Desperate astronomers to invade Washington
Oct. 2nd, 2009 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
astra_nomerYesterday was the deadline to submit abstracts for January's AAS meeting in Washington, DC. Accordingly, I whipped up my abstract yesterday afternoon and submitted it, noting that the website was behaving awfully sluggishly.
I ought to have procrastinated a little more because a couple of hours later, they extended the deadline until Monday.
It seems that they are expecting record turnout at this meeting, so maybe 4000 people? You might interpret this to mean that with the successful Hubble Servicing Mission and the launches of Herschel and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter this year, astronomy is really booming and this meeting should be really exciting.
Unless you're a cynic like me.
What's the real reason people flock to the AAS January meeting? Why is it so much bigger than the summer meeting? Because it's the place to go and present when you're on the job market. By the summer meeting, hiring season is over. What with the number of cancelled job searches last year and the paltry number currently being advertised on the AAS Job Register, I have the feeling that this AAS meeting is going to be awash with desperate astronomers like me, all but holding up signs saying, "WILL REDUCE DATA FOR FOOD."
I ought to have procrastinated a little more because a couple of hours later, they extended the deadline until Monday.
It seems that they are expecting record turnout at this meeting, so maybe 4000 people? You might interpret this to mean that with the successful Hubble Servicing Mission and the launches of Herschel and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter this year, astronomy is really booming and this meeting should be really exciting.
Unless you're a cynic like me.
What's the real reason people flock to the AAS January meeting? Why is it so much bigger than the summer meeting? Because it's the place to go and present when you're on the job market. By the summer meeting, hiring season is over. What with the number of cancelled job searches last year and the paltry number currently being advertised on the AAS Job Register, I have the feeling that this AAS meeting is going to be awash with desperate astronomers like me, all but holding up signs saying, "WILL REDUCE DATA FOR FOOD."
