The rapidly evolving information on COVID-19 has created extraordinary challenges for the TMS community. This resource provides a summary of what TMS is doing to address this situation.
Upcoming TMS Meetings
The strength of TMS is its ability to convene scientists and engineers across disciplines to learn, network, and exchange knowledge critical to the advancement of materials technologies. Starting in June through September 2020, TMS is organizing or supporting an array of international technical meetings that enable this work. Travel restrictions and containment strategies to address COVID-19 are being adopted at all levels and are, out of necessity, frequently unspecific as to when they will end. Within this context, we are reviewing each event’s unique situation and working closely with our volunteer meeting organizers to be assured that we can deliver the kind of essential experience to which the materials community has become accustomed. Our commitment is to work hard to ensure that all 2020 TMS-organized meetings proceed, although date postponements may be necessary.
Download the letter from Tom Battle, TMS President, and James J. Robinson, TMS Executive Director, on how TMS is addressing the COVID-19 situation.
Guiding Principles
As we examine the particular considerations for each of our meetings, we will make our decisions and take action within the context of the following guiding principles.
- The health, safety and comfort of our meeting attendees, TMS members, and staff is our primary concern in our decision-making.
- Any individual who has traveled from, to or through any country or region that has been placed on the restricted travel list by the U.S. government—inclusive of both federal and state governments—within 14 days of a TMS meeting or activity will be prohibited from attending that TMS meeting or activity.
- We will follow all Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization guidance.
- We are working with our venues to arrange access to health care professionals to respond to attendee concerns and support routine preventive health care measures.
- We are also working with our meeting venues to ensure access to hand sanitizer, as well as additional and extensive cleaning and sanitation of high traffic and public areas that will be frequented by our attendees.
- We are developing both onsite signage and website resources for each meeting on preventing the spread of communicable disease, along with a list of local health care resources.
- We will waive cancellation fees for all our meetings scheduled from May 2020 through September 2020, to provide maximum flexibility for our attendees’ planning.
- If a decision is made to reschedule a meeting, we will immediately notify our presenters and registrants with refund information and guidance on housing cancellations or rebooking.
TMS Meetings That Are Being Monitored
If you are a presenter, a registrant or potential registrant for any of the following TMS-organized meetings, please visit that meeting’s website for updates specific to that event’s situation:
TMS also co-sponsors or provides contract work to an array of other meetings. You can review the full list on our Upcoming Meetings page.
Stay Connected
While the current travel restrictions and containment strategies are in force, remember that, as a TMS Member, you still have access to a broad, international community at your convenience. To get started, please log in to the Access Member Benefits section of the TMS website. There, you can browse the TMS Membership Directory for contacts, download the most current work published in TMS journals, and explore other ways that you can learn and share information with your colleagues during these difficult times and long after the COVID-19 outbreak has faded away.
Most importantly, please do not hesitate to reach out to TMS directly if you have any questions or concerns regarding how COVID-19 might affect your engagement as a TMS member or meeting attendee. You can contact us at members@tms.org or by calling 1-800-759-4867 (U.S. and Canada) or 1-724-776-9000 (All other countries).