Discovery Cove dolphin exhibit at SeaWorld Orlando. Credit: Brian Wilson; Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
If you grew up in the 1980s like I did, you know from the American Electric Power mascot Louie the Lightning Bug that electronics and water don’t mix.
While it’s generally a good idea to heed wise Louie’s advice, I found one exception to his rules: water and electronics will mix surprisingly well next January 21–23 at Electronic Materials and Applications 2015 in SeaWorld Orlando, Fla.
“EMA’15 brings together a broad cross-section of the electrical ceramics community at a beautiful venue and offers a casual, workshop-like environment that promotes engaging interactions and collaborative discussions that continue long into the evenings,” says Geoff Brennecka, member of the EMA’15 organizing committee. “People come to their first EMA meeting for the technical symposia, but return for the friends and colleagues.”
Geoff added, “Be sure to stick around for the Failure session Friday evening, the capstone of the entire meeting!” The Failure session provides attendees the opportunity to learn from colleagues’ failed experiments, negative results, and research missteps, often the best teachers but the least talked about parts of research.
And although you still have seven months until go-time, there’s no room for procrastination—abstracts are due September 10.
Sea World Orlando, one of a chain of marine life theme parks, houses some pretty diverse sea creatures, including killer whales, sharks, sea lions, seals, polar bears, walruses, stingrays, sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, and more. With a respectful nod to these creatures, however, the real attraction in Orlando from January 21–23 will be the talks, posters, and discussions in the conference rooms of SeaWorld’s DoubleTree hotel.
(SeaWorld Orlando is the tenth most visited theme park in the US [19th in the world], according to the Themed Entertainment Association. However, its popularity has recently seen a decrease, in part due to the popularity of a documentary that sheds some less-than-flattering light on SeaWorld’s practices regarding killer whales. “Blackfish” presents an unseen side of SeaWorld, and, although SeaWorld officials dispute its accuracy, it has spurred some pretty notorious backlash against SeaWorld.)
EMA’15 programming “includes a mix of industrial, university and federal laboratory participants, presenting and discussing theoretical, experimental, applied and unifying approaches,” states the meeting website. So there’s a little something for everyone.
Plenary speakers include Kent Budd from 3M (U.S.), Hiroshi Funakubo from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan), and Greg Rohrer from Carnegie Mellon University (U.S.). To see the complete technical program, click here or download the pdf here.
Don’t forget to submit an abstract today, and make sure to check back soon for EMA’15 registration details. Already set to make your travel arrangements? Head over here.
