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The 2011 Conference was held at Memorial University June 20-23. Considering the somewhat remote venue in St. John’s it was well attended, with approximately 250 registrants. Six exhibitors were present for the meeting.
The keynote lecture by Dr. Roger Hendrix, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, “Evolution meets structure in the bacteriophage capsid”, opened the Conference on June 20.
Six symposia were subsequently held on the following days:
(I) Tribute to Dr. Roger Knowles
(II) Virology
(III) The Good and Bad in Natural Environments
(IV) Aquatic Microbiology
(V) Phototrophs
(VI) Zoonotic Diseases
The invited speakers in these Symposia were here from 4 different countries: Canada, the USA, France, and Sweden. 147 posters were also presented during 2 poster sessions.
The student mixer was held at Bitters Graduate Pub and featured a mass “Screech-In” ceremony. Fifty or so microbiologists are now considered “Honorary Newfoundlanders”. This was followed by a nightcap on George St. where attendees enjoyed $2 beers and music by The Navigators, a renowned local act.
An optional boat tour in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve was arranged to provide attendees with the opportunity to see some of the local attractions. This was a tremendous success, with a complete sell-out and people looking for last minute tickets. The local whales put on a real show for the 2 full boats of Microbiologists. Some rough seas also lead to unexpected viewings of a few lunches. Technical problems on one boat nearly opened up a lot of Microbiology positions in Canada, but the boat was safely towed back to shore where we all enjoyed Spanish coffees and local lobster.
The conference ended, as always, with the President’s Banquet. The pre-dinner social time and dinner were set to background music by local St. John’s guitarist Michael Hanrahan. Then there was the passing of the Presidency ceremony, which involves giving the new president an appropriate hat. Dr. Ed Topp presented incoming President Dr. Ivan Oresnik with a traditional Newfoundland Sou’wester. Dr. Oresnik began his presidency with a brief speech appealing for CSM members to continue to volunteer for the Society, which is a key to its functioning.
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