Dear Colleagues and Members,

These are truly turbulent times! Life as we know it has been largely stopped. Social distancing has become the means of choice to flatten the curve of infections and to, ultimately, save lives. This has impacted also the ERCOFTAC community.

The ERCOFTAC Spring Festival in Cambridge, UK, originally scheduled for April 16th and 17th, has been cancelled. The UK PC will, however, host the next Spring Festival in 2021 instead. The ERCOFTAC Scientific Programme and Knowledge Network Committee (SPC and KNC) meetings are now planned as teleconferences on April 17th focusing on the most urgent topics only. Decisions that can be deferred will be dealt with at the Autumn Festival.

Many other events have been cancelled or are postponed, see https://www.ercoftac.org/events/. Please note that events that had to be postponed by local organizers will still be supported by ERCOFTAC at the later date. Events for summer and fall are still scheduled to take place. For events organized by ERCOFTAC, like the ETMM conference, we are working closely with the local organizers to monitor the situation and on contingency plans – just in case.

Please note that ERCOFTAC is very much committed to support its community also in times of social distancing. This is why we are developing our digital muscles further by preparing to make use of social media. Another idea is to explore if ERCOFTAC should develop capabilities to support its members in organizing events online. Let us know what you think. Any ideas how to better serve the need of our community are welcome.

Thanks for all you are doing for the ERCOFTAC community. Stay healthy and safe!

Prof. Dominic von Terzi,
Chairman of ERCOFTAC