2009 JOINT ASSEMBLY, 24-27 MAY
METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
ABSTRACTS AND SESSIONS ONLINE AND SEARCHABLE
Contents of this message:
1. Abstracts and sessions now online and searchable
2. Field trip to Niagara Falls planned
3. Press conferences in development
4. AGU journalism awards to be presented
5. Hotel reservation deadline
6. News Media Registration Information
7. News Media Registration Form
8. Who’s coming
1. Abstracts and sessions now online and searchable
All 379 sessions and 2,548 abstracts for the 2009 Joint Assembly have
been posted on the AGU web site.
A. Searching for Abstracts of Interest to You
The 2,548 Joint Assembly abstracts may be accessed by a search tool:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja09/waisja09adv.html
Reporters and public information officers may search for abstracts of
particular interest to them by looking up any of the following
parameters on the search tool above:
- Name of a scientist
- Name of an institution (e.g., university, government agency)
- Geographic location (e.g., city, state, province, or country)
- Topic (e.g., Mars, thermohaline, climate)
Up to three search parameters may be combined. Full instructions are
available from the search page.
Hint: In searching for abstracts from an institution, it is often more
effective to search by e-mail address than by the name of the
institution. The latter may be written in different ways by various
authors (e.g., UCLA; University of California, Los Angeles; Univ. of
Cal. at Los Angeles; etc.), but all of their e mail addresses will
presumably include “ucla.” The search category “Affiliation” covers
names of institutions and their locations; the category “E-mail” will
find institutional domains (e.g., look under Affiliation for Columbia
or New York, under E-mail for @columbia.edu).
B. Finding Sessions at Joint Assembly
To browse sessions under any AGU scientific discipline, first click on
the link directly below. Then, scroll down to section headings (Union,
Atmospheric Sciences, Biogeosciences, etc.) and click on the section
of interest to see a chronological listing of times, session numbers,
room numbers, and titles of all sessions in that section. Clicking on
any session number in the list will open a sublist of oral
presentations or posters associated with that session. For a
particular presentation, clicking on the link labeled “Abstract” will
open a brief summary of the talk, including author names and contact
information.
http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja09/program/meeting-at-a-glance.php
In order to search sessions by keywords, use the search engine available at:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja09/waisja09.html
In the room listings, “CC” refers to the Convention Center.
Presentations in Exhibit Hall E are posters; all other room
assignments are oral sessions.
C. Joint Assembly’s detailed scientific program and abstracts in
digital media only
AGU has discontinued the use of printed books that describe the
detailed scientific program of its major meetings. Instead, the full
scientific program and abstracts are provided on CDs and on the
meeting web site only.
AGU is continuing 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 for the 2009 Joint Assembly will be available to
members of the news media in the Press Room.
For anyone who would like to create their own digital copy of the
detailed scientific program in advance of the meeting, the
downloadable file of the meeting program and abstracts (plus
instructions for burning it onto a CD) should be available next week
at: http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja09/index.php/Program/HomePage
Copies of CDs of the detailed scientific program and meeting abstracts
will also be available in the Press Room.
2. Field trip to Niagara Falls planned
Saturday, 23 May
Time to be determined (all day)
Come to Niagara Falls and discover an amazing geological epic that
began thousands of years ago. We are working with two prominent
Niagara Falls experts to offer a tour of the Canadian side of the
falls that will include insights into the site’s Paleozoic history,
the story of glacial advances and retreats that helped shape this
natural wonder, and an adventurous hike down the gorge.
Details of this field trip will be provided in subsequent advisories,
but space is limited, so it is advisable to sign up in advance.
To register for the field trip, send a short message to Maria-Jose
Vinas: mjvinas@agu.org
You must first register for News Media credentials. (See Items 6 and 7, below.)
3. Press conferences in development
We are in the process of developing a program of press conferences
related to some of the newsworthy discoveries being presented at Joint
Assembly. Subsequent media advisories will provide detailed
information about press conferences.
4. AGU journalism awards to be presented
AGU will present two journalism awards at Joint Assembly, as part of
the Honors Evening on Tuesday, 26 May:
- Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism-Features
to Jim Lebans, Jim Handman, Zerah Lurie, and Bob McDonald, CBC Radio –
Quirks and Quarks - Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement in Science
Journalism to J. Kelly Beatty, Sky & Telescope
News Media registrants are encouraged to attend the awards ceremony,
which begins at 1900h in the Westin Harbour Castle’s Frontenac Room.
After the awards ceremony, an Honors Banquet will take place in the
Westin Harbour Castle’s Harbour Ballroom. The banquet costs $55 per
person. Members of the news media who wish to attend, please call the
AGU Member Service Center at +1 800 966 2481 (toll free) or +1 202 462
6900, and request seating at the press table. For further information,
contact Peter Weiss (pweiss@agu.org, 202-777-7507) or Maria-Jose Vinas
(mjvinas@agu.org, 202-777-7530).
The Westin Harbour Castle Hotel is a short walk from the convention center.
5. Reminder: Hotel reservation deadline
Please note that the deadline for booking hotel rooms at preferential
meeting rates is next week, Wednesday, 22 April.
For full information on available hotels, rates, amenities, and a map
of the area, see:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja09/travel/reservations.php
6. News Media Registration Information
Reporters working for foreign newspapers, television channels, news
agencies or companies involved in reporting news events can work in
Canada without a permit if they are reporting on events in the
country.
However, nationals of some countries need a visa to enter Canada. For
a list of countries whose citizens require visas to travel to Canada,
see
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp
For more information, visit the Canadian Citizenship and Immigration website:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/notices.asp
News Media registrants receive a badge that provides access to any of
the scientific sessions of the meeting, as well as to the Press Room
and Press Conference Room. No one will be admitted to press
conferences, sessions, or the exhibition hall without a valid badge.
To enter the Convention Center, you will need to show a
government-issued picture ID (passport or driver’s license). Please
proceed next to the Press Room (MTCC, South Building, Level 700, Room
709) to receive your badge. Preprinted badges will be waiting there
for News Media registrants who have preregistered. Be prepared to show
professional identification (see below).
If you have not preregistered, you may fill out a News Media
Registration Form in the Press Room (Room 709), presenting appropriate
identification (see below). Your badge will be made while you wait.
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 2009 Joint
Assembly. - 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 News Media 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.
7. News Media Registration Form
The News Media Registration Form is set up for online submission. Go to:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja09/newsmedia/registration.php
The last day for advance News Media registration, assuring that your
badge will be waiting for you when you arrive, is Friday, 8 May 2009.
You may also register onsite.
8. Who’s Coming
The online list of journalists who have preregistered for the Meeting
is updated daily and may be seen at
http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja09/newsmedia/whos_coming.php
