The nation’s largest science journalism conference, originally scheduled to take place Oct. 9–13, 2020 at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus and CU Boulder, has been postponed until the fall of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, CU and its conference partners, the National Association of Science Writers (NASW) and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW), are developing a series of virtual conference events to take place this fall.
The yearly conference, the nation’s premier science communications gathering, is expected to draw more than 650 attendees, including journalists and science communicators from research institutions.
It features lectures and panel discussions from top scientists, professional development sessions, interactive lab tours and field trips, and Lunch with a Scientist—in which small groups of journalists meet with researchers to discuss ongoing work.
The event serves as the annual meeting for NASW and includes CASW’s New Horizons in Science program, in which top-ranked researchers from around the globe report on seminal advances in a wide array of scientific disciplines.
“We hope to be able to present parts of the science program and workshops online this fall, with a fuller program when science writers are able to meet in person,” said CASW Executive Director Rosalind Reid.
Reid also thanked hosting partners: the collaborating University of Colorado campuses, which were preparing to host this year’s conference, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which was to host ScienceWriters2021 and will now host in 2023. ScienceWriters2022 will take place in Chicago as planned.
“Our hosting groups have been extraordinarily thoughtful and generous in working with us to reschedule these events.”
Please stay tuned to ScienceWriters2020.org for details on our evolving virtual experience and additional updates.
This article originally appeared in CU Boulder Today.
