University of Washington Astrobiology Conference
Sun.-Wed., 5-8 August 2001 — Crystal Mountain, Washington
The University of Washington’s Center for Astrobiology and Early
Evolution is hosting an exciting conference at the dawn of the new field of
Astrobiology. The purpose of this conference is to bring together experts
to discuss Astrobiology’s fundamental principles, past accomplishments,
latest scientific results, and future research and technological directions.
Rather than the usual proceedings, the conference will produce a graduate
student level textbook invaluable to the overall development of the field:
Astrobiology: The University of Washington Lectures. The book will be a
high-level, interdisciplinary introduction to the origin and evolution of
life on Earth, the geological, physical and chemical conditions that have
spawned and sustained life, and the detection of extant and extinct life on
other planets and moons.
The invited talks (35-40 minutes long) and resultant chapters are
designed to be two-thirds background tutorial for those who are not in the
field of the particular topic, with the remainder more technical and
ephemeral; chapters should still be usable in five years and perhaps longer.
There will be no contributed oral papers, but poster sessions will
be held. All-inclusive conference fees range from $300 to $550 (see below),
depending on room occupany and grad student status. The meeting room is
limited in size, so attendance may have to be limited (in which case we will
return your entire registration fee); please send your registration form and
fee as soon as possible; the absolute deadline is 10 July.
The conference will be held at Crystal Mountain ski area, in the
beautiful Cascade Mountains of Washington state, just northeast of Mt.
Rainier National Park and within three hours’ drive of Mt. St. Helens.
Although in the wilderness, Crystal Mountain is only a two-hour drive from
Seattle airport. If you wish, you can take our shuttle bus service to and
fro, or for greater freedom you can of course rent a car. August is the
ideal month for the Cascades: the high snows have largely melted,
wildflowers are peaking in the Alpine meadows, weather is fair and in the
high 70s F, and twilight remains until about 9 pm.
In addition, you are invited to participate in a concurrent,
informal Summer Institute in Astrobiology on the UW campus in Seattle for
any portion of the three-week period Mon. 30 July through Fri. 17 August.
Further details are below.
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ASTROBIOLOGY
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
WELCOME – J. Baross & W. Sullivan
I. HISTORY
1. History of astrobiology (W. Sullivan, UW)
II. THE PHYSICAL STAGE
1. Origin of planets, elements, comets, asteroids, meteorites
(D. Brownlee, UW)
2. Early Earth history, habitats, biogeochemical markers
(D. DesMarais, Ames)
3. History of the Earth’s atmosphere (R. Gammon, UW)
III. THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
1. The origin of life: the crucial issues (R. Shapiro, NYU)
2. Metabolic cycles and the origin of life (G. Cody, Carnegie)
3. The origin of proteins and nucleic acids (S. Benner, Florida)
4. The first cell – assembling the parts (D. Deamer, UCSC)
IV. ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF CELLS AND COMMUNITIES
1. The origin and evolution of bacteria and archaea (D. Stahl, UW)
2. The origin and evolution of metabolic pathways (J. Staley, UW)
3. The origin and evolution of eukaryotes (M. Sogin, MBL)
4. Extremophiles and the limits of life (J. Deming/J. Baross, UW)
V. LATER EVOLUTION
1. The fossil record (S. Awramik, UCLA)
2. Mass extinctions – resetting the clock (P. Ward, UW)
VI. POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS AND MOONS
1. Mars (B. Jakosky, Colorado)
2. Europa (C. Chyba, SETI Inst.)
3. Titan (J. Lunine, Arizona)
4. Extra-solar planets (P. Butler, DTM)
VII. SEARCHING FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE
1. Spacecraft instrumentation (W. Zimmerman/P. Conrad, JPL)
2. Ethical issues in astrobiology (M. Race)
3. Planetary protection: issues regarding sample return (J. Rummel,
NASA)
