REGISTRATION INFORMATION - World Gesneriad Research Conference 2010

GENERAL INFORMATION

The World Gesneriad Research Conference 2010 (WGRC 2010) is an international meeting of the world’s Gesneriaceae researchers, students and lay enthusiasts who come together with the goal of understanding and promoting knowledge of the plant family Gesneriaceae. The next conference will be held at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, FL, USA from 13-15 October 2010 with a gesneriad exhibition 15-17 October. The objectives of WGRC 2010 are to provide opportunities internationally for new researchers and students of Gesneriaceae to enter into discussion groups, formalize existing informal international collaborations and working groups into a virtual organization by initiating a web-based Gesneriaceae coalition, and summarize the current state of knowledge on Gesneriaceae phylogenetics with the ultimate goal of creating a comprehensive Gesneriaceae phylogeny.


SCHEDULE:

Tuesday 12 October: Arrivals, registration, poster set-ups (optional activities may include tours of the gardens, research facilities, collections, local sights, as well as a visit to a private grower's extensive gesneriad collection)

Wednesday 13 October: Registration, conference opening, presentations, and discussions followed by evening mixer

Thursday 14 October: Conference presentations and discussions followed by dinner with keynote speaker

Friday 15 October: Morning summary session and closing remarks (optional afternoon tours and time in the herbarium; optional evening preview of gesneriad flower show; possible departures)

Saturday 16 October: Continuing departures (optional time in herbarium and at gardens and show or local sights)

Sunday 17 October: Continuing departures (optional visit to a private grower's collection or local sights)

Note that all conference activities will be held at Selby Gardens; attire will be casual. Optional activities will be planned based on interest levels and time available of individual attendees based on responses received on the soon-to-be-available registration form.


REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Formal on-line registration will begin as soon as possible (most likely within the month) and a more detailed daily schedule will be provided along with a listing of the more than 35 presenters and abstracts. However, to aid in planning and budgeting for potential attendees and presenters, the following is a breakdown of registration fees and some preliminary information on travel and accommodations in Sarasota.


Full Registration: US$220: Includes full access to meetings and events, misc. conference materials, coffee/tea breaks, 2 lunches, mixer (Wednesday evening; light food; cash bar), dinner [Thursday evening with cash bar), and printed proceedings (special proceedings issue of Selbyana).

Student Registration: US$150: Letter from major advisor required; includes all of the above except printed proceedings (which can be purchased separately).

Partial Registration Options: Wednesday only (US$65) includes presentations, breaks, lunch, and evening mixer; Thursday only (US$80) includes, talks, breaks, lunch, and dinner with keynote address. (Proceedings not included in individual day registration but can be purchased separately.)

Housing (preliminary): We have identified three options for nearby accommodations (within walking distance or less than a mile from the Gardens): basic, about $US65; mid-range, about $US85; and deluxe, over $US125. The rates indicated are per room for 1-2 people per night and include taxes, but we are negotiating better group rates based on conference registrations. More information will follow.


Travel: Two main regional airports (both international) service the area - Sarasota (SRQ) and Tampa/ St. Petersburg (TPA) which is the larger airport served by more carriers with more frequent flights at better cost. TPA is, however, over an hour-long commute to Sarasota so we are also looking at shuttle, bus, carpool, and car rental options. Additional information will follow.

Student Travel and Participation: We have sponsors for two students at this time and are soliciting more. These sponsorships will be awarded on a competitive basis and will cover basic travel expenses and conference fees. We currently estimate that expenses will range from US$720-US$920 for domestic (in US) student attendance, and US$920-US$1420 for international. More details about student sponsorships will follow. Students are encouraged to apply for other sources of funding and the WGRC Planning Committee will assist in providing letters of support.

We hope this preliminary information will help in planning your attendance at the conference. Specific questions about the conference can be directed to John R. Clark at gesneriadresearch@gmail.com. As noted earlier, online registration and more details will be available soon.

We look forward to seeing everyone in Sarasota this October.

The WGRC 2010 Planning Committee