The AMS Severe Local Storms 2016 program chairs and committee planned several special events in Portland. Summaries of a few of these events can be found below. Thank you and we hope you enjoyed your time in Portland!
Research Techniques Tutorial
A research techniques tutorial session took place on Tuesday evening (tentatively at 7:30pm Pacific) at the conference hotel meeting space. The tutorial was presented by experts in a variety of observational, modeling, data assimilation, and other state-of-the-art techniques frequently used in severe storms research. The goal of this presentation was to provide a "research-tools-for-dummies" approach for students and professionals to learn about what tools are available for their research, who they can contact to get started using them, and to get acquainted with methods and jargon that was discussed in talks during the week.
Early-Career Professional Networking Event*
An informal social gathering took place Nov. 9, 2016, from 8-11 pm at the Yardhouse (located just a couple of blocks from the Portland Hotel at, Pioneer Place, 888 SW 5th Avenue, Portland, OR 97204) for early-career professionals. AMS recognizes “Early Career Professionals” as scientists who are within ten years of having earned their highest degrees, as well as those who are still in the early stage of their careers but have seen these interrupted for up to 5-10 years by family leaves, military service, and the like. This was an opportunity to chat with several invited professionals in established careers about job trajectories and to get advice on career building opportunities beyond typical job duties. Food and beverages was available for purchase at the selected venue by attendees.
Women’s Dinner*
All women who attended the conference were welcomed to attend at Southpark Seafood (901 Southwest Salmon Street, Portland, OR 97205 - only a 3 minute walk from hotel), this event started at 7:30pm on Nov. 10, 2016. This was an opportunity to connect with your fellow female colleagues at the conference in a fun, informal setting. Food and beverages were available for purchase at the selected venue.