them with us. We may be all working from the kitchen table—with the family dog at our feet and the distractions that come with home—but we still comprise one ASR community, one that will thrive with continued adaption to and communication through this time of change.
– Shaima Nasiri and Jeff Stehr, ASR Program Managers
# # #This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, through the Biological and Environmental Research program as part of the Atmospheric System Research program.