AGU Fall Meeting: Hotel Reservation Deadline – Nov. 2; Virtual Press Room and PIO Uploader; Fall Meeting App!

31 October 2012

Joint Release

Moscone Convention Center
San Francisco, California
3–7 December 2012

Contents of this message:

For important information regarding visas for international reporters and hotel bookings at meeting rates, please see: Media Advisory 1.

For additional information about searching the scientific program, please see: Media Advisory 2.

1. Reminder: Hotel Reservation Deadline – Nov. 2

Please note that the deadline for booking hotel rooms at preferential meeting rates is this Friday, Nov. 2. For information on available hotels, rates, amenities, and a map of the area, go to:http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/travel-housing/housing/.

2. Virtual Press Room and PIO Uploader – Now live!

The AGU Fall Meeting Virtual Press Room is the online place for journalists to find meeting-related materials such as press releases and press-conference PowerPoint presentations, plus images, videos, scientific papers, etc. To access the Virtual Press Room, go to the Media Center on the Fall Meeting website, and click on the “Virtual Press Room” tab: http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/media-center/.

Public Information Officers can upload press releases (along with accompanying images, videos, audio files and external links) about research presented at the Fall Meeting to the Virtual Press Room. To access the Uploader, PIOs must first register by going to the Media Center on the Fall Meeting website, and clicking on the “For PIOs” tab: http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/media-center/. Only registered PIOs will be allowed to upload content.

3. Preliminary Press Conference Topics

The AGU Public Information Office is planning a number of press conferences to highlight newsworthy presentations at the 2012 Fall Meeting. So far, we expect to offer briefings on Earth’s radiation belts, Mars rovers, climate science, natural hazards, wildfires, and ocean exploration. This list will grow and is subject to change.

A subsequent media advisory will contain the full list of press conferences, including dates, times, summaries and lists of participants. All press conferences will take place in the Press Conference Room: Moscone West, Room 3000, Level 3. The subsequent advisory will also contain information for reporters wishing to remotely participate in press conferences via webstreaming.

As a reminder, the start times for press conferences are changing this year so that they will align more closely with the meeting’s scientific sessions and also allow for more breaks during the day. Press conferences will start at the following times: 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.

4. Media Availability: Dr. Subra Suresh, NSF Director

Dr. Subra Suresh, Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), will be available to speak with reporters from 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. on Thurs., Dec. 6, in the Press Conference Room, Moscone West, Room 3000, Level 3. This opportunity will follow the Union Agency Lecture “New Era of Science and Engineering” given by Dr. Suresh at 12:30 p.m. in Moscone North.

For a listing of Fall Meeting Named lectures, please see: http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/scientific-program/named-lectures/.

For a listing of Fall Meeting Union lectures, please see: http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/scientific-program/union-lectures/.

For more information about the Fall Meeting Public lecture, please see:http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/events/public-lecture-curiosity-driven-mars-exploration/.

5. Journalism Awards Ceremony and Reception

We invite you to join your Press Room colleagues to honor and celebrate AGU’s most recent journalism award winners. During a brief ceremony, we will recognize the outstanding reporting and writing of 2012 Walter Sullivan award winner Stephen S. Hall and 2012 David Perlman award winners Brian Vastag, Steven Mufson, and The Washington Post Graphics Staff.

The ceremony will take place in the Press Conference Room, Moscone West, Room 3000, Level 3, from 5:00 – 5:30 p.m. A reception will follow diagonally across the hall in the Press Room, Room 3001A. For more information about the 2012 awards and awardees, please see: http://www.agu.org/news/press/pr_archives/2012/2012-33.shtml.

6. Northern California Science Writers Association (NCSWA) Dinner

[The following notice is provided on behalf of the Northern California Science Writers Association about their Holiday dinner: Quants on Wall Street, on the evening of Wed., Dec. 5, at Picaro Restaurant in San Francisco. For registration (required) information, please visit: ncswa.wildapricot.org.]

David Leinweber, a computer scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and author of the 2009 book “Nerds on Wall Street: Math, Machines and Wired Markets,” will discuss the melding of computational science with high finance that makes today’s financial markets rife with opportunity and danger.

Leinweber heads LBNL’s Center for Innovative Financial Technology, which was created to help build a bridge between scientists and Wall Street.

Check back in a few days for more details about the talk, the restaurant and how to register.

7. Fall Meeting App

The 2012 AGU Fall Meeting Mobile App is now available for download. The app allows you to browse the scientific program, plan and sync your schedule between devices, receive event alerts, and stay connected on Twitter.

The app is available for download in the App Store and the Android Market for the following devices: iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch (software requirement: iOS 4.0 or later), and Android (software requirement: OS of 2.0 or later). Blackberry users (software requirement: 6.0 or higher), may download the app here: http://app.core-apps.com/agu-fm12. AGU strongly recommends that you download the app before arriving in San Francisco.

8. News Media Registration Information

News media registrants receive, at no charge, a badge that provides access to any of the scientific sessions of the meeting, as well as to the Press Room, Quiet Room, and Press Conference Room. No one will be admitted without a valid badge.

Registrants are encouraged to preregister online and may also book housing and purchase ticketed events (such as the AGU Honors banquet) as part of the process — see Item 9 below for links and additional information about online registration.

Full instructions for picking up preregistered badges and for registering on-site will be included in a future advisory, as will the specific locations of rooms for press activity and events.

PLEASE NOTE: This year, on-site registration will take place in Moscone South. The Press Room and Press Conference Room will remain in Moscone West.

Eligibility for press/news media registration is limited to the following persons:

  • Working press employed by bona fide news media outlets who regularly report news on the Earth and space sciences. These registrants must present a press card, business card, or a letter from an editor of a recognized news media outlet assigning you to cover Fall Meeting.
  • Freelance science journalists and science bloggers who present evidence of three (3) bylined news reports in the Earth and space sciences intended for the general public and published in 2012.
  • Public information/press officers of scientific societies, educational institutions, and government agencies.

Note:  Scientists who will be presenting at the meeting and who are also reporting from the meeting for bona fide news media outlets may be issued News Media credentials at the discretion of AGU Public Information Staff. Everyone who presents at the meeting must also register for the meeting and pay the appropriate fee as a presenter.

Representatives of publishing houses, the business side of news media, political action committees or similar, and for-profit corporations must register at the main registration desk at the meeting and pay the appropriate fees, regardless of possession of any of the above credentials; they will not be accredited as News Media at the meeting.

All press badges will be issued solely at the discretion of the AGU Public Information Office.

9. News Media Registration Form

Members of the news media are encouraged to preregister online to expedite the process of receiving your badges when you arrive. The News Media Registration Form is set up for online submission only. To preregister, please go to: http://registration3.experientevent.com/showAGU121/Default.aspx.

The last day for online preregistration is Monday, November 26. You may also register onsite in the Moscone South building (specific location in the building to be provided in a future advisory).

10. Who’s Coming

The online list of journalists who have preregistered for the meeting is updated daily.