INSTRUCTIONS FOR SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS

Oral

Instructions for Authors - Oral Presentations

University of Houston Science and Engineering Classroom (SEC) Building, Lecture Hall 100

1. The Conference will provide one PowerPoint-type light projector with one screen that will be connected to a conference room, Windows-based computer. Overhead or 35mm slide projectors will NOT be available and they will NOT be used.
2. Presenters should please bring presentation files on compact disc (CD) or flash drive media to be loaded onto the computer projection system in the lecture hall.
3. Please include in your PowerPoint file name your name, time of presentation and abbreviated title.
4. Presenters must preload all PowerPoint-style presentation material on the conference hall computer load at least 30 minutes prior to the start of your assigned session. A projection assistant will be available to you.
5. We recommend presenters save files in traditional/legacy Powerpoint formats (.ppt) rather than the newer (.pptx/2008) format.
6. Please review your presentation after pre-loading to ensure formatting has not changed (Windows vs Macintosh issues, different PowerPoint versions, etc.)
7. There will be a stationary podium with microphone. A wireless microphone will also likely be available.
8. The Conference will supply laser pointers. You may bring and use your own if you prefer. When using laser pointers, practice press-and-release, avoiding continuous button pressing.
9. You control the presentation; controls for running the projector will be on the speaker’s podium. To stay within your total 20 minutes allotted for presentation and questions, please plan to begin and to conclude your oral presentation within a maximum of 17 minutes.

If you are not the person giving the oral presentation, please provide the actual presenter with these instructions.

Poster

Instructions for Authors - Poster Presentations

Poster Area, Conrad Hilton Ballroom, Hilton University of Houston

1. You must hang your poster before 9:00am, Monday, March 16, 2009, on poster display boards that will be supplied at the Conference Hall. Check for your board number assignment at the Registration tables when you arrive.
2. Posters are scheduled for viewing at all coffee and lunch breaks during Monday and Tuesday, March 16 and 17, as well as Tuesday evening from 5:00 to 7:00pm.
3. You must be in your poster booth on Monday from 5:00 to 6:30pm. At other times when posters are available for viewing, you are not required to be in your booth. However, please be near by in the event there are questions from conference attendees.
4. You must remove your poster display after 7:00 p.m. Tuesday and before leaving the hall. After that time, the poster display boards will be removed.
5. The Conference and University are NOT responsible for lost or stolen poster presentation items.
6. Poster presentation title cards will NOT be provided. Please be sure that your poster includes, or is accompanied by, a title with all authors’ names with notation of their affiliations and their contact information (phone, address and email). The title should be readable from several feet away.
7. Company or University logos are acceptable on the title card and within the display. Commercial and product advertising will NOT be permitted.
8. All displayed material must fit on the provided poster display boards. The dimension of each board is 8 ft wide by 4 ft high (actual display area is a little less due to a frame). The boards will sit on a stand approximately 2 ft off the ground.
9. Upon special request, if requested well in advance, presenters may be allocated a second board for a larger display, if available. To help us make our assignments, we would be grateful if you would please advise us as to whether you would like to request use of two (2) 8-ft-wide by 4-ft-high panels.
10. The surface of the boards will be female Velcro (a fuzzy surface), allowing you to mount posters by affixing strips of male velcro (the type with tiny stiff hooks) to the back of your poster. Attaching materials are NOT supplied by the Conference, so please bring your own.

If you are not the person preparing the poster presentation, please provide the actual preparer with these instructions.

HOTELS

Primary: Hilton University of Houston

Alternate: Hilton Hobby Airport

Our host hotel is the Hilton University of Houston, where a number of the conference events will take place. The conference has booked a block of rooms for participants, but rooms are not guaranteed at the conference rate at this time (deadline was February 14, but it may be worth asking the hotel of they will honor the rate for you).

For Hilton University of Houston hotel accommodations:

• Please call the hotel at 1-713-741-2447 to make a reservation.
• Please be sure to request a sleeping room under the block for "Microfossils #2 Conference."
• The special conference rate ($119/night single, $129/night double, plus taxes) was only guranteed available until February 14, 2009 but has been made available since that date to some conference participants (depending on availability and knowledgable staff)

A reasonable hotel alternative is the Hilton Houston Hobby Airport, located 15 minutes to the south of campus. They have made a special, even lower, rate available to us and will honor it for reservations booked after February 14, as well.

