Hi All,

 

Quick summary of Fri meeting and outcomes/to-do’s/info...

 

  1. We decided good idea to at least schedule meeting every week for 2pm on Fri. It is clear that not everybody will make every meeting but atleast then we catch some people some of the time (rather than all people all of the time). So next meeting is next Fri at 2pm Central European Time, same Zoom link as always.

 

  1. Sponsors: You can start contacting sponsors, using the info (pdf flyer) that Stephanie sent. The sponsors that different persons contact are listed in the online document. I threw together a generic template you can use, but modify as you see fit for specific sponsor. Feel free ofcourse to contact any other sponsors you see fit, and add to the online document. Also consider non-conventional sponsors. From my last China trip I may be able to coax Light: Science & Applications to throw in something, will see what they say.

 

  1. Invited speakers: It was correctly pointed out that if we would go with all the proposed invited speakers we would completely fill or over-fill schedule and not have space for contributed talks. For a “normal” conference contributed talks constitute at least 50% of submissions, and we thus might want to cut down. The dilemma was also brought up that some PI’s may not attend unless they are invited (for whatever reason), and as such if we want their attendance, we should invite them (even if we cover no costs). For now it was decided that only the underlined “keynote” speakers will be invited, by the persons listed in the online document – and they can go ahead and invite/probe interest now.

 

Based on before last meeting it should be somehow made clear to them that their costs (in the form of a stipend) will only be covered if really necessary. How this is phrased is more delicate topic and a couple of suggestions were proposed. The most logical phrasing I believe goes along the lines of “ due to limited financial resources and the short notice relocation limiting our ability to acquire more comprehensive sponsoring for this event, we request that keynote speakers also cover their own travel and accommodation costs. If this proves to be a limiting issue, please let us know and we can look into the potential of providing a travel stipend for a limited number of cases where it is most needed.” I provide a generic template below for this also but modify as you see fit.

 

To add a quick personal opinion: I am of opinion we should invite more than these keynote (for the reason outlined above – many will not come unless invited, especially if they are in periphery fields and/or geographically far away). In the end we can surely manage to fit also contributed into schedule (even if we have more posters &/or make schedule tighter), but I think important is to guarantee all senior persons of interest/relevance are there to make meeting most productive (I am all for promoting young talent, but Solvay Conference probably wasn’t 50% contributed talks – of course not that this is intended comparison😊). Also, I see this as a convenient emergency measure to assure significant attendance on short notice (and anticipated drop in US participation). Once registration closes if numbers are low it will be too late for action. But for now, I guess let us get the keynotes down, and can always potentially add (although should do sooner rather than later given peoples schedules). Just some thoughts, can maybe discuss in next meeting.

 

All the best,

Kareem

 

 

 

Example text for sponsors…

 

Dear XXX,

 

I am writing regarding the possibility of XXX sponsoring the 9th International BioBrillouin Conference, which will take place in Berlin, at the conference venue of the Max Planck Society (Harnack House) on the 25-27 November 2025.

 

This event serves as a venue where experts and leading scientists from around the world working on Brillouin Light Scattering Spectroscopy for biological and biomedical applications meet once a year to share their latest advances, findings and innovations in the field. In additions to 2 full days of keynote, invited and contributed talks it will feature poster session and various social activities.

 

We would like to invite you to support this emerging field by partnering with us as a sponsor. The organizing committee has put together three sponsorship packages listed in the attached PDF.

 

If any of these would be of interest, please let me know as soon as possible. I would be happy to answer any further questions regarding details about these packages or the conference in general.

 

All the best,

XXX

 

On behalf of the Scientific Organizing Committee:

Jochen Guck (Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light & Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, Germany)

Kareem Elsayad (Medical University of Vienna, Austria)

Robert Prevedel (European Molecular Biology Laboratory - EMBL, Germany)

Francesca Palombo (Exeter University, United Kingdom)

Stephanie Möllmert (Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany)

Michael Monaghan (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland)

Thorsten Hamann (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway)

PS. The event was originally planned to take place in Boston, USA, yet due to the current political climate has been moved to Europe on relatively short notice. The expected number of attendees from academia are between 50-100 and span all continents (except Antarctica).

 

 

Example template for keynote speaker invite…

 

Dear XXX,

 

On behalf of the Scientific Organizing Committee, I would like to invite you to give a Keynote talk at the upcoming 9th International BioBrillouin Conference, which will take place in Berlin, at the conference venue of the Max Planck Society (Harnack House) on the 25-27 November 2025.

 

This event serves as a venue where experts and leading scientists from around the world working on Brillouin Light Scattering Spectroscopy for biological and biomedical applications meet once a year to share their latest advances, findings and innovations in the field. In additions to 2 full days of keynote, invited and contributed talks it will feature poster session and various social activities.

 

(relevant for people not working on BLS, edit as needed)

As part of our efforts to explore the potential applications and interpretation of Brillouin Light Scattering Spectroscopy measured parameters in light of biological processes, we are interested in hearing about your work on XXX

 

Due to limited financial resources and the short notice relocation limiting our ability to acquire more comprehensive sponsoring for this event (it was initially meant to happen in Harvard), we request that keynote speakers cover their own travel and accommodation costs. If this proves to be a limiting issue, please let us know and we can look into the potential of providing a travel stipend for cases most needed, albeit subject to availability.

 

We would very much look forward to meeting you in Berlin, and please let me know at your earliest convenience (and latest by July 14th) if you will be able to attend to deliver a Keynote talk.

 

All the best,

XXX

 

On behalf of the Scientific Organizing Committee:

Jochen Guck (Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light & Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, Germany)

Kareem Elsayad (Medical University of Vienna, Austria)

Robert Prevedel (European Molecular Biology Laboratory - EMBL, Germany)

Francesca Palombo (Exeter University, United Kingdom)

Stephanie Möllmert (Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany)

Michael Monaghan (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland)

Thorsten Hamann (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway)