special message

Dear CPU2AL Colleagues, 

With the closure of our universities now nearly 4 weeks old and with Alabama subject to stay-at-home orders in place, most of us have settled into a routine at home. This is complicated no doubt by the many competing demands that are placed upon us as we learn to function remotely as well as meet the competing demands of home life. Your first priority is, of course, the wellbeing of you and your loved ones. The benefit of staying at home is the safety it brings to both you and your community, and so I urge all of you to stay at home. If you have to leave home, maintain safe distancing, wear a mask, minimize your time around others, and wash hands frequently. We will in time get through this although we are likely to return to a world very much changed.

In the meantime, I am happy to report that to the best of my knowledge, none of the CPU2AL family has suffered any COVID-19 infection and I hope that this can be maintained. We are all continuing with our CPU2AL research activities as best we can, although of course, those running laboratories face great challenges in continuing those activities. However, take the opportunity to analyze your data, write up the results, and submit to your favorite journals. Use Zoom to continue virtual in-person collaborations – several CPU2AL working groups are doing this to great effect so, if you’re not overwhelmed with telecons already (which sadly seems to be the case for a few of us), I invite you to tune in, even if it might not be directly relevant since it will give you an opportunity to broaden your activities and interests a little.

Less happy news is that we have had to cancel all our CPU2AL summer programs (the International Space Weather Camp, CIPPTA, ALPIP, and ALREU) since the uncertainty of how long the State and the country itself will be subject to stay-at-home restrictions, and more critically when it will be safe for people to travel and engage in groups makes it impossible to plan for summer programs that begin in late May. The safety of our students and mentors is paramount and we must not imperil anyone by trying to restart our programs too soon. We will have the time and opportunity next year to reengage and even expand these programs.

Please reach out to me or any of our CPU2AL Management Team if you have questions, ideas for collaboration or engagement, suggestions for how to get through the next month(s), even share tips for managing stress, etc. We are always happy to hear from you. We intend to keep CPU2AL running as closely to plan as possible in the meantime, subject to the extraordinary difficulties the State, country, and we individually are facing.

Stay well and healthy!

 

All the best,
Gary