Welcome to the CERF 2021 Conference Site!

Planning for CERF's 50th Anniversary

The CERF 2021 biennial conference represents an important milestone in the history of our federation, as it will occur on the 50^th anniversary of CERF’s founding. Planning for CERF 2021 is now taking place at a unique moment in the world with the intersectional challenges of the global COVID-19 health pandemic and global attention to social justice and anti-racism led by the Black Lives Matter movement. As we tune into the theme of “Celebrating our Past, Charting our Future”, we must grapple with and take responsibility for the ways that racism and bias have shaped our Federation, and innovate and advance our work into a future that is not only inclusive, but also seeks to openly acknowledge the legacy these systems have left within our field, our institutions, and the communities we work with. These are important conversations we are having now at CERF, and will be at the center of CERF 2021.

We are also organizing a meeting in a future with a great deal of uncertainty regarding public health and COVID-19. Hope is ever-present, largely due to our fellow scientists in the biomedical fields. Their commitment to moving us forward with modeling, treatments, and vaccines inspires us to keep moving onward in our own coastal and estuarine research, including the opportunity to gather and share cutting edge progress at CERF 2021. At this time, the CERF 2021 planning committee is organizing a hybrid in-person and virtual meeting, anticipating that some participants may not be able to travel to Richmond. Our amazing volunteer conference planning team and CERF Governing Board are working hard to consider the best options, and to have a contingency plan in place should the meeting need to take place entirely online. We welcome your feedback, good ideas, and experiences in virtual conferences or hybrid meetings.