Outreach
Offering Assistance to Spectroscopists Worldwide
SciX Global Welcome Initiative
Helping Spectroscopists with Financial Assistance to Attend SciX
The Coblentz Society, one of the member societies in the FACSS organization, has as its mission to foster the understanding and application of vibrational spectroscopy. One way this mission is implemented at SciX conferences is by supporting speakers who might not financially be able to participate. In this unusual year where SciX is virtual due to the impact of COVID-19, the Society is carrying out their mission in a new way – The Global Welcome Initiative.
The Global Welcome Initiative will pay the registration fee for researchers, particularly students and post-doctoral scientists, who are not able to afford the current registration fee. The program is aimed at geographies where attendance at an in-person SciX conference would be financially prohibitive.
To apply for this program please fill out the registration form. Your application will be reviewed. If approved, you will be given a unique code to use in the virtual SciX registration process. This program will be limited to 50 registrants, so if you want to apply, please register early. The Coblentz Society hopes that this initiative will give financially challenged and geographically remote scientists an opportunity to participate in the international spectroscopic community.
Application for 2021 SciX coming soon.
Join your fellow scientists at conferences.
Spectroscopists Helping Spectroscopists
Successful Efforts Following Hurricane Maria in 2017.
The Situation:
Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico,but minimally affected the research laboratories due preventative measures. However, the subsequent infrastructure failure destroyed instrumentation and resulted in condemned laboratories. Professor Sam Hernandez-Rivera described what happened to his laboratory.
Science is a community effort so we came together to solve this problem. That’s why the spectroscopy community, led by the Coblentz Society and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, rallied a volunteer effort to support our colleagues.
The Results:
Through monetary donations we funded students from Puerto Rico to travel to functioning labs, where access to equipment helped keep those research projects on track. Financial support was donated at the Society for Applied Spectroscopy Measure Venture site. Volunteers offered their facilities, time, and expertise—including opportunities for Puerto Rican students to come to their labs.
We also sought support from instrument vendors who donated replacement equipment or donated the time and expertise of staff to repair or service damaged equipment. We facilitated and organized creative solutions to help our colleagues cope with this disaster.