The 78th GASG Colloquium on Particles and Aerosols will now be available online

Particulate matter and aerosols will be the subject of the Gas Analysis and Sensing Group’s Christmas Colloquium to be held on Thursday 3rd December 2020. Planned talks include the spread of transmissible diseases by exhaled aerosols, evidence supporting the two metre rule and the spread of TB in workspaces. Other topics include ultrafine particles, the Iceland volcano and emissions from wildfires and volcanoes. The colloquium will be a hybrid meeting including both on-line and face-to-face attendance in central London, if safety allows.

Dr John Saffell, colloquium chair, explained: “We know that gases generate secondary particles and are the source of much of our atmospheric Particulate Matter. There is a great deal in common between the gas sensing and the particle and aerosol sensing communities. The goal of this meeting is to bring together people working in sensor development, emissions modelling and pollution monitoring from both industry and academia. We want to discuss important topics of the day, including covid-19, urban pollution and climate change.”

The GASG organising committee decided recently that future colloquia will be held online for the foreseeable future, with the option of hybrid meetings (ie including face-to-face meetings) for some meetings when possible. An online-only colloquium was held in June for group members for the first time, discussing gas sensing in defence and security. The group’s chair, Dr Jane Hodgkinson, said “GASG has always fostered a friendly and welcoming culture and I was pleased to see that this came across in the online meeting. Our members are a valuable resource and we have taken their feedback on board for our next colloquium.” Group members can now access online meetings at no extra charge and others are welcome to attend individual meetings for a fee. She continued: “This is an excellent opportunity for us to widen access and promote inclusion for attendees who would otherwise be prevented from joining meetings because of other commitments or long journeys, including from overseas. It also offers our members free online technical training in the current state of the art, for additional staff. For example, in my team we encourage our PhD students to attend, broadening their horizons and developing both specific and general technical skills.”

Organisations and individuals wishing to attend the colloquium should contact by email.