THIRD ANNOUNCEMENT


FEBRUARY 2000

SPONSORS

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lunar and Planetary Institute
NASA Johnson Space Center

CHAIRS

Carl B. Agee
NASA Johnson Space Center

David C. Black
Lunar and Planetary Institute

Where and When Registration
Meeting Format Hotel Reservations
Special Sessions Conference Shuttle Service
Stephen E. Dwornik Student Awards Message Center
Special Events Forms and Information
   

WHERE AND WHEN

The 31st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference will be held in Houston, Texas, on March 13–17, 2000. Sessions will be held at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and at the University of Houston–Clear Lake. This announcement contains plans for all scheduled technical and special sessions, invited lectures, and special events.

MEETING FORMAT

Technical Sessions

Technical sessions will be held at the JSC Gilruth Center and at the University of Houston–Clear Lake. Parallel sessions for oral presentations will be held in Room A (104), Room B (the old gym), Room C (the new gym), and Room D (Room 206 upstairs). The poster sessions will be held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings on the main floor of the University of Houston#&150;Clear Lake Bayou Building. The Guide to Technical Sessions and Activities is now available, along with the preliminary program and abstracts.

Presentations

Oral presentations will be scheduled during the conference to allow eight minutes for speaking and seven minutes for discussion and speaker transition. Standard support for dual-screen projection of slides and overheads will be provided in all oral technical sessions. A slide preview area will be available at the Gilruth Center. Speakers should complete the visual-aids schedule and give it to the projectionist at least 15 minutes prior to their talk. VCR images can be projected in Conference Rooms A, B, and C. In Conference Room D, a large-screen video monitor will be available. VCR tapes must be 1/2" VHS or 3/4" U/matic.

Poster presentations will be scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. at the University of Houston–Clear Lake Bayou Building. Maps to the Bayou Building and the parking area available to participants will be provided in your registration packet. Authors of papers selected and scheduled for poster presentations will be asked to be available to display and discuss their results in the poster area during the assigned time period. Shuttle transportation between the Gilruth Center and the University of Houston–Clear Lake will be available. Each poster will have a space 44" x 44" for display. Requests for tables, computers, video equipment, etc., cannot be honored due to the limited space available for poster displays.

SPECIAL SESSIONS

Masursky Lecture

Dr. John Wood of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics will give the special guest lecture at the conference. The Masursky Lecture will be presented in a special plenary session to be held Monday afternoon from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.

NEAR at Eros

The NEAR spacecraft is scheduled to approach Eros early this year and will go into orbit on February 4. Early information, images, and some preliminary data analysis from this mission will be presented by the NEAR team members during a special session of invited talks.

STEPHEN E. DWORNIK STUDENT AWARDS

The Stephen E. Dwornik Planetary Geoscience Student Paper Awards are given for the best U.S. citizen student research presentations at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. The purpose of these awards is to provide encouragement, motivation, and recognition to our most outstanding future planetary scientists. The awards are administered through the Planetary Geology Division of the Geological Society of America. Two awards are given annually: one for an oral presentation and one for a poster presentation. The awards are open to U.S. citizens who are currently enrolled as students at any degree level in the field of planetary geosciences. Postdoctoral fellows are not eligible. The winners of the 1999 awards will be announced at the beginning of the Monday afternoon special session, and will be honored at a reception on Monday at 5:30 p.m. in Conference Room A.

SPECIAL EVENT

The chili cookoff and barbecue dinner will be held on Wednesday, March 17, from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. The form for chili cookoff team entry is due at LPI by February 14, 2000. We anticipate fierce competition again this year for the coveted trophies. The goal of this event is to have fun so join in by entering your team. To encourage both out-of-town and local teams to enter, the winning categories will include:

Because the conference staff cannot provide cooking equipment, the "preparation on site" rules common to most cookoffs will be waived to encourage more team participation. A new rule involves what chili teams may serve during the "chili tasting" by participants. Teams may serve only chili or other food items at their station. Chili teams may NOT serve alcoholic beverages to the conference participants and guests.

Guest ticket for the events will be available at the registration desk for $15 per person.

REGISTRATION

Preregistration

A fee of $50 ($30 for students) will be assessed each participant to cover conference services. You must preregister and prepay by February 18, 2000, to avoid the $20 late fee. Foreign participants who state on the registration form that they have a currency exchange problem may pay in cash at the meeting and avoid the $20 late fee if they return the form by February 18, 2000. You must preregister, via either the electronic form or the downloadable form. Requests for cancellation with a fee refund will only be accepted through March 3, 2000.

NOTE:  Those who fail to attend and do not notify the LPI Publications and Programs Services Department prior to the March 3 deadline will forfeit their full fee.

Sunday Night Registration and Reception

The Sunday night registration and reception will take place at LPI from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. The location is shown on the enclosed map. Shuttle buses will operate from selected hotels to LPI on Sunday night. Parking is limited at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, and a "park-and-ride" service will be provided from a University of Houston–Clear Lake parking lot and the LPI building. A map to the "park-and-ride" lot is available in PDF format.

HOTEL RESERVATIONS

A list of local hotels is provided. Although making reservations is the responsibility of each participant, we have negotiated reduced rates at some locations. When you call a hotel, you must tell them you are attending the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference and ask for the conference rate. There are several new hotels in the area, so long-time conference participants will find that there are now more options available. A map of the local area showing the locations of JSC, LPI, the University of Houston–Clear Lake, and local hotels is available.

CONFERENCE SHUTTLE SERVICE

Conference shuttle buses will provide service between most hotels on the enclosed list (see hotel list for exceptions), the JSC Gilruth Center, LPI, and the University of Houston–Clear Lake. There will be rotational runs in the morning, during lunch, at the close of sessions, and during special events. Shuttle buses will make hourly stops at LPI throughout conference week. Your conference badge will serve as your bus ticket. A detailed shuttle schedule will be provided to all registered participants.

MESSAGE CENTER

A message center will be open at the Gilruth Center from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon during the week of the conference. You may be reached during these hours by telephone at 281-483-0321 and by fax at 281-483-8722. All messages will be posted on the message center board near the conference registration staff desk. Sessions will not be interrupted to deliver messages, except in the event of an emergency.

FORMS AND INFORMATION

For further information, call the LPI Publications and Program Services Department:


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