Each year, the Biophysical Society sponsors small, focused-topic meetings that are organized by Society members. The Society provides partial financial underwriting support in addition to complete meeting management, including all web and onsite management.
The Society has sponsored these thematic meetings, which have been held in various locations around the world, since 2010.
These meetings are unique and exciting because they bring together researchers from disparate fields who do not otherwise attend the same events, bringing different perspectives to address a common problem.
Criteria for thematic meetings sponsored by the Biophysical Society:
- Organizers must be Society members
- Topics must be timely, not recently addressed, and should foster interdisciplinary and international research
- Proposed meetings must be standalone meetings, not satellites to another meeting or an established small meeting that already meets periodically
- Location of proposed meeting should be outside the United States
- The proposed list of speakers should be active researchers who have demonstrated expertise in subjects related to the topic of the meeting and can present new and exciting research. In addition, speakers must represent the geographic, gender, and ethnic diversity of Society membership.
- Joint meetings with other societies or institutions are appropriate when justified
Complete submissions must include:
- Names and emails of the organizers
- Proposed meeting title
- Description of meeting's topic and themes (one paragraph)
- Explanation of topic's timeliness and importance (one paragraph)
- Proposed meeting location and rationale for the location (meetings are to take place outside of the United States)
- Proposed meeting dates and number of anticipated attendees
- Potential additional funding sources
- Potential conflicting meetings
All complete submissions are considered by the Thematic Meetings Committee, and the Committee's recommendations are submitted to the Society's Council for approval