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What do the Woodstock music festival and Nature have in common? They both celebrated notable anniversaries in 2019. The iconic music event, held in Bethel, New York, took place 50 years ago; the journal was founded 100 years earlier.
Both have also filtered into the public consciousness: the structure of DNA, published in Nature, is arguably as well known as Jimi Hendrix’s famed performance of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ that closed the Woodstock festival.
Finally, both the festival and Nature’s anniversary are covered in the 2020 Events Guide.
The guide has events listings for many of the conferences available to researchers over the coming year, and aims to help the process of networking and collaboration.
Included is a comparison between scientific conferences of 150 years ago and the issues that organizers face today. We also explore how individuals with disabilities are finding conferences suited to their needs and advocating for change in those meetings that don’t do enough. And we speak to one meeting organizer who hopes to host the ‘Woodstock of Biology’ next year. There will be walk-up songs for presenters, but no word yet on any iconic guitar performances.
See go.nature.com/eventsguide for more coverage and advice on how to get the most from conferences.
We hope you enjoy reading our guide, and that you succeed in any conferences you attend in 2020.
How the scientific meeting has changed since Nature’s founding 150 years ago
Ways to make meetings accessible
From social media to conference social
