2017

Welcome!

Dear Colleagues:

On behalf of the conference organizers, it is my great pleasure to invite you to the 36th AAAR Annual Conference to be held October 16-20 at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. We expect the conference to provide an outstanding venue for sharing our latest aerosol science and technology research, while networking and re-connecting with colleagues.

The 2017 Conference will feature a full slate of tutorials on Monday on a wide range of aerosol science topics including the popular "Hands-on Aerosol Instrumentation Design and Measurement" tutorial.

An exciting array of plenary talks, special symposia, poster sessions, platform presentations, and special events will take place from Tuesday morning through Friday noon. As is the AAAR tradition, each of these days will start with an 8 a.m. plenary lecture. Our outstanding lineup of plenary speakers for 2017 includes Andrea Ferro (Clarkson University), Markus Kraft (University of Cambridge), Joel Thornton (University of Washington), and Vicki Grassian (UC San Diego/Scripps Institution of Oceanography).

The exhibit area, open Tuesday through Thursday, will provide opportunities to engage with and learn from leading companies offering instrumentation and services in aerosol science and technology. On Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m. we will have a 5K group run/walk. On Thursday afternoon, we have arranged for technical tours to the Environmental Protection Agency laboratories. You can sign up for these events when registering for the conference.

We will have five symposia designed to bridge multiple areas and promote cross-disciplinary interaction on the following topics:

1. There Must be Something in the Water: Cloud, Fog and Aerosol Aqueous Chemistry for Aerosol Production
2. Passive Mitigation Strategies to Reduce Exposure to Near-Road Air Pollution
3. Linking Aerosol Oxidative Potential with Chemical Composition and Biological Endpoints
4. Extraterrestrial Aerosols: From Mars to Titan and Beyond
5. Regional and Global Air Quality and Climate Modeling

The conference venue, the Raleigh Convention Center, is located near downtown, close to many excellent restaurants. Raleigh is also home to several acclaimed parks and a vibrant museum scene, including the Museum of Natural Sciences, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and the North Carolina Museum of History. A conference block of reduced rate rooms has been secured at the Marriott Raleigh City Center and the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel. Getting from the convention center to downtown and around is easy with the R-LINE, a free circulator bus service.

We are excited about Raleigh as a new location for our Annual Conference because of its unique location with close proximity to the Environmental Protection Agency, the Research Triangle, and several universities. However, as many of you know, the choice of this location became controversial after the North Carolina legislature passed House Bill 2 (HB2), which requires that people use public restrooms based upon their gender at birth. The contracts with the Convention Center in Raleigh were already in place when HB2 was passed. After extensive discussion amongst the AAAR Executive Committee and the AAAR Board, the Board voted to remain in Raleigh for 2017, for reasons laid out in the President’s message. An important factor in support of this decision was the position taken by the city of Raleigh and the Raleigh Convention Center to value diversity and inclusion, and to welcome all people to their city.

This will be an outstanding conference at a great location that you certainly don’t want to miss. We look forward to welcoming you in Raleigh in October at the 36th Annual Conference of the American Association for Aerosol Research!

 

Nicole Riemer
2017 Conference Chair