Dear SSTD Participants,
With this bulletin, we want to send you some last minute information and helpful tips about the SSTD conference in Minneapolis this Wednesday through Friday (24 - 26 August 2011).
Venue and logistics
The conference is located in the Digital Technology Center (DTC), located on the fourth floor of Walter library. Signs showing you the way will be posted at the main entrances to Walter library and at the elevator that you will take to get to the fourth floor. All events, including a light breakfast, breaks and lunches except for the conference dinner, will be held there. You will have access to wifi through a campus network for the entire time of the conference.
A host institution representative will be present in the lobby of the Radisson Hotel at 7:30am on 24th, 8:00 am 25th and 26th August to walk to the conference venue (DTC).
A map of the East Bank campus is available at here. A Google map showing the larger area is also available.
You also can get conference updates at www.twitter.com/sstd2011.
We advice against renting a car because of large-scale construction projects in the University area. Taxis or shuttles offer easy service from the airport and in the area. Public transportation offers convenient scheduling. Use the Trip Planner at http://www.metrotransit.org or Google Maps for point-to-point transit scheduling.
Note about University construction
The main road through the East Bank campus and by the Radisson and Day's Inn hotels is under construction. The road is completely closed. There are also various other construction projects. If you need to drive to a garage near the DTC or would like updated information about construction activities, please see http://campusmaps.umn.edu/tc/.
Meals and breaks
We have ordered a wide range of vegetarian options. If you have specific dietary concerns, please email Alison Admundson (alison@mail.dtc.umn.edu).
Link to online schedule
The updated schedule is here.
Demonstrations
For all demonstrations we will have a table, power strip, chairs, and wifi. We will also have poster boards available to pin posters too. If you have specific needs, please email Francis Harvey (fharvey@umn.edu).
Information about the conference awards dinner
The conference dinner will be held on the Minneapolis Queen, a sternwheeler river boat. During dinner we will cruise along the MIssissippi river and be able to view the Minneapolis skyline and a number of attractions from this very unique perspective. To get to the boat we will depart from the DTC immediately after the last session. We are scheduled to dock around 9:15 PM and a bus will bring us back to the DTC, stopping at en route at hotels on the way.
Tuesday night informal dinner
If you are arriving Tuesday and would like to join us for an informal dinner, we will have dinner at the Caspian Restaurant (map). We will meet in the Radisson Hotel lobby at 6:30. Please send Francis Harvey (fharvey@umn.edu) a note if you plan to meet us for a relaxing dinner.
Other matters and questions:
If you have a question about the DTC location, please contact Alison Admundson (alison@mail.dtc.umn.edu). For other local organization questions email Francis Harvey (fharvey@umn.edu).
See you soon in Minneapolis,
Shashi Shekhar, Mohamed Mokbel, Francis Harvey