PetroStrat is proud to be the host sponsor for the next International Nannoplankton Association (INA) meeting, INA 19 Conwy. This is truly an honour for us,as this is the first time an applied scientific company has hosted an INA conference.
We look forward to welcoming nannoplankton researchers from around the world to beautiful North Wales!
What is the International Nannoplankton Association (INA)?
The International Nannoplankton Association (INA) is a scientific organisation for researchers around the world who study nannoplankton. This includes organisms like coccolithophores, nannoliths, calcispheres, and silicoflagellates. The INA was founded in 1985 and from its inception, the goal was the promotion of nannoplankton research.
The INA conference is held biennially, hosted at various picturesque locales all over the world. Last year’s event was held in Avignon, in the south of France. This is only the second time the INA has visited the UK; the last time was in 1987! The conference may accommodate up to 150 international scientists from environmental research, applied industrial science, and academia.
How we came to host this exciting meeting
The wheels were set in motion in 2022, at the previous INA meeting in France. Two of our nannopalaeontologists, were approached as potential candidates to host the next conference. Simon Cole, who helped put the initial proposal together, says:
We were approached by the INA committee at Avignon to see if PetroStrat/North Wales would be interested in hosting INA 19, in 2024. This is something that had been discussed previously, with a wealth of nannoplankton workers in a relatively small area. It would be a great honour and privilege to host such a large-scale event, so we decided to go for it.
Fabio and I put together a proposal; we were up against potential hosts from Budapest and Puerto Rico! The vote was cast by the INA members, and we won our bid to host!
What you can expect at INA 19 Conwy
With only 6 months to go, the conference is now starting to take shape. Simon Cole and Tamsin Lawrence busy behind the scenes; venues have been booked, bespoke conference menus are being crafted and field trips planned.
- INA 19 Conwy will be held over a week from the 7th to the 15th September
- The conference venue in Llandudno, the St George’s Hotel, is a Victorian seafront hotel
- Four days of cutting-edge science and workshops, covering all aspects of nannoplankton research
- Exploring localities within beautiful Conwy County. There are three field trips being planned; to the Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Môn), the Great Orme in Llandudno and a residential three day field trip to the Snowdonia (Eryri) National park to discover local geology, the UNESCO Welsh slate landscape, the landscapes around the Welsh Gold deposits and visits to at least one of the numerous medieval castles that dot the landscapes.
INA 19 promises to be an exciting event, hosting world leading researchers and acting as a catalyst to ignite passionate discussions about all-things nannofossil. PetroStrat is looking forward welcoming everyone to our beautiful home in Conwy, North Wales.
