Dear Colleagues, I was sad to learn on July 3 that the GTUnano20 conference,
to take place in Tbilisi from October 5-8, 2020, has been
canceled.
I helped the organizers to attract world-class speakers to a unique venue, Tbilisi,
which I learned to love. Since the local organizers are less familiar with the
internet and conference organization, I set up the web site, advertised the event
internationally, formulated much of the web information, formulated and sent
invitation letters, formatted and posted abstracts. As far as I know,
at least 117 scientists have expressed interest in the GTUnano20 conference to
date.
There are good reasons why international conferences will likely re-open
starting September 2020. Will Georgia/Tbilisi continue its good trend of low
levels in COVID19 infections to make a scientific event in October 2020 rather
safe? I believe so. GTUnano20 organizers believe they need a long time to
organize a conference and prefer not to do it in an uncertain time. I disagree:
The essence of a scientific conference is a meeting of scientists with the
possibility of discussions. This requires nothing but a conference room and
a beamer. A University Dean's opening speech is not needed.
Some Scientists, whom I invited personally, favor to meet in Tbilisi from
October 5-8, 2020. If there are enough to justify a real workshop in a real location
on the globe, then
Tnano20: International Workshop on Nanotechnology would take place.
If not, some of us may still enjoy the
uniqueness of Tbilisi and Georgia as tourists. Some indicated a preference
for a virtual (Zoom) workshop due to travel restrictions or health concerns.
Some reasons why October 2020 may be a very good time to have a scientific
meeting in Tbilisi are listed at
https://nanoten.com/conf-org/Tnano20/latest-news.html#now
Sincerely,
David Tomanek
Professor of Physics
