The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the world’s leading professional society dedicated to the advancement of the entire aerospace community, announced today that all of its events moving forward will offer attendees and industry partners the added benefit of participating online.
Annually, AIAA brings together more than 10,000 engineers, researchers, business leaders, investors, national security officials, policymakers, and journalists across its events portfolio. The rapid impact of the coronavirus pandemic on travel restrictions and event cancellations in 2020 accelerated AIAA’s transition to a hybrid live- and virtual-event model.
“For our civilization to thrive on this planet and beyond, the advancement of aerospace research and commerce must be constant,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “By investing in high-quality virtual event experiences for the aerospace community, we’re making sure there will always be a platform for technical science to be presented and debated, informed policy and economic discussions, and a fertile marketplace for business.”
The additional virtual event capability will expand the organization’s reach not only to more members of the aerospace industry, but also to adjacent communities and industries, such as construction, mining, automotive, healthcare, retail, and logistics, who may not be as familiar with the mission of AIAA and its members.
“This new online solution for attending and sponsoring meetings will spur innovation because it will allow more of our members, as well as those who might not otherwise engage with AIAA, to do so in a convenient and cost-effective way,” Dumbacher said. “We are excited about the prospect of this innovation bringing fresh thinking and nontraditional voices into the conversation with our members of the aerospace community.”
To date, 10 AIAA events have been cancelled or rescheduled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The virtual platform is a valuable contingency plan moving forward should any of the in-person portions of AIAA events be affected, said Dumbacher, adding networking opportunities are a vital component of AIAA events and are a priority whether the event is virtual, in-person or a hybrid.
A full list of cancelled or rescheduled AIAA events and their status can be found at www.aiaa.org/coronavirus.
