I am sorry that there were no posts for a while. However, I think I can blame it on being busy planning an exciting scientific programme; enticing poster sessions and enjoyable social events!
If you haven’t done so yet, visit the NIR 2011 website and take a look at the detailed preliminary programme (http://www.nir2011.org/programme/index.php). For your convenience we also included a ‘at a glance’ programme. Within the next week we will also publish the list of posters, to be presented, on the website.
Confirmed keynote speakers are prof Heinz Siesler and prof Rudolf Kessler, both from Germany. While prof Kessler will take ‘Imaging beyond the diffraction limit’ and discuss prospectives for the NIR, Prof Siesler will give us the latest information on ‘Portable spectrometers for Raman, MIR and NIR’. I am also sure that nobody wants to miss the keynotes by Dr Daniel Thomas from South Africa and Prof Hideo Itozaki from Japan. Dr Thomas will share with us his recent NIR spectroscopy work on fossil antelope bone from South Africa. Prof Itozaki will tell us more about his ‘NIR liquid scanner for detection of explosives at airports’. But this is only the start of a very exciting scientific programme. I am sure that you will find many more interesting talks that you do not want to miss! They will all be there; the well known; the not so well known; also a few new kids on the block. None to be missed though!
Not to forget is that equally exciting research will be presented as poster presentations. The posters will be displayed in the Sponsors’ Exhibition area. This means maximum exposure; the posters can be viewed during the tea/coffee and lunch breaks as well as during the poster sessions scheduled on the programme. The plan currently is that all posters will be displayed for at least two consecutive days.
I have to stress that it was only with the help of the dedicated scientific committee that it was possible to put together this most exciting programme. I again thank the scientific committee for the time they have put into reviewing the abstracts. I know there are quite a few authors who can vouch for the dedication and effort of some of the members of the scientific committee!
I hope that you will find the orals and posters to be presented as exciting as we believe it will be!
Finally, a sincere thank you to all the authors for making this possible!
Till we meet at NIR 2011 in Cape Town – and please remember your formal wear for the banquet!
Marena Chair: NIR 2011 and Scientific committee