For Hilton Houston Hobby Airport reservations, you may reserve by telephone or through the web, specifying the following for our special group rate, please:

• Hotel Name: Hilton Houston Hobby Airport
• Hotel Address: 8181 Airport Boulevard Houston, Texas 77061-4142
• Phone Number: 713-289-3655
• Web page address for our special conference rate: http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/HOUHAHF-MF2-20090312/index.jhtml
• Please reserve under this Group Name: University of Houston Department of Geosciences
• Please reserve under this Group Code: MF2
• Earliest Check-in: 12-MAR-2009
• Latest Check-out: 21-MAR-2009
• Special conference rate: $109/night

This hotel has been willing to accept reservations past the February 14 reservation cut-off date that the Hilton UH had imposed on us. Please note, however, this will require a 15 minute drive or cab ride to the UH Hilton or Campus.

We would NOT suggest a room at the Palace Inn on Scott Street, which appears on internet travel sites as a hotel option near campus.

Information on other alternate hotels is available at the SEPM registration site.

Student dormitory options: Student attendees interested in more economical dormitory housing options on the UH campus should inform meeting General Chair Don Van Nieuwenhuise (donvann@uh.edu) as soon as possible of their interest. We may be able to secure a limited number of rooms IF WE HAVE ENOUGH ADVANCE NOTICE. Anticipated rates would be less than $25/night. Please include with your request information on your gender (as rooms are gender segregated) and any other special needs.

Room Sharing: We recognize that some participants may face budgetary limitations and have an interest in sharing a hotel room and its costs. Because of this, as a convenience, we are providing a message board to conference attendees interested in contacting each other to make room-sharing arrangements; however, this is for participant communications only as they make their own arrangements. Please contact Pete McLaughlin (ppmclau@udel.edu), with subject line "UH lodging info", if you are interested in the web link and password for this message board.

TRANSPORTATION

Houston is a large city served by two airports.

The major airport, Houston Intercontinental/Bush (IAH), is a major international and domestic facility. It located 23 miles north of the city, quite a distance from the University of Houston.

A smaller airport, William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), is on the south side of the city. This is served by fewer airlines, mostly domestic.

Ground transportation is available from both airports. Shuttle buses tend to be more economical, taxi cabs expensive.

Taxi Service

Taxi service is available from both airports to the University of Houston main campus -- but expensive. Fares range from $20 or more from Hobby Airport, to up to $60 or more from George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Passengers can share a taxi to lessen cost.

More economical are shuttles. Airport Shuttle Service (713) 523-8888 or Super Shuttle offer service from IAH (around $30) and Hobby Airport (around $25) for one way door to door transportation. Ticket counters are available in all lower level baggage claim areas.

METRO Bus Service

METRO, the city bus service, has routes to and from IAH and Hobby Airports to the University of Houston main campus, located at 4800 Calhoun. This includes the Metro Airport Direct service from Intercontinental (IAH) to downtown (30 minutes, $15 fare); however, this requires connecting bus from downtown to campus. To obtain route information, please contact METRO at 713-635-4000 or visit the Metro Trip Planner at their website. Please check prior to your arrival to get the latest routes and schedules. METRO schedules are also available at the Airport Information Desks and at baggage claim areas.

The ride will be longer, as transfers are required... service may be more limited on weekends... and a walk would be required from the bus stops near campus to the hotel... but the bus may be the least expensive option.

On-Campus Parking & Transportation

Parking

For participants who will come to the conference by car, parking options include:

1. University Hilton underground garage. $6.00 USD per days for hotel guests. $6.00 USD per exit for non-guests.

2. The UH Welcome Center and Parking Garage. This is located directly across the street from the UH Hilton and parking is available for $8.00 USD per day (Monday through Friday) and $3.00 USD on weekends.

3. UH Parking Pass. Participants can stop at the Entrance #1 Information Booth off Calhoun and obtain a pass to park in the Student Lots (1A, 5A and 20A) for $3.00 USD. Student lots are free on weekends.

Please be careful to park only in designated areas with proper payment or permit.  Campus parking authorities are apparently very efficient at ticketing.

Campus Transportation

A campus bus service is available. Information on routes and sschedules will be provided at registration.

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