With the addition of two new modules this past year, our group has grown considerably. With so many named Co-I's and collaborators (~90), it will simply not be possible to hear from everyone through oral presentations in a one day retreat. In the next few weeks, I will be contacting each module lead to work out a schedule of overview talks during the morning and early afternoon that will convey what our program has accomplished to date. To provide the opportunity for everyone to present results of recent work, we will also provide a 2.5 hour slot, beginning mid-afternoon, for poster presentations. Posters will be displayed in a large area just outside the meeting room and will also be easily accessible for viewing during lunch and scheduled refreshment breaks.

Our retreat will provide a great opportunity for you and your students to showcase your recent work and have one-on-one interactions with others in our group who you normally don't have the opportunity to interact with. If you would like to prepare a poster (or recycle one you have presented at a recent meeting), please let Rebecca know at your earliest convenience so we can allocate the needed space. Details about format will be provided in a follow-up email. Where posters are concerned, we will do our best to accommodate your needs within the constraints of the available space and easel sizes.

Please let us know if you are interested in presenting your work and inform us of your needs early so we can work with you to make things work. If you would want to do a computer-based presentation, or show video, we will need to know ahead of time to secure the appropriate equipment.

To adequately plan, we need to get an accurate head count for the retreat ASAP and would appreciate it if you would let us know by return email if you and/or your students are planning to attend. Also please indicate if you will be presenting a poster(s). If you wish to show an existing poster, it would be useful for us to know the poster size and format to aid our planning efforts.

For those coming from out of town, we are working with the Sheraton to secure a block of rooms at a discounted rate. If you, or others in your group need a room, please let us know ASAP so that we can guarantee enough rooms at the discounted rate to accommodate your group.