PSI’s Annual Retreat typically sees more than 100 scientists, educators and staffers from around the world gather in Tucson for three days of scientific presentations, socializing and meeting new and old friends. The challenges posed by COVID-19 saw this year’s event held virtually, and the retreat was a great success.
The Zoom gathering saw 114 scientists and staff participate in 14 talks from new PSI members, 12 breakout sessions, five poster presentations, 63 lightning rounds where participants had 60 seconds to describe their work, a cooking demo, a wine tasting and a virtual social gathering where nine people were presented chairs for their 10th anniversary at PSI.
The complex logistics of linking so many people was handled by PSI’s IT team, who were able to overcome some minor glitches with Zoom to keep the event running smoothly.
