The American Physical Society’s annual March Meeting that was to be held in Denver, Colorado from March 2 through March 6 has been canceled. The decision was made late on Saturday, February 29, only a few days before it was to begin. Amongst a broad swath of the physics scientific community, the event is a major gathering each year for specialists in cryogenics, superconductivity, magnetic instrumentation and magnetic materials research from around the world.
It was canceled “out of an abundance of caution and based on the latest scientific data available regarding the transmission of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)”, according to APS Chief Executive Officer Kate Kirby and Deputy Executive Officer & Chief Operating Officer James Taylor who addressed members of the media. A recording of the press conference is available at media@aps.org.
“We have been monitoring the spread of the disease leading up to the meeting and determined, in consultation with the APS Board Executive Committee as well as meeting leadership and staff input, that canceling the meeting was necessary to avoid any transmission at our meeting,” said Kirby.
Many of the 10,000 expected attendees were traveling from outside of the United States, including countries where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Level 3 Warning a few hours before the cancellation. APS knows of no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Denver at this time.
“The health and well-being of our meeting attendees, staff, vendors, and the Denver community are our primary concern,“ said APS President Phil Bucksbaum. “We recognize and sincerely regret that the timing of this decision has significantly inconvenienced many members of our community.” Those already in Denver or enroute were advised to arrange their return travel as soon as possible.
A series of papers on 2D magnetic materials was part of this year’s scientific program. Other series with magnetics focus included multiple papers focusing on kagome and triangular lattice magnetism, electron transport in magnetic materials, ferromagnetic dynamics, also emergent magnetism in correlated electron systems as well as in oxide films and heterostructures.
