29 October 2009
14–18 December
Moscone Convention Center
San Francisco, California, USA
Abstracts and Sessions Now Online; Book Hotels By 12 November; NCSWA Holiday Dinner, Save the Date!
Contents of this message:
- Abstracts and Sessions now Online and Searchable
- Reminder: Hotel reservation deadline – 12 November
- Field trip to California Academy of Sciences museum, Sun., 13 December
- NCSWA holiday dinner: Save the Date! (Wednesday, 16 December)
- News Media registration information
- News Media Registration Form
- Who’s coming
For important information regarding visas for international reporters and hotel bookings at meeting rates, please see: Media Advisory 1
1. Abstracts and Sessions now Online and Searchable
All 1,287 sessions and 15,788 abstracts for the 2009 Fall Meeting have been posted on the AGU web site.
A. NEW search engine for Searching or Browsing Fall Meeting abstracts/presentations
The 15,788 Fall Meeting abstracts may be accessed by means of the search engine (Click on Search in the left menu)
This new engine, which is being used by AGU for the first time at this meeting, offers the ability to search for abstracts by author’s last name (multiple author names, separated by commas, are allowed), date, session track (i.e. scientific field), title, and other attributes.
Of particular usefulness are the search categories “Abstract/Presentation Title Keyword Search” and “Abstract/Presentation Body Keyword Search.” The Title Keyword Search will look for the single keyword or key phrase (exact wording required) that you enter in the box. The Body Keyword Search will scan meeting abstract texts (but NOT titles) for a keyword (or key phrase) entered. Neither of these search categories will accept multiple key words or key phrases.
Please note that this new search engine currently does not search affiliations of authors (i.e. the names of their universities, laboratories, agencies, etc.). However, author affiliations are often mentioned in the abstract text. So, if you wish to search talks given by presenters from a particular university or other institution, your best option is the Body Keyword Search feature.
Search Tip: The new search engine allows you to open only one meeting abstract at a time. So, please be certain to close any open abstract window before attempting to open another. If you need to search the text within an abstract, press CTRL-F to activate the “Find” function. It will allow you to search for word(s) within the abstract.
If instead of searching through texts of abstracts, you prefer to browse sessions, click the Browse option of the new search engine. This function permits browsing of sessions on a particular day of the meeting (choose day at top.) and within a particular AGU Section, such as Planetary Science or Seismology (click on Section of choice at bottom). Many sessions are sponsored jointly by two or more Sections, and Union sessions are expected to have the most interdisciplinary appeal.
When you click on the name of a Section, all sessions on the chosen day under that Section’s auspices will be displayed. Clicking on any of these sessions will open a list of oral presentations or posters associated with that session. Clicking on the “View Presentation” link of a particular presentation will open its abstract, including names and affiliations of authors.
B. NEW! Fall Meeting’s detailed scientific program and abstracts available online only
As of this Fall Meeting, AGU will no longer offer either the printed books that once described the full scientific program of the Fall Meeting or the CDs of the scientific program and abstracts provided last year. The detailed scientific program will only be available on the Fall Meeting website.
Please note that the new search engine (see item 1A. above) enables you to download a meeting itinerary (with or without abstracts). However, AGU will no longer provide the entire scientific program (with abstracts) as an online file that can be downloaded onto a CD.
AGU will continue to provide one printed book only, with a summary schedule, session overviews (‘Meeting Highlights’), an author index, maps, floor plans, and other general information about the meeting. Copies of that book will be available to members of the news media in the Press Room.
2. Reminder: Hotel reservation deadline
Please note that the deadline for booking hotel rooms at preferential meeting rates is 12 November.
For full information on available hotels, rates, amenities, and a map of the area, see Hotel, Travel & Local Information.
3. Field trip to California Academy of Sciences museum, Sun, 13 December
Come join us for a free, behind-the-scenes tour of the fabulous and recently renovated California Academy of Sciences museum in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. The museum reopened in September 2008 in a completely new building renowned for its airiness and natural light, environmentally-friendly construction (especially its green roof) and spectacular exhibits.
Our morning excursion on Sunday, 13 December will include a guided tour of the museum’s green roof and its exhibits on evolution and climate change plus visits to areas usually closed to museum visitors. There, scientists conduct research in fields as diverse as genomics and geology. The guided tour will be followed by a planetarium show and a complimentary lunch.
The field trip is expected to depart by bus from Moscone Convention Center (West Building) at 8:45 am and to leave the museum at 12:45 pm, returning to the convention center by around 1:30 pm (timing is subject to change). Those field-trip participants who prefer to remain at the museum after the official field trip activities have ended are welcome to stay and visit more of the museum (also at no cost). However, they will be responsible for their own return transportation.
To register for the field trip, please email Maria-José Viñas ([email protected]) with the following information:
- Name
- Title
- Media outlet or other affiliation (“freelance” is fine)
- Work address
- Work email address
- Phone number
- Whether you have registered as a member of the news media for the 2009 AGU Fall Meeting
- Why you wish to participate
- (If you are a vegetarian, please also mention that dietary requirement in your email.)
Space is limited for this field trip. Priority will be given to working journalists. Before signing up, please give careful consideration to whether you will be able to attend. (Last year, far too few of the people who signed up for the field trip actually showed up.)
Confirmations of your place on the field trip or on the waiting list will be emailed to you. If a place has been reserved for you on the field trip but you find you cannot attend, please email Maria-José immediately to let her know.
(Note: Any field-trip participants arriving from afar are advised to be in town by Saturday, 12 December, as the field-trip bus will depart early on Sunday.)
4. Save the Date: NCSWA holiday dinner, Wednesday evening, Dec. 16
[The following notice is provided on behalf of the Northern California Science Writers Association (NCSWA). This is not an AGU event.]
The Northern California Science Writers Association once again will hold its annual holiday dinner in conjunction with the AGU meeting. NCSWA invites out-of-town journalists to join us at the New Delhi restaurant, within walking distance of the Moscone Center, for dinner and festivities on Wednesday evening during the conference. Save the date, Wed, Dec. 16; registration details will soon be posted.
For more about the restaurant New Delhi.
5. News media registration information
Eligibility for press registration is limited to the following persons:
- Working press employed by bona fide news media: must present a press card, business card, or letter of introduction from an editor of a recognized publication.
- Freelance science writers: must present a current membership card from NASW, a regional affiliate of NASW, CSWA, ISWA, or SEJ; or evidence of by-lined work pertaining to science intended for the general public and published in 2008 or 2009; or a letter from the editor of a recognized publication assigning you to cover Fall Meeting.
- Public information officers of scientific societies, educational institutions, and government agencies: must present a business card.
Note: Representatives of publishing houses, for-profit corporations, and the business side of news media must register at the main registration desk at the meeting and pay the appropriate fees, regardless of possession of any of the above documents. They are not accredited as Press at the meeting. Scientists who are also reporters and who are presenting at this meeting (oral or poster session) may receive News Media credentials if they qualify (see above), but must also register for the meeting and pay the appropriate fee as a presenter.
News Media registrants will receive a badge that provides access to any of the scientific sessions of Fall Meeting, as well as to the Press Room and Briefing Room. No one will be admitted without a valid badge.
Details will be provided in a subsequent advisory about where preregistered members of the media will pick up their badges and where those who have not preregistered will be able to register onsite. In either case, please be prepared to show identification.
6. News Media Registration Form
The News Media Registration Form is set up for online submission only.
The last day for advance News Media registration, assuring that your badge will be waiting for you when you arrive, is Friday, 4 December 2009. You may also register onsite.
7. Who’s coming
The online list of journalists who have preregistered for the Meeting is updated daily.