SAMPE North America cancels 2021 conference, new technical platform in development

Out of concern for the health and safety of its valued event participants, the Society of the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE, Diamond Bar, Calif., U.S.) decided as of Jan. 13 to officially cancel the 2021 SAMPE Conference and Exhibition, scheduled for May 24-27, 2021, in Long Beach, California. The organization shares in the disappoint of exhibitors and attendees, and eagerly awaits the opportunity to bring the community back together and in person.

“As a leadership team, we have closely monitored the evolving COVID-19 situation and the response to it,” says Tim Shaughnessy, president, SAMPE North America. “Ultimately, it became clear that we will not be able to hold a May event of the same caliber as previous SAMPE Conference and Exhibitions. We’re confident that canceling is the right decision, based on the information available. Connectivity and knowledge exchange are the core of our annual live event. Until we can offer a safe way for our industry partners to interact face-to-face, we will develop new opportunities to engage our audience.”

One of the ways that we SAMPE organizers plan to fulfill that objective is through the launch of a new technical community platform designed specifically for professionals in the global advanced materials and process industries. By providing a space for the community to make connections with vetted peers in private sector, government and academia; share research and solutions; access the latest developments through SAMPE and industry content; and collaborate with partners to improve their businesses, SAMPE says it will continue to foster growth and innovation in this field.

“We know that progress can’t wait,” says Zane Clark, CEO, SAMPE North America. “Whether we interact at an in-person event or virtually, our commitment is to provide innovative solutions that offer meaningful business and information exchange. SAMPE was founded to find solutions to current manufacturing and materials issues through an industry-government-academic network, and we will continue to do so. Our community is a collection of problem solvers — not having the ability to gather in person is simply another problem for us to solve. We’re already well on our way to achieving that goal.”

Updates about the new technical community platform and future events will be shared soon. SAMPE’s team will reach out directly to SAMPE 2021 exhibitors with information about opportunities within the new platform for sponsorship and branding opportunities and/or refund options. Please direct any questions to info@sampe.org.