During October 3 – 5, 2007 the 2nd International Masters Class on Acute Respiratory Failure was held in Rotterdam honoring the retirement of Professor Bruchard Lachmann from Erasmus University of Rotterdam where he has served since 1991 when he escaped form East Berlin. Dr. Lachman is one of the pioneers in acute lung injury research having taken the Open Lung approach introduced by our own Professor Emeritus James V. Snyder, MD and making it his cause celebe. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the organizers invited 48 of the major players in acute lung injury over the past 20 years. A virtual who’s who in the field were present, including most every senior investigator or keynote speaker at major congresses in the USA and around the world, such as SCCM, ASA, ATS, ESICM and ACCP. Professor Michael R. Pinsky, MD of our CCM Department was honored to have been included in this invitation list. His lecture entitled “Cardiovascular insufficiency due to initiation and withdrawal of mechanical ventilation” forms the physiological basis for the present day cardiovascular management of patients with acute lung injury. “I was profoundly impressed by the shear number of superb investigators who gathered under one roof,” said Dr. Pinsky, “Such a gathering happens rarely if at all these days and the program they created was inspiring in its scope and depth of understanding. It is an honor to be considered in the same breath with such established and proven clinical investigators.”