WAMI delayed is not WAMI denied

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I was sorry to see the announcement that WAMICON 2020 had been canceled – sorry….. combined with WAMICON 2021.  According to the Conference organizers, “…the WAMICON 2020 Conference will be combined with WAMICON 2021.  The Conference will remain in the same location (Clearwater Beach, FL), with the new dates in March/April 2021 to be announced later.  Papers accepted in WAMICON 2020 will be presented alongside WAMICON 2021 papers.”

 

While you may not have heard about WAMI, it is a fabulous, well run, smaller Conference held in Florida each year.  WAMI stands for Wireless and Microwave Information and was born from the University of South Florida’s WAMI Center that was founded in 1997.  In addition to a top-flight Technical Program and the 20 or so exhibitors, WAMI’s real gem is relationship building among those in attendance.  To borrow a phrase from Dr. Larry Dunleavy, the relationships or “WAMI magic” is a significant reason this small show has such a loyal following.  WAMI is one of my favorite Conferences in our industry.

 

Typically held in April, WAMI fell victim to the ongoing COVID pandemic and a decision was made in February to move the Conference to a December date.  Those of us on the Steering Committee were hoping that the global situation would be back to “normal” by then and the Conference could proceed, albeit it delayed.  Regrettably, that was not the case, and the decision was made to push forward with plans for 2021.

 

I encourage you to visit the WAMI website (https://www.ieeewamicon.org/) to see what the buzz is all about, and I look forward to seeing you there in 2021.