4. SETI (F. Drake, UCSC)
VIII. SUMMARY (C. Chyba, SETI Inst.)
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CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
[Sat. 4 Aug. – OPTIONAL – early arrival for a more relaxed weekend, but car
rental and preparing meals in your room’s kitchen will be necessary; also
allows participation in day-long group hike on Sunday from10 am to 5:30 pm)]
Sun. 5 Aug – arrival at Seattle’s Sea-Tac airport; catch conference bus at
12 noon or 3 pm; short group hike (2:30-5:30) or free time; first conference
meal is a buffet dinner at 6:30, followed by a reception at 8:00
Mon. 6 Aug – sessions 8:30-9:50, 10:20-12:00, 1:30-2:50, 3:20-5:20
– in evening: poster session and roundtable discussion
Tue. 7 Aug – same during day; informal banquet and talk in evening
Wed. 8 Aug. – sessions 8:30-12:00; lunch; buses leave for SeaTac at 1:00 pm
(possible to catch 4:00 pm flight)
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EXPENSES
The conference registration fee is all-inclusive. Covered are:
– 3 nights’ lodging
– all meals (Sunday dinner through Wednesday lunch, including Sunday
evening reception and Tuesday evening banquet)
– conference expenses
– bus transportation from SeaTac airport on Sunday and return to the
airport on Wednesday
– copy of the conference book, once published
The inclusive, regular conference fee is $550 for single occupancy
in a room, $400 for double occupancy, and $350 for triple occupancy. We will
match roommates, unless you indicate otherwise. These rates are valid for
all registrations postmarked by 20 June; after that date rates are $50
higher. The very latest date we can accept registrations is 10 July.
Graduate students are given a $50 reduction in the fees quoted above.
All rooms are suites and can sleep up to 3 persons. Each has living
area, full kitchen, fireplace, TV and VCR. Spouses and families are welcome.
Most participants will stay three nights, but you can arrange to stay for as
many nights as desired. If you wish to arrive earlier and/or leave later,
please reserve with Crystal Mountain toll-free at 888-668-4368 (or at
360-663-2558), and pay for the extra nights separately. If you do arrive
early or stay later, you should bring your own food for those days and
prepare meals in the room’s kitchen. The last town in which to obtain food
is Enumclaw, about 60 km from Crystal Mountain.
If you live off-site, you can save on registration ($280 fee), but
you will need a rental car. A tent campground, called Silver Springs and run
by the US Forest Service, is available 10 km from the meeting site; if you
wish to stay there, please make your own reservations by calling toll free
877-444-6777; if calling from outside the US, call 518-885-4282 and tell
them that you are calling from outside the US and wish to speak to the NRRS.
The website www.reserveusa.com may also be used. Driving time to the nearest
motels is prohibitively long and is not recommended.
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SUMMER INSTITUTE in Seattle
In addition, the University of Washington Center for Astrobiology
and Early Evolution invites all Crystal Mountain attendees to a concurrent,
informal Summer Institute in Astrobiology that will run on the UW campus in
Seattle for the 3 weeks of Mon. 30 July through Fri. 17 August. We invite
you to “take up residence” for anytime during this period, to refresh your
mind, to get some work done, and to intellectually cross-fertilize with the
various members of the UW Astrobiology community and with other Summer
Institute participants. There is no fee for the Institute, but you must
register below by 10 July; this form should accompany your registration form
and payment for the Crystal Mountain meeting.
We will find you a desk and computer, and run a daily series of
informal lunchtime seminars, but otherwise there is no formal program.
Unfortunately we cannot cover any travel or per diem expenses associated
with the Summer Institute, but we will supply you with information on motels
within one mile of campus (costs of $80-100 per night) and good restaurants.
Information on nearby motels and hotels is listed at
www.phys.washington.edu/Department/travel.html. Seattle has a decent public
bus system, so it should not be necessary for you to rent a car if you
confine activities to within the city. We hope to be able to accommodate
everyone that wishes to visit, but cannot guarantee this.
