Nanoscale Processes in the Earth and Planetary Sciences

NSF-NNIN Workshop Information

Albuquerque, New Mexico

January 11-13, 2006

The NSF National Nanoscience Infrastructure Network (NNIN) and Nanosciences at the University of New Mexico are sponsoring a workshop entitled "Nanoscale Processes in the Earth and Planetary Sciences (NanoPEPS)"

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in research in the earth and planetary sciences aimed at understanding a wide range of processes and phenomena at the nanoscale. This area of research has become a dynamic and exciting field with significant advances coming from innovations in analytical and experimental techniques as well as theoretical and modeling approaches.

The goal of the workshop is to bring together interested researchers working on earth and planetary materials to review and discuss the current state of the art of nanoscience in the geological community in its broadest sense. In addition, the workshop is aimed at increasing awareness of the facilities available for nanoscience research in the NSF-NNIN network.

The workshop will be held January 11-13, 2006 at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Topics of interest to be covered by the workshop include, but are not limited to:

  • nanoscale processes at mineral-fluid interfaces
  • energetics of nanoscale processes
  • interactions of biota and geological materials at the nanoscale
  • nanoparticles in terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments
  • nanoscale structures in earth and planetary materials
  • novel phenomena at the nanoscale
  • nanoscale biomarkers
  • mineralogical, chemical and isotopic characterization of earth and planetary materials at the nanoscale.

Keynote lectures will be provided by Professor Alexandra Navrotsky (UC Davis), Professor Rod Ewing (University of Michigan) and Professor Mike Hochella (Virginia Polytechnic Institute).

The two and a half day workshop will consist of five oral sessions. Morning sessions will be scheduled from 8:30 am until noon, and afternoon sessions will be from 1:30 to 5:00 pm.  A complete workshop schedule is available online. In order to promote discussion on topics of key interest, these times will remain flexible. The program will consist of both invited and contributed talks.

Audio-visual equipment available for oral presentations will include one LCD projector, an overhead projector and a Windows-based notebook computer for PowerPoint presentations. A 35-mm carousel slide projector will NOT be available.

LOCATION AND GENERAL INFORMATION

The workshop will be held on the University of New Mexico campus, in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Albuquerque is the major cultural and economic metropolitan area in New Mexico, located in the Rio Grande valley at the foot of the beautiful 10,000 ft Sandia Mountains. The city is located at an altitude of 5,500 ft and typically enjoys cool, crisp, sunny winter days in January with highs in the high 40s °F and lows in the mid 20s °F, with 88% sunshine. For further information about the Albuquerque area visit the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau web site. January is one of the prime months for skiing in New Mexico, with outstanding ski resorts in Santa Fe (about 90 minutes), Taos and Angel Fire (~3 hours). The