Bulletin 1

16th Annual October Astrophysics Conference in Maryland

Gamma Ray Bursts in the Swift Era

November 29 - December 2, 2005
Washington, DC

I. Place and Date

This year the Conference will be held at the in downtown Washington, DC. It will run for three and one-half days (and evenings), Tuesday morning through Friday morning, November 29 -- December 2, 2005.

II. Purpose of the Conference

This will be the sixteenth in a series of topical conferences that are arranged each autumn by scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland. Each of the conferences is devoted to a single topic in astrophysics research, and is organized to elicit the free discussion of ideas.

III. Scientific Organization

The conference will be devoted to the discussion of new ideas and data associated with gamma-ray bursts, with particular emphasis on the emergin results from Swift. It will be organized into non-paralleled sessions that are each about 2-½ hours in duration. A typical session will include two formal invited talks (each about 30-minutes) and contributed talks selected from abstracts submitted with pre-registration.

In order to be given consideration as a potential oral
contribution, your abstract must be received with a
completed registration form which includes the registration fee by November 1, 2005.

Selections of short oral contributions will be made by
the session chairs in early November. You will be
contacted via e-mail by November 15, 2005 if you have
been selected (you will not be contacted if you are not
selected to make an oral contribution).

IV. Posters

Registrants are encouraged to utilize posters to introduce their ideas for discussion with other conference participants. There will be ample room for poster display in the informal area where coffee and tea are served each day during 30-minute breaks between sessions.

POSTER SPACE IS NOT GUARANTEED UNLESS THE ABSTRACT IS RECEIVED WITH
A COMPLETED REGISTRATION FORM, WHICH INCLUDES THE REGISTRATION FEE,
BY NOVEMBER 1, 2005

V. Proceedings

This year we will be formally publishing the Proceedings of the Conference. Details will be provided at a later date.

VIII. Registration

Registration Fee for pre-registered (prior to November 1, 2005) attendees will be $300. The fee for late registrants will be $350. Register your E-mail address here in order to be contacted when on-line registration becomes available.

This year we should have sufficient resources to allow registration waivers for a limited number of students and post-docs who have no individual or institutional support. The criteria utilized to select registration waivers will be a combination of need and the quality of the submitted abstract. Any individual seeking a registration waiver must submit the registration form with an abstract by October 15, 2005. Decisions regarding registration waiver will be transmitted to those who have applied for it by November 1, 2005.

Last updated on 11-18-05 by Susan Lehr.

october@astro.umd.edu