Reflections on the Annual Meeting by Karsten Thompson

Dear InterPore Members and Friends:

The 2024 InterPore Annual Conference is now in the books, which is a benchmark for the organization as our first conference in China. From my perspective, it was a big success. In important ways it was the same as past InterPore conferences, with excellent technical and networking opportunities, but it also had plenty of local flavor provided by our hosts (literally and figuratively) and was very unique in that way.

A special thanks to the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), who persevered through two pandemic-postponed events, and ensured that the 2024 conference lived up to the original expectations. LOC chairs Jun Yao and Yongfei Yang, in particular, were there continuously, attending to details both large and small. They guided a large committee as well as a squad of brightly outfitted student volunteers who were ready to help at every opportunity. To our official hosts, as well as to all of the InterPore members from China who were unofficial hosts: your hospitality was amazing and was very much appreciated by all of us from abroad – thank you!

I also need to recognize the InterPore staff, who interface with the LOC for every conference, and who are responsible for both the visible and behind-the-scenes logistics. Karolin and Amy were visible because they were onsite. But Sandra, Laura, Margaret, and Kristy were also providing essential support while six time zones away. Together, they handled the typical challenges as well as new challenges ranging from financial transactions to internet firewalls successfully. On behalf of all of InterPore, thank you to our excellent staff!

A fun surprise for many attendees was to see the first issues of the InterPore Journal, which we made available in printed form at the InterPore booth. The standard distribution mode is electronic open access, so if you were not at the conference or missed the printed version, check it out here. Please consider publishing one of your next papers in this venue to help the journal grow into one of the major pillars of InterPore.

Looking ahead: InterPore2025 will be held 19-22 May in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Plan to participate for what is sure to be another outstanding technical conference and a chance to spend time in the historic district of this culturally rich city in the American West. Also, look for an upcoming announcement on the location of the 2026 meeting, and an upcoming call for proposals (from the Americas) to host the 2027 meeting.

Have a safe and healthy summer, and be sure to take advantage of all the InterPore programming and opportunities that will occur between now and next May.

Best regards,
Karsten Thompson
InterPore President