INA12 in Lyon (6-10 September 2008) was a resounding success. The meeting was attended by 118 people from 28 countries and included academics, MSc and PhD students and industrial micropalaeontologists. Talks, posters and workshops were held over three days and a field excursion to the Vocontian Basin followed over a further three. Social events included an icebreaker at the University, a conference dinner in downtown Lyon (followed by dancing on the Rhone – you had to be there!), and a mayoral reception at the splendid Town Hall in Villeurbanne. The serious business of geology and wine was tackled in Beaumes de Venise (yes they must be mixed!). Our hosts, Emanuela Mattioli and Fabienne Giraud and their team, are owed our heartfelt thanks.
Despite missing our beloved INA President, David Watkins, through unforeseen circumstances, the formal proceedings were guided by our past-President, Woody Wise, and an INA business meeting discussed a number of issues, which we will circulate in more detail at a later date. In summary, a vote was taken on the venue for the next INA meeting and INA13 (2010) will take place in Yamagata, Japan (conference organiser, Ric Jordan) and INA14 (2012) in Cluj Napoca, Romania (conference organiser, Carmen Chira). It was announced that Paul Bown was to be our next President, and we also initiated the process of voting for two new INA Council members-at-large, as Giuliana Villa and Alyssa Peleo-Alampay have served their four-year term. We already have nominations for these positions (Ric Jordan, Emanuela Mattioli, Patrizia Ziveri, Mara Cortés, Kyoko Hagino), but a further call for nominations will go out in the next few weeks. Our thanks go to David, Giuliana and Alyssa for their great service to the INA.
Our webmeister, Jeremy Young, is off to sea for the next month or so, but on his return we will post more details on the website and circulate information concerning the use of the Nannotax website for conducting INA business and communicating with the membership.
Finally, the following prizes were awarded: for best student talk, Christina Castellato (Milan), with runners-up Guillame Suan (Lyon) and Mariame Saavedra-Pellitero (Salamanca); and best student poster, Damien Carcel (Lyon), with runners-up Alejandra Mejía-Molina (Salamanca) and Letizia Reggiani (Lyon).
Paul Bown
