The Panhellenic Symposium on Porous Materials (PSPM2020), which hosts the Hellenic InterPore National Chapter (HINC) meeting, has been postponed due to the COVID-19 measures. The same applies for the HINC Kick-off meeting.

The InterPore Newsletter from two weeks ago sparked something exciting. Questions came from around the globe to help understanding the role of protective masks in preventing COVID-19 infections. Experimental results were sent in with a request to distribute the results amongst the InterPore community, just in case someone might be looking for it. Open Access 2.0! It all resulted in a new forum on our website. All details are in this week’s Newsletter.

A number of InterPore members have responded to the article by Noushine Shahidzadeh about face masks that appeared in the last InterPore Newsletter. Readers from Spain and Puerto Rico were interested in particular details of face masks, hoping to be able to produce safe masks themselves with local resources, given the global scarcity. Also, Dr. Roland Lennormand from France informed us that he has been studying masks by performing measurements on the permeability of FFP2 masks after a few ethanol cleaning cycles, so as to enable a safe re-use of masks.

The COVID-19 pandemic is viewed from many scientific viewpoints. Apart from causing tremendous misery all around the globe, COVID-19 raises a lot of scientific questions. One of those questions is: Should we all wear facial protective masks?

Wherever you are in the world, it is likely that you are reading the newsletter from home. A considerable part of the world is now in lock-down, either mandatory or self-imposed. The InterPore Executive Committee reflects on this and looks ahead. Meanwhile, online meetings are booming and so our InterPore community continues to work, for example with the kick-off meeting of the Financial Committee.

Strange times, these days! Our modus operandi is meeting each other for fruitful discussions, yet the spread of the novel coronavirus is requiring us to do exactly the opposite. Fortunately, China is seeing a decline of the virus, and hopefully, the rest of the world will soon follow suit, so we can look forward to our rescheduled InterPore2020 meeting.

Dear InterPore friends, 

The InterPore board has made the tough decision to postpone the annual conference after weighing all the different options. In the end, we want a safe and enjoyable event with a relaxed atmosphere and undivided attention to each others scientific achievements

Due to rising concerns of the development of the Coronavirus outbreak, the annual InterPore conference scheduled to be held 24 - 29 May 2020 has been postponed until 30 August - 4 September 2020. The location of the conference at the Shangri-La Hotel in Qingdao, China remains the same. The Executive Committee has reached this decision after careful consideration of various options, and in consultation with the Local Organizing Committee.

Editorial Dear 

InterPore friends, Just like our understanding of porous media evolves over time, InterPore itself evolves as well. This year, we introduce a new award: The Rien van Genuchten Early-Career Award. Please help us find a fantastic young scientist for the award’s first. Also, thanks to generous donations from our community, we can offer travel grants to InterPore2020. Please apply before the deadline of 16 March.