... have come to an end. No more meetings are planned. See letter below.
See http://ad.usno.navy.mil/astro_events_dc/ for links to local professional astronomy colloquia and meetings.
2001 Nov 13 Dear Colleagues: I have received a number of recent e-mails inquiring about the next Washington Area Astronomers Meeting. I regret to report that the 21-year series of Washington Area Astronomers Meetings has come to an end. This series of professional meetings, held on at least a yearly basis, provided the many astronomers and astrophysicists in the Washington-Baltimore area with an opportunity to hear and discuss recent research results that spanned specialty and wavelength boundaries. The meetings were organized by an Executive Committee with representatives from the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, Goddard Space Flight Center, Naval Research Lab, U.S. Naval Observatory, Space Telescope Science Institute, Applied Physics Lab, George Mason University, and Universities Space Research Association. The committee also had a member representing the many other institutions in the area with small numbers of astronomers on their staff (e.g., DTM, NASA HQ, Catholic U., etc.) Although the meetings developed a dedicated following of astronomers, attendance in recent years has been consistently below previous attendance figures and our expectations. In recent years, the Executive Committee tried various meeting format changes, without much success. In May, the committee reluctantly decided to bring the series of meetings to an end. The committee also decided at its final meeting that the remaining funds in the committee's bank account should go to furthering the progress of astronomy in developing countries. Part of the funds went to Don Wentzel, who is the IAU Chair for Teaching for Astronomy Development, for the purchase of a small telescope for variable star observations at the University of Zambia. The remainder went to the AAS fund for support of astronomy in developing countries, which is used when specific opportunities for such support arise. | |
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