in the final analysis
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-020-04455-3 Ó 2020 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
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“There is no getting ‘back to normal,’ experts say. The sooner we accept that, the better.” —CNN headline, Nick Paton Walsh
Volume 72
Number 12 December 2020
It is no secret that we live in a world of constant change. Sometimes the changes are dramatic but momentary, like tossing a large rock into a still pond. There is a great ga-loosh, DVWDUWOLQJVKRFNZDYHIRUWKH¿VKH[WUHPHDQGWKHQGLPLQLVKLQJULSSOHVDQGDQHYHQWXDO return to quietude. Then, there are the tsunamis that rewrite the shoreline and all that is RQLW0HWDSKRULFDOO\WKLQNQRWRIDWRVVHGURFNEXWRIDQ$SSOHVSHFL¿FDOO\RQHEUDQGHG “iPhone.” In a decade, smartphones brought about a sea of change as our ubiquitous FRQQHFWLYLW\WRRO$GL൵HUHQWNLQGRIZRUOGFKDQJHULVQRZZRUNLQJZLWKPXFKJUHDWHU speed: COVID-19. In less than a year, it has made deep impacts to our mental, physical, emotional, and economic health. Books upon books will be written on the topic. The book of TMS will likely focus on how we convene our community. ,WLVVXUHO\QRVXUSULVHWRUHDGWKDW706HYHQWVKDYHVX൵HUHGPLJKWLO\XQGHUWKH pandemic. During 2020, everything since TMS2020 has been either postponed, cancelled, or virtualized. Will that carry into 2021 and beyond? That’s a great question. The answer is evolving daily as circumstances are impossible to predict. TMS has events planned for years to come. Indeed, the TMS Annual Meeting & ([KLELWLRQLVERRNHGWKURXJK(YHU\FRQIHUHQFHSODQLVSUHGLFDWHGRQKROGLQJDQHYHQW of a particular size during a particular time at a particular place. Volunteers have promised to RUJDQL]HVWD൵KDVEHHQDOORFDWHGWRSURYLGHWKHQHFHVVDU\RSHUDWLRQDOVXSSRUWDQGFRQWUDFWV have been signed with venues and third parties to provide hosting and support services. 7KHUH¶VDORWRI¿QDQFLDOULVNLIWKHHYHQWIDLOVWRPDWHULDOL]HDVSODQQHG7KLVULVNFDQUXQ into multiple millions of dollars under a “worst case.” A single impact of that size would greatly diminish the Society’s reserves and challenge our sustainability. Pre-pandemic, such DQRXWFRPHZDVDQHVRWHULFWKRXJKWH[HUFLVH7RGD\QRWVRPXFK$QGQRLQVXUDQFHLVQRW coming to the rescue under the vast majority of these circumstances. (DFKHYHQWLVLWVRZQVWRU\'XULQJZHKDYHVWDYHGR൵GLVDVWHUE\UHQHJRWLDWLQJ with contract holders, working with our volunteer organizers and participants, pivoting HQGOHVVO\DQGH[SORULQJDOWHUQDWLYHVOLNHSRVWSRQHPHQWVDQGYLUWXDOL]DWLRQ$KKKKWKHUH it is again. The word of 2020: “Virtualization.” Virtualization is a tool that has been long available to event organizers, but it was infrequently used under the old normal as WKHH[SHULHQFHLVQRWWKHVDPHDVPHHWLQJLQSHUVRQWKHORJLVWLFVDUHFRPSOLFDWHGWKH quality of connectivity is variable and unreliable, copyright management becomes more challenging, virtual presentations don’t help satisfy contractual guarantees with host IDFLOLWLHVQHWZ
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