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Further information
Regarding the scientific program:
John Baross and Woody Sullivan, organizers
Center for Astrobiology and Early Evolution, Univ. of Washington
jbaross@u.washington.edu, 206-543-0833
woody@astro.washington.edu, 206-543-7773
Regarding all other matters:
Linda Schieber, conference coordinator
crystalconf@astro.washington.edu, 206-543-9541
Useful websites
Crystal Mountain resort:
http://www.crystalmtlodging-wa.com/
Mount Rainier National Park
http://www.gorp.com/gorp/resource/US_National_Park/wa_mount.HTM
Mount St. Helens National Monument
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/NatMonument/framework.html
UW Astrobiology Program:
http://www.depts.washington.edu/astrobio
University of Washington campus
Astrobiology Conference Registration
Crystal Mountain Resort, Washington
August 5 – 8, 2001
Registration
1. Personal Information:
Name_________________________________________
Email_________________________________________
Address_______________________________________
Phone_____________ Fax_____________
Institution______________________Date of PhD______
Graduate Student? yes _____no _____
Gender: Female_____Male _____
Accompanying
Person(s)_________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Poster
Title____________________________________________________________
Poster Authors & Affiliations (include
yourself)_______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Any special poster requirements?
__________________________________________
Poster Abstract: please attach on separate sheet with Title and Authors as a
heading. This page will be reproduced in a booklet for the meeting.
2. Transport to and from SeaTac Airport and Crystal Mountain Resort:
A hospitality suite will be available for your use at a hotel near SeaTac
Airport from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, Sunday, August 5. A bus will pick up
conference attendees from the hotel at 12:00 noon and 3:00 pm. The one-way
trip to Crystal Mountain takes about 2 hours. The return bus trip from
Crystal Mountain to SeaTac airport will depart at 1:00 pm, Wednesday, August
8. You should not book an outgoing flight departing before 4:00 pm on
Wednesday.
I will take the bus departing the airport hotel on Sunday at (please
check one): _____12 noon
_____3 pm
I will arrange for my own transportation _____
3. Mountain Hikes:
I plan on participating in the following hike:
Sunday, 10:00 – 5:30 pm (requires arrival on Saturday; bring your own lunch)
_____
Sunday, 2:30 – 5:30 pm _____
4. Disability Accommodations:
I will need the following disability accommodations (please be
specific):
____________________________________________________________________
5. Meals:
All meals are provided, with both vegetarian and carnivorous entrees.
Please describe any dietary restrictions we should know about. Please also
be aware that facilities are extremely limited at the resort, and
transportation to the nearest town, Enumclaw (60 km away), is only possible
with a private car. Be sure to bring any items of special need with you
from home.
Special dietary needs___________________________________________________
6. Inclusive Registration Fee (**before June 20**): Based on the
number of persons per room:
Regular Grad Studenta. $550 $500 single
b. 400 350 double: Please provide name
of other party, if known:______________________________________
c. 350 300 triple: Please provide
names of other parties, if known:_______________________________________
_______________________________________
d. 280 230 living off-site
7. PAYMENT: Please make check in US funds payable to “Astrobiology
Conference,” and send by snail mail to:
Astrobiology Conference
Astronomy Department, Box 351580
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195 USA
Unfortunately, we cannot accept payment in any other form than a
check in US funds. Thanks.
8. Late Registration:
The rates above are for registrations postmarked by June 20. For
later registration, please add $50.00 to each category. Last possible date
to register is July 10.
SUMMER INSTITUTE in Seattle
REGISTRATION FORM
Dates of workdays I wish to be on UW campus _____________________
Department I prefer to have an office in: ____________________
(choices: Astronomy, Atmospheric Sciences, Geological Sciences, Geophysics,
Microbiology, Oceanography)
Special requests:
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