Conference week in Alsace

I had the chance to go to Strasbourg last year, but I put it off for a bit for one reason – the European Materials Research Society (EMRS) Spring Meeting. I knew long before that this EMRS conference would be held in Strasbourg, so I hung on to the hope that my abstract would be accepted and that I would be allowed to go. Alas, it was accepted, and I went.

The conference went on for an entire week, where scientific knowledge and brilliant ideas were discussed and exchanged. Aside from the academic mumbo jumbo, of course I would not miss out on the chance to explore Alsace, a region in northeastern France known for its supreme white wine, timber-framed housing, and choucroute (sauerkraut). There was a lot to see in Strasbourg itself, but I also got the chance to visit Colmar, a medieval town half an hour away from Strasbourg by train.

The EMRS holds two annual meetings, one in spring in Strasbourg and one in fall in Warsaw, Poland. This is my first EMRS conference (and it may very well be the last), with an oral communication in the R symposium – Nano-engineered bioactive surfaces. It was a huge conference with 2000+ attendees from all over the world, and my second international conference after WBC last year.