Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It is with huge pleasure that I invite you to come and join us in Glasgow for the 41st Annual ICS Meeting. This invite and the welcome you will receive comes not only from myself and the Local Organising Committee, but from all ICS members in Scotland and indeed the UK. It will be 24 years since the ICS meeting was last held on these shores and we are all delighted that it is returning here again.
Few cities have the honour of hosting the ICS meeting for a second time, so it is a great thrill for me to be able to bring the meeting back to Glasgow some 36 years since Eric Glen chaired the 5th annual ICS meeting here back in 1975. Eric will join us at the meeting and it is fitting that he, Norman Zinner, Ted Arnold will launch their book on the history of the ICS on what will be the 40th anniversary of the inaugural meeting.
Many of you will be familiar with the excellent meeting facilities we have here in the shape of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre situated on the banks of the Clyde, close to the city centre, the conference hotels and all local amenities. It is a large, modern, well equipped and comfortable conference venue, capable of delivering everything required for a great meeting.
Glasgow, once the ‘second city of the empire’ remains a large, vibrant, multicultural city with a range of pleasures to entertain the visitor. Our historic ship building heritage can be seen and felt from the venue and most of the conference hotels. Museums, art galleries, restaurants abound and a friendly welcome is guaranteed in Scotland’s largest city. Scotland hosts a huge number of recreational opportunities for you to enjoy before or after the conference. Loch Lomond is 30 minutes away and wider afield there is more fabulous scenery to explore.
The social programme will have a distinctly Scottish feel, and the Gala dinner will give delegates the chance to try their hand at Scottish Country Dancing in a ceilidh setting. Never fear, there will be lessons provided during the conference for those who wish some training. You will even have the opportunity to hire full Highland dress! The Gala dinner will have a Burns theme, and Scottish music will be on show at the Welcome Reception where there will be ample opportunity to rekindle old acquaintances and meet new friends.
The Scientific Committee are working extremely hard to provide an excellent scientific programme which I can guarantee will be up to the very high standard we continue to enjoy in our Society. Three days of the best of original research will follow two days of workshops.
I very much hope you will take this opportunity to visit Scotland and I look forward to meeting you in Glasgow in August.
Sincerely,
Ian Ramsay
ICS 2011 Chair