Latest News
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 update to registered attendees
Non-Science Activities during ICPP-6
This message is intended primarily for accompanying persons attending ICPP-6 and meeting attendees looking for something to do when they are not attending the sessions.
A formal Accompanying Person program and ICPP6 Excursion has not been arranged but shuttle busses will be available for trips to Santa Fe and other locations on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons as well as during the week on a more limited basis.
The Presidential Suite has been designated as a meeting place for accompanying persons from Monday afternoon through Friday morning and all accompanying persons are invited to attend a "get together" on Monday July 5 starting at 2 p.m. where Carol Sessler and other interested parties can discuss the various options for off site meals and activities in the area, both those which are strenuous and those which are not.
The options for babysitting services using hotel staff or graduate students in need of a few dollars will also be discussed.
In addition to the above, I should call your attention to a Monday night program of Native American Dancers (7-8 p.m.) which is available to all ICPP participants and the Wednesday night (7-10 p.m.) Fiesta (Banquet) which should have been purchased at the time of registration but can still be reserved and paid for at the ICPP desk prior to 8 a.m. Monday morning.
Other non-science activities during the week might include swimming, tennis, golf, ballooning, hiking, shopping, sightseeing and the Santa Ana Star Casino which is a short ride from the resort and lists its non-healthy activities on its website.
Finally, at the resort itself are the 27-hole Santa Ana Golf Course and the 18-hole Twin Warriors Golf Course, home of the 36th annual PGA Golf Championship.
Friday, June 25, 2010 update to registered attendees
Key points which may have been missed earlier are as follows:
1) Hotel Reservations. Contact the hotel (505) 867-1234 and ICPP secretariat if you experience last minute travel delays which will prevent you from checking into the hotel on the day of your reservation. You will still need to pay for the missed night(s) but at least the room will not be cancelled on the following day.
2) Poster Size (about 1.0 meter x 1.0 meter) (see drawing of poster board)
3) Airport Pickup/Return. See numerous earlier messages on Latest News page. Attendees who gave their time of arrival on Friday, Saturday or Sunday will be met in the baggage claim area by someone holding a sign or wearing an ICPP T-Shirt and this person will take you to the ICPP-6 shuttle bus, car or van depending on your time of arrival. The airport is small, and has only one baggage claim area so look for your arranged pickup before deciding to take a cab.
As earlier mentioned, the cost of the ICPP-6 shuttle or car pickup will be $15/person each way and should be paid in cash at the meeting registration desk when you pick up your materials. Please do not forget to handle this in a timely manner. Money will not be collected by the driver.
4) Local Activities. Activities for attendees and/or accompanying persons can be arranged after arrival at the meeting.
5) Local Weather. The temperatures will be high during the day but should cool off at night. (Forecast for July 4 is sunny, high 33 during the day and low 17 C at night. The Sunday night Welcome Reception, Monday night entertainment and Wednesday night banquet are all scheduled outdoors so appropriate "resort casual" clothes is suggested.
6) Banquet on Wednesday. This will be held outdoors at El Pinto Restaurant which is located about 30 minutes from the resort. Tickets may still be purchased on Sunday for those who did not reserve. The food will be local New Mexican/Mexican cuisine and the event might also termed a "Fiesta" as opposed to a Banquet. Again, the dress should be casual and appropriate for an outdoor event.
7) Air Conditioning. The meeting and sleeping rooms of the hotel/resort are all (well) air-conditioned so summer temperatures do not apply to the inside conditions.
8) More on Airport Pickup/Return. If for any reason your airport pickup is not available, you might call the hotel (505) 867-1234 or the company who is handling the shuttles on our behalf. Their contact numbers are given below.
New MexiTour LLC
118 West Calle Montoya
Bernalillo, New Mexico 87004
Telephone: 505-771-3739
Toll Free: 888-355-8687
Email: newmexitour@yahoo.com
Wednesday, June 9, 2010 update to registered attendees
1) The Tamaya meeting hotel is now overbooked and the hotel will stop taking icpp reservations at midnight June 8 Eastern Standard time. Already made reservations can still be viewed and possibly changed through the hotel web page after that date but requests for new reservations must go through the ICPP secretariat who should also be informed of self-made changes.
2) A pdf copy of the final ICPP-6 Program Book is now on the home page of the meeting website and a printed version will be distributed at the meeting.
3) A pdf of the Abstract Book will be placed on the meeting website on June 15 and the same day all meeting attendees will be e-mailed a "code" (from FontisMedia) needed to open the document. A CD of the Abstract Book will be distributed to attendees at the meeting.
4) Flight schedules for those who requested airport pickup or return have been entered into our database and shuttle busses should be available at the time of arrival unless you hear otherwise. A detailed bus pickup schedule will be placed on this "Latest News" section of the website and we will attempt to contact individuals where might be a problem.
