The Benefits of In-Person Conversations at Conferences

One of the benefits of attending professional conferences is that it facilitates networking and interpersonal communication. Conference attendees have the chance to interact with their colleagues and fellow industry professionals under one roof.

The Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry is no different. Held at the El Conquistador Tucson Resort in Tucson, Arizona, the Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry brings together 500+ attendees from over 30 countries to discuss the latest trends and advancements in plasma sources for atomic spectroscopy (1). Invited speakers will also have the opportunity to present their research.

Hunter Andrews, an R&D Staff Scientist in the Isotope Applications Research Group within the Radioisotopes Science and Technology Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is one of those invited speakers. Recently, Andrews sat down with Spectroscopy to talk about the upcoming conference program, and why the Winter Conference will be an ideal setting to connect with colleagues (2).

Spectroscopy: What are you looking forward to at the Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry?

Hunter Andrews: I'm really excited for the entire thing. I've had the privilege of being part of the organization staff putting it together, so I've gotten kind of a behind the scenes view the entire year leading up to this. We went through the program after it was published a week or so ago. I don't think there's a day that I'm not excited to see some talks. So, I think I'm just really excited to get there in person. You know, it's an exciting meeting that happens every other year in the United States; I get to reunite with some peers and hopefully meet and make some new friends. I think my favorite thing about these conferences is just chatting through ideas, learning new science, and chatting through ideas with it. It's easy to sit in your room or office in isolation and try to brainstorm ideas, right? But it's amazing just how much a five-minute conversation can change your mindset about things. I think that's what I'm really most excited for.

This video clip is the second part of our conversation with Andrews. To stay up to date on our coverage of the Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, click here.

References

1. IASA, Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry. IASA. Available at: https://iasa.world/winter-plasma-conference (accessed 2026-01-05).
2. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Hunter B. Andrews. ORNL.gov. Available at: https://www.ornl.gov/staff-profile/hunter-b-andrews (accessed 2026-01-05).