One of the very wonderful meeting formats, not mentioned in your story on the future of scientific meetings,1 was that of Kroc conferences, sponsored by the Kroc Foundation. The meetings allowed only 24 participants and met in the Double Arches Ranch near Solvang, California. There was a free-flowing bar, and ideal arrangements for continuing discussion between participants.
The overall director of the meetings was Bob Kroc, Ray's brother. The last meeting, which I co-organized in 1983, was concerned with the physical chemistry of bile and was attended by 12 chemists and 12 biomedical scientists. Much was accomplished.
When Ray died, his widow, Joan Kroc dissolved the foundation. But those of us who were fortunate enough to take part in these meetings have indelible memories of wonderful exchanges that led to all kinds of collaborations.
Alan F. Hofmann
University of California, San Diego
HofmannAF@cs.com
Meetings also serve the role of networking.1 ...