5) All accompanying persons, including children, must be registered with the conference in order to stay at the meeting hotel. Thus attendees who decide at the last minute to bring an unregistered family member or significant other should first inform the ICPP secretariat so that there are no misunderstandings or difficulties at the time of arrival.
Friday, June 4, 2010 update to registered attendees
1) A final version of the ICPP-6 Program Book with times of all talks and posters was placed on the meeting website earlier today and will be sent to the printer on Monday for preparing the paper copies.
http://www.icpp-spp.org/
2) The full Abstract Book will also be made available to participants for viewing or downloading from the meeting website in early June.
3) Most meeting attendees in need of transportation from the airport have sent me their flight schedules and the busses will be scheduled to pick up most if not all arrivals from early morning to fairly late at night on July 3 and July 4. We will also attempt to accommodate individuals who arrive at other times.
4) Busses will be arranged for the departures, using the airline schedules sent to us. Again, we will attempt to accommodate all attendees, many of whom have very early morning flights. Details on the pick up and return schedules will be placed on the meeting website in the next few weeks.
5) No scientific sessions are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday afternoon and a list of possible activities during these times will be placed on the website prior to the meeting. Several ICPP Shuttle busses will be available to transport people to Santa Fe, Albuquerque or other places of interest during the week of the meeting.
6) If you have not done so already, please look in detail at the various links on our meeting website, including this "Latest News" page which is updated regularly and the two pages with important information on the Handbook of Porphyrin Science and the Journal of Porphyrins and Phtahlocyanines (JPP), both published under the auspices of SPP and World Scientific Publishing Company, a generous sponsor of our meeting.
7) The booking of additional hotel nights, either before or after the meeting is still possible although the last date for making a new reservation at the discounted meeting rate is contractually set as June 9. However, I will try to hold a few rooms for any late registrants who decide at the last minute to attend the meeting.
Sincerely
Karl Kadish
meeting co-organizer.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 update to registered attendees
A preliminary copy of the ICPP-6 Program Book with times of all talks and posters was placed on the meeting website yesterday and this draft was replaced by a slightly updated revised version today.
The next two days will be spent correcting serious typos, adding a few missing Chairs to sessions and compiling an author index and by the middle of next week the completed Program and accompanying Abstract Book will be sent to the publisher in their final form.
The full Abstract Book will also be made available to participants for viewing or downloading from the meeting website in early June.
Most authors have carefully checked the content of their abstract before submission but significantly less time was spent in verifying the order or affiliation of authors which was sometimes rapidly (and incorrectly) entered into the ICPP database by a student or secretary doing the submission. For this reason, the actual abstract should be considered the definitive document in cases where one of the co-authors has been left off of the list of contributors when completing the accompany abstract submission forms which were used in compiling the program.
Friday, May 21, 2010 update to registered attendees
1) The ICPP program is now in the final stage of preparation and an exact schedule of times for each talk and poster should be placed on the meeting website early next week (probably May 25 or May 26).
2) Poster presentations will be given on Tuesday and Thursday nights and for the most part, the Tuesday posters will be associated with symposia held on Monday and Tuesday of the meeting week and the Thursday posters will be associated with symposia scheduled on Thursday and Friday of the meting week. However, a few exceptions will occur so the exact days need to be consulted next week, after which some additional changes may be needed to handle specific conflicts.
3) As earlier indicated, the book of abstracts will be provided to participants in two formats - one as a CD distributed at the meeting and the other as a searchable file which will be posted on the meeting website. The book of abstracts will be posted on-line after the first of June and will be password accessible to all registered attendees.
4) On other ICPP matters, if you have not done so already don't forget to reserve a space on the ICPP6 shuttle between the airport and the hotel meeting site (cost $15 each way, payable at the meeting registration desk). To reserve a space, just e-mail the arrival and departure times of your flights or if you don't want a ride, just tell us no thank you so we can best plan the number of shuttles each day.
5) Finally, I have been asked to provide a word from one of our ICPP6 sponsors about the new Handbook of Porphyrin Science which is described on the meeting website. Titles of the Handbook volumes to be published in 2010 and beyond are given at the following link: http://www.icpp-spp.org/general/handbook.php
Sunday, May 9, 2010 update to registered attendees
1) E-Mail Updates. Many of our ICPP e-mail updates are being blocked as SPAM (which they may be) so the website "Latest News" updates should not be consulted as needed.
2) Poster Size (about 1.0 meter x 1.0 meter) (see drawing of poster board)
Each poster board is 90.75 inches long and 44.25 inches high and is intended to accommodate two posters on each side, or four posters per board. There needs to be free space on the board for listing the abstract numbers and it is suggested that each poster be no larger than one meter long and one meter high) plus maybe another 1-2 inches if needed.
