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In January 2002 I was invited
by Shu Chien, Chair of the NOC, to chair a Local Arrangements Committee
(LAC) for the 35th IUPS Congress in San Diego. Specific charges in that
first request were to identify venues for the associated social events,
potential financial supporters and homes in which foreign scientists could
stay during the congress.
Fortunately, I was able to recruit an enthusiastic and committed group of
individuals representing the huge breadth of research institutions in San
Diego. Kim Barrett, my colleague from the Department of Medicine at UC San
Diego provided the APS Council’s point of view. Kurt Benirschke represented
not only UC San Diego, where he is a Professor of Pathology, but the “world
famous San Diego Zoo,” which is affiliated with the Center for Reproduction
of Endangered Species. Floyd Bloom represented The Scripps Research
Institute, which is the other institution awarding PhD degrees in biomedical
sciences in San Diego. Stephen Flaim, formerly with Alliance Pharmaceuticals
and now affiliated with the Bioengineering program at UC San Diego, provided
us with additional insights to the local biotech and pharmaceutical
industries. Fred (Rusty) Gage represented the Salk Institute and was a
liaison to the Society for Neuroscience, which contributed to the IUPS
Congress. Mary Sue Lowery represented the University of San Diego, which is
growing a strong program in comparative physiology. Jeff Graham represented
the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Birch Aquarium at UC San Diego.
Last but not least, my colleagues Peter Wagner and John West were extremely
helpful. John knows the history of IUPS, having attended every congress
since his first in Leiden in 1962, and Peter’s very recent experience with
the American Thoracic Society in planning their own international congress
in San Diego in 2005 was invaluable.
The LAC met several times, including meetings with Marty Frank and Linda
Allen during their trips to San Diego to finalize arrangements with the
convention center, hotels, concert halls and other venues. Marty and Linda
took our ideas and translated them into actions. With all of their
experience organizing meetings in San Diego, they could have organized an
outstanding program without a local committee and certainly everything we
achieved depended upon their fine efforts. It quickly became clear that this
IUPS Congress would differ from those we had attended in the past because of
the affiliation with the Experimental Biology meeting. Not only did this
provide an extremely strong scientific program, but it also provided access
to the event planning expertise in the FASEB Office of Scientific Meetings.
Given the history of EB meetings in San Diego, this made our job very
easy—and made us very respectful of the hard work that previous hosts put
into successful IUPS Congresses.
The Fundraising Committee for the NOC also made things easier for the LAC.
We provided them with some names and contacts but we did not make any direct
solicitations. Through the generosity of donors and APS members, there was a
well-funded scholarship program to support visiting scientists from poorer
countries. This eased the burden on the LAC to find housing and the Congress
relied primarily on the FASEB housing office for all participants.
Thinking of ways to show off our home town was both energizing and
satisfying. The LAC had lots of good ideas, some of which made it into the
program and others that remain possibilities for future meetings. On March
30, in the evening before the start of the official program, Shu Chien and
his wife K.C. organized a dinner party at their house for the IUPS Council,
the Chairs of Commissions and Program Committees and the NOC. This provided
a wonderful beginning to a week of renewing and making new friendships with
colleagues from around the world. People who had collaborated by Email on
special events for the Congress finally got to meet and shake hands. All of
the hard preparatory work had been done. The atmosphere at the party was
filled with both excitement and relief as everyone anticipated the opening
of the Congress the next day.
Trying to match the cultural aspects of opening ceremonies from previous
Congresses became a particular challenge, given the “melting pot” nature and
huge diversity of the USA. The solution was in the musical choice for the
reception after the opening remarks—jazz, which has it roots in America but
is appreciated and continues to evolve around the world. At the other end of
the program, we had many creative ideas for a closing ceremony as well.
Probably the most fun was Marty’s proposal involving a killer whale at Sea
World. The orca would take the IUPS flag from Shu Chien, as chair of the USA
NOC, swim a lap and then deliver it to the chair of the Japanese NOC!
However, reason, and music, saved the day again and the Congress was closed
with the premier performance of the symphony “Body Notes.”
Between these events, the LAC had a hand in many other scientific and social
events. There were Satellite Symposia and Section functions at local
institutions. Local contacts and knowledge even helped with the musical
entertainment at the Friday night Beach Party. The fabulous “Mar Dels,” who
had people dancing to their collection of 50’s to 70’s rock and roll,
includes the lead singer who is a former administrative assistant in the UC
San Diego Physiology Division! Finally, everyone on the LAC became more
familiar with our local dining and entertainment options as we scouted
locations for different requests.
One idea that did not make the program, but is definitely worth considering
for the future was a “Biotech Beach Tour.” This was to be an auxiliary
activity to showcase San Diego as one of the three largest clusters of
biotech companies in the USA. It could be run by a university extension
program or one of the professional companies that organizes other tours but
it would be guided by a professional who speaks “our” language. Several
local university professors have started successful companies and they could
provide valuable insights to younger scientists trying to decide on career
goals. We also anticipated the enthusiastic participation of the local
biotech and pharmaceutical companies to show case their laboratories with
tours. Some of the local research institutions are famous for their
architecture alone, such as the original buildings at Salk, the
lecture/concert hall at the Institute for Neuroscience and the central
library at UC San Diego. Although this would be a city tour developed for
scientists, it would probably be popular with a segment of the general
public too.
It was an honor for all of the LAC to contribute to this IUPS Congress.
After this experience, I know we will have even more appreciation for the
special programs and touches we look forward to enjoying at future IUPS
Congresses.
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