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Dear Meeting Participants,
Forty years ago, scientists gathered at a meeting in a setting conducive to an unusual degree of interaction and camaraderie. This first meeting was held in Tahoe, California in March 1972. Since those early beginnings, we have grown steadily, remaining true to our goals of connecting scientists across disciplines, geographic boundaries and generations. From holding just a couple of meetings a year in the 1970s, we now convene 50-60, serving about 14,000 scientists each year, and our geographic makeup is more diverse than ever. In 2011, participants from 84 countries attended our conferences. These included a large number of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom attended on one of the more than 900 Keystone Symposia scholarships and travel awards given in our 2011 season.
Growth would be irrelevant without maintaining quality. In October 2011, Keystone Symposia welcomed Dr. David Woodland as its next Chief Scientific Officer. As a long-standing member of the Keystone Symposia community (scientific organizer, frequent speaker and attendee), Woody, as he is known, will help to ensure the continuing high quality of the conferences. The quality is highly dependent on feedback from attendees, a dedicated Scientific Advisory Board and the insightful governance of a Board of Directors that is connected with diverse aspects of the scientific community. Woody will be the point of convergence for integrating the information to generate a portfolio of annual meetings that serves your needs.
We are very grateful for the service of many who volunteer their time to make Keystone Symposia a success, especially the scientific organizers and speakers. Although their expenses are reimbursed, no honoraria are paid. Additionally, the staff is hard at work behind the scenes to optimize your experience. And of course, we greatly appreciate the financial support of corporations, foundations, governments and individuals. Keystone Symposia does not have an endowment, so this continuing diverse base of support on an annual basis is vital. With the help of generous donations, we are able to defer expenses of many deserving early-career scientists and also offset many of the costs we would otherwise have to pass on to our attendees.
Most importantly, Keystone Symposia would not be possible without you. Your questions, the research you present and the conversations you spark make Keystone Symposia conferences as engaging and thought-provoking as ever. We hope that your experience at this conference is valuable and memorable and that you will help spread the word to others who might benefit.
Sincerely,
James W. Aiken, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
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