The Z Files: Get Ready for a Texas-Sized National Meeting
It isn’t often that I get to share breaking news in this column, so I’m very excited to announce that the next FLC National Meeting will be April 9-11, 2024, in Dallas Texas. And boy do we have Texas-sized plans for this event.
As some of you may know, 2024 is the FLC’s 50th Anniversary year, so you can expect some next-level celebrations at the beautiful Sheraton Dallas Hotel—not least of which will be a very special Awards Ceremony. Cowboy hats are optional, but as you can see, I’ve already got mine.
But that’s not all. Since it’s such a special occasion, we’ve also arranged for you to experience a total eclipse of the sun if you arrive the day before the meeting starts. Seriously, the meeting location will be in the path of totality for nearly four minutes on April 8. See more details from our friends at NASA: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses/2024/apr-8-total/where-when/
We have just opened the Call for Topics, so please submit your Anniversary-worthy proposals for sharing your ideas and expertise with the federal tech transfer community. We will again have a full day of training courses to open the meeting, along with two full days of relevant sessions on topics of interest to you as a professional. We are also bringing back the popular Demo Room to showcase some of our new and improved FLC resources.
One of those upgraded resources is LabTech in Your Life. If you have not seen the revamped platform yet, it really is worth a look! The new version uses high quality realistic animation rather than photographs and video for a fresher look and technology that is much easier to expand beyond the existing Home and Airport versions. We are looking to build out an FLC city, with a hospital experience up next. If your lab has commercialized any technologies that might be found in a hospital, submit now to be part of this new opportunity.
You also have just one week left to get your submissions in for the 2024 FLC Planner (it looks amazingly like a calendar). While so many things have gone digital, it is interesting how popular the glossy, printed Planner remains. We still have a high demand for the initial print run, and I am amazed how many people still pick them up from the FLC booth at various events. It is a nice way to highlight your federal lab success stories. We even send them to Congress.
Speaking of Congress, the annual FLC Report to Congress will be released this summer. We use that report to showcase technology transfer and highlight the great work that is done by the member labs. In addition to LabTech in Your Life and the Planner, we’ll highlight the redesigned website, the Learning Center, Labs in Action success stories and of course the FLC Awards.
And that’s another opportunity to take advantage of right now—the Call for Awards submissions opened last Monday! The October 13 deadline may seem far off, but I do encourage you to submit as soon as possible to have a chance at being recognized in the special ceremony we’re planning to have in Dallas. In addition to Excellence in Technology Transfer and other categories you’re familiar with, we are adding an Outstanding Researcher/Small Research Team Award category and a Regional Technology Transfer Award category, which will be part of the National Meeting ceremony. A full list of categories, criteria, instructions for submitting and even some helpful tips are available at: https://federallabs.org/flc-highlights/awards/2024-flc-awards.
But wait, there’s more! The next two months will feature a full slate of webinars, Member Connect sessions, Lab Showcases, and tech focused events planned. As always, you can get information from the FLC Updates section of the Digest and on the website: Use this link or click on “Events” in the top navigation bar on any page of the site.
I wish you a great rest of your summer and hope to see you in Dallas!