Looking Forward to Seattle

by Steve Ackerman and Rajul Pandya, Co-Chairs, 91st AMS Annual Meeting
Happy New Year! Following the communication theme of the 2011 AMS Annual Meeting in Seattle Washington, we thought it appropriate to remind you of some activities that will occur during our annual meeting. There will be some new events this year to accompany the exciting events we have come to appreciate during this meeting – such as Weatherfest and the awards dinner.
This meeting will be the “pilot” effort of the Beacons program. AMS Beacons are folks that will be stationed throughout the conference area to greet and assist you as you participate in this meeting. While there is a special opportunity to meet Beacons at the New Attendee Briefing on Sunday,  they will be available throughout the week as well.
For the first time, our annual meeting includes a visual art exhibition hosted by the conference center.  The exhibit, Forecast: Communicating Weather and Climate, remains in the conference center through April and is open to the public. The purpose of the exhibit is to engage scientists, artists, and others in cross-disciplinary dialogue on ways to communicate weather and climate issues to the general public. So, roam the halls of the conference center to view and discuss the artworks.
There will be a couple of student activities as well.  With help from our vendors, students will make and share measurements of our meeting environment in an activity called, appropriately, “Measuring the Environment”.  The Student conference on Saturday will include a game quest, including puzzles to solve and things to find, and the chance to win fantastic prizes.
Finally, the Sunday evening before the conference features two grassroots events: “The Color of Weather”, a gathering celebrating the increasing ethnic and racial diversity of our society, and the “Coriolis” reception for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Friends. Both events take place 7:00–9:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel (1400 Sixth Avenue) “The Color of Weather” in the Willow Room and “Coriolis” in Diamond Rooms A and B.
Look for further updates on posts on this blog, AMS Facebook and Twitter (#91stAMS) feeds.