Driving Progress in Environmental Science in Portland
Mark Surette, Meeting Program Committee Co-Chair
On behalf of the meeting co-chairs, I am excited to share that planning is well underway for the SETAC North America 46th Annual Meeting, which will held from 16–20 November in Portland, Oregon. We warmly welcome all SETAC members to support the meeting, and especially those from Canada, Mexico and the U.S., because science thrives on collaboration, and the Society depends on all of us in these uncertain times. To ensure that all members have the opportunity to participate, we are working closely with staff to plan that all virtual presentations are uploaded in advance and that all plenaries and oral sessions are recorded to accommodate virtual viewing and asynchronous interactions to make the meeting accessible for those who cannot join in person.
We are delighted to introduce the plenaries we have lined up. To open the meeting, Amy Cordalis, will discuss efforts of Indigenous people to protect the Klamath River. Cordalis is a fisherwoman, attorney, author and dedicated advocate for Indigenous rights and environmental restoration. On Tuesday, Kaci Buhl will explore risk communication. Buhl is a Professor of Practice at Oregon State University and will share insights on risk communication that she has learned from her time leading the Statewide Pesticide Safety Education Program. The final plenary on Wednesday of the meeting will be by Paul Hessburg. He is a Senior Research Ecologist at United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Professor at several universities, including Oregon State. In his presentation, Hessburg will take us back several centuries and show us how landscape resilience to wildfires was actively managed by Indigenous peoples of the land.
The meeting will include at least eight parallel sessions in a variety of topics. Secure your spot to share your work by submitting an abstract before the free abstract submission deadline at 5:00 pm PDT on 4 June. You will also want to check out the session list and find those that interest you. The session topics range widely, covering method development, application and case studies, policy and a session on environmental science teaching. As usual, the sessions cover specific classes of chemical or physical stressors (e.g., endocrine disruptors, metals, PFAS, plastics), and true to SETAC’s origins, there are sessions that cover various modes of toxicity (immunotoxicity, genotoxicity, behavioral toxicity) and environmental chemistry. There are sessions on human health and others focused on wildlife species, true to the One Health thinking. Some even intersect with the social sciences, addressing topics such as risk communication and scientific integrity. For those whose work doesn’t fit perfectly in a specific session, we have several broad poster-only sessions. All in all, there is something for everyone!
Of course, it is not a SETAC North America annual meeting without some fun social activities on the agenda. The meeting will kick off with the annual opening ceremony and reception, a reunion for friends and collaborators, and just as importantly, a welcoming space for newcomers to get to know one another and feel part of the SETAC community. There will also be lively poster socials every day in the exhibit hall. Rumor even has it, that some furry friends may be running around the exhibit hall some days. Final touches on other social activities are being added, so stay tuned for a full reveal when the program is finalized in July.
While we know you’ll be spending every minute at the conference immersed in science, we would be remiss not to mention that there are lots of fun things to do in Portland on the days before or after the meeting. Come early and stay a few days late to enjoy some of the meeting co-chairs favorite activities close to town. In fact, the committee is planning tours on Sunday. One tour will head east to the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River to see salmon runs with a stop at the famous Multnomah Falls, while another tour will head south of Portland for some wine tasting in the Newberg area. We are also working on evening activities during the meeting that are within walking distance of the convention. Stay tuned for more details!
We look forward to welcoming you to Portland for a truly unique experience!
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