3) Abstract Book. The book of abstracts is now in the final stage of preparation and will be posted on line in early June with free access being provided to all meeting attendees. A CD may also be provided at the meeting but not a hardbound copy of the book as was the case in past years.
4) Airport Pickup/Return. Please send your flight arrival and departure times if you wish to use the service discussed in the last few messages or send a message to this e-mail saying no thank you if this is the case.
5) Local Transportation at Hotel. Shuttles will be provided each day for meeting attendees and guests wishing to go off site but for errands, tourism or dining but lacking their own transportation. The exact number of available shuttles has yet to be determined.
6) Local Activities. Activities for attendees and/or accompanying persons will be posted on the meeting website in due course. Participants might also consult their local guidebooks. For those not keen on outdoor activities, there is a Casino close to the property which offers free pick up and delivery.
Friday, April 23, 2010 update to registered attendees
1) All ICPP-6 attendees who have booked a hotel room at the Hyatt Tamaya were recently sent a confirmation of their reservation and several people have made changes in their dates of arrival or departure (while staying within the minimum 6 day booking requirement).
2) We are maintaining a parallel set of records in Houston and I would appreciate that anyone making a change in the hotel booking please inform me of their new plans so that the two databases remain self-consistent.
3) The current plan is to have airport pickup and return on Saturday and Sunday before the meeting and the Friday and Saturday at the end. The exact times of the ICPP-6 buses will be announced after most people have made definitive travel plans but it is anticipated that airport pickups would run until 10 p.m. or later on both nights and the return busses on Saturday morning would begin early enough to accommodate a number of people with 6 a.m. flights out of Albuquerque.
4) Individuals needing transportation on other days or in the middle of the night will be provided information for arranging a "special pickup" either directly to or from the airport. This can be arranged in June.
5) All ICPP-6 attendees who have submitted an abstract should have received a "form letter" accepting their contribution as a poster or oral contribution as the case may be. (The only exceptions are Award Winners and Plenary Speakers). We have not, in this form letter, differentiated the type of oral presentation which includes invited symposium lectures, Keynote Lectures and contributed orals. If you did not receive this type of letter we can send it again (some SPAM filters are highly efficient) or you can look on the meeting website for the list of accepted oral and poster presentations.
6) A number of people are asking for the time of their presentation which is something easily ascertained from the schedules posted on the website. The morning or afternoon time blocks and days for 30 symposia with 7-8 invited speakers indicate the times of these talks within ± two hours while all other contributed oral presentations will be given at the indicated time on Wednesday afternoon. Poster presentations will be on Tuesday and Thursday evening but an exact listing of who presents when will not be made until early May.
7) We are now preparing the abstract book in electronic form for probable distribution prior to the meeting and we will probably also be printing a limited number of copies for people who prefer paper abstracts and have no problem with excess luggage. These details and others will be sent to everyone later and also posted on the "Latest News" section of the meeting website.
8) Finally, I should mention that a few Wednesday evening banquet tickets and a few un-reserved hotel rooms still remain for anyone in need of these items.
Sincerely
Karl M. Kadish
Meeting co-organizer
Booking of Meeting Hotel Rooms (additional details)
1) The meeting hotel website is now ready for bookings which can be done in the absence of a credit card at the link below. Early reservations are encouraged to lock in your desired room type.
https://resweb.passkey.com/go/icpp6
Rooms will be guaranteed by the meeting and definitively confirmed after payment of a small deposit or completion of the full registration by the stated deadlines in 2010. The full payment for the hotel (minus advance deposit) can be made by cash or credit card on site which should make it easier for participants not wanting to pay everything in advance for both the hotel and registration fee.
2) People who wish a single room without a roommate should book a King-bedded room since all two-bedded rooms should be limited for use by two people to maximize the number of participants that can be housed directly on site. Individuals who book a single King-bedded room and later find a roommate, can change the reservation on-line to a double or they can book a two-bedded room now as long as they add a second person later.
3) The ICPP-6 meeting registration ID on the hotel reservation form should be added by the meeting attendee when it becomes available since this ID serves as confirmation the meeting registration has been completed.
4) Students who need a roommate to be assigned by the conference can reserve half a room at half price and a roommate will be assigned prior to the meeting.
5) Students who register and reserve their rooms early will be eligible for "housing assistance grants" and/or "food assistance grants" as described on the Grants and Awards page of the ICPP-6 website.
6) Although 3 or 4 individuals can be accommodated in each room, fire regulations state that the addition of a rollaway cot is only possible in King-bedded rooms.
