Ecologists Attend 105th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America

Environmental scientists, educators and policy makers will be gathering online August 3-6, 2020, for the 105^th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA). Ecologists from around the world attend the annual conference, which is expected to host over 3,000 presentations this year.

ESA invites press and institutional public information officers to attend for free (see credential policy below). To apply, please contact ESA Public Information Manager Heidi Swanson directly at [email protected]. Same-day registration will be available during the meeting.

Meeting plenaries and symposia will explore the meeting theme "Harnessing the ecological data revolution." Like many science fields, ecological research is being flooded by diverse and data-rich sources of information. For example, remote sensing platforms, automated sensors, observatory networks, molecular techniques, large-scale or replicated experiments and predictive (simulation) models are generating enormous amounts of data. These large volumes of data are opening new avenues of research and enabling ecologists to address more complex questions and hypotheses that span multiple scales and disciplines. However, this information deluge also creates challenges in effectively interpreting, applying and communicating scientific findings. Scientific sessions will explore new and integrative approaches used to understand pressing ecological issues.

Lucas Joppa, chief environmental officer at Microsoft, will give this year's opening plenary talk, entitled "Scaling Ecological Insights." As the first person to hold this position at Microsoft, he leads the company's sustainability efforts through ongoing technology innovation, program development, policy advancement and global operational excellence. With a Ph.D. in Ecology from Duke University and an extensive publication history in leading academic journals, Joppa is a uniquely accredited voice for sustainability in the technology industry. Joppa previously served on the Federal Advisory Committee for the Sustained U.S. National Climate Assessment, and now serves on the boards of leading scientific organizations. In 2017, he founded Microsoft's AI for Earth program--a five-year, $50-million commitment to leverage AI and machine learning with the goal of transforming the way society monitors, models and ultimately manages Earth's natural resources.

ESA Policy on Press Credentials

The ESA Press Office provides complimentary press registration to public information officers and institutional press officers, professional journalists representing media organizations, freelance journalists, photographers, videographers, bloggers, podcasters, authors, filmmakers, institutional science communicators and student journalists, for the express purpose of gathering news and information to produce media coverage of ESA meetings.

Public information officers and institutional press officers who cannot attend, but would like to promote presenters from their institutions, are welcome to prearrange distribution of press releases and other author materials on the meeting website and in the virtual Press Room. Press officers may request copies of all abstracts related to their institution.

Representatives of publishing houses, the business side of news media, political action committees or similar, and for-profit corporations, will not be accredited as press and will not be eligible for complimentary press registration. Editors of journals or other publications who do not report for or edit their outlet's news section will also not be accredited as press and are not eligible for complimentary press registration.

Press registrants receive, at no charge, access to all scientific sessions and to the virtual press room. Some events, including but not limited to invitation-only events and communications workshops, are not open to press attendees.

Scientists who will be presenting at the meeting and who are also reporting from the meeting for a recognized media outlet may also be issued press credentials at the discretion of the ESA Press Office. Anyone who presents at the meeting must also register for the meeting and pay the appropriate fee as a presenter. These registrants should first register as press and indicate that they are also a presenter on their press registration form. These registrants should not register as a presenter until after being contacted by a member of the ESA Press Office who will provide additional information for registering as a presenter.

Press room access is issued at the discretion of the ESA Press Office and is non-transferable. All registrants must provide credentials regardless of whether they have received press registration for past ESA meetings.

Source: https://www.esa.org/