Tuesday morning, May 27 — I have about 10 minutes to write before I run off to catch my tram to the meeting — just a few thoughts to record from yesterday, Monday.
John Sumpter and I had a quick chat in the hall. For some reason we got onto the topic of print versus online. He mentioned that he gets the print edition of ES&T and ends up reading the TOCs more than his students do. They tend to go just for keyword searches online. They seem to be missing the whole picture that way, he says, and I agree–I know how I read the paper copy of today’s news versus how I read it online. I’m also wondering: is the big picture also receeding because of the incredible onslaught of papers published? It’s hard to keep track of all this data…
Just as it’s hard to keep track of all the topics I want to hit at this meeting! I spent most of my time yesterday in the talks on pharmaceuticals, but kept trying to jump into sessions on POPs, Omics, and biodiversity. I have to express my appreciation to the session chair who made sure the talks started on time — even if it meant a few minutes’ break in between when a talk ended short.
As in any meeting, the rooms seem very far apart! The rooms are on the 2nd, 4th, and 6th floors, (which we can get to via elevator) with lots of shallow marble steps to navigate in between, which contribute to the elevations I’ve been climbing. I wonder what the office workers on the elevators think of all of us attendees.
I kept ducking late into sessions and standing in the back when I had to. Except for the Omics session: It’s in a movie theater, and the entrance is at the bottom so that you have to walk directly in front of the speaker. It’s a bit odd! Half of the people who enter late make the foray into the stadium seating. The rest of the poor sheep mill at the entrance until the next talk. I’ve done both and I can’t say which option is better — one of the talks I heard was pretty interesting: the researchers looked at conserved estrogen receptors in gastropods and related species. Arthropods don’t have one–who knew! You can pinpoint the evolutionary time when they diverged…
I’m wondering if the Omics folks think they are getting closer to useful tools, or rather, if people outside that community think that the researchers are already there. This topic seems like it might be ripe for a trends story for ES&T, but I’m no expert and will need to talk to some folks to get a better feel.
One more thought and then I have to run — one of the great things about SETAC Europe is that they serve lunch. That means everyone doesn’t have to run off the meeting site to eat and then rush back. This way you get to schmooze and bump into people without making plans, and you get a taste of local food and culture. The venue is a bit inefficient for the buffet this year, and I can’t say I’m entirely pleased by the food. (But what did I expect? It’s Poland … No salads!) Still, the chopped liver and whitefish salad with horseradish was EXCELLENT!!!
(Last night’s dinner: Indian food with a bunch of life cycle analysis people — I came all the way to Poland for Indian food?? It was delicious though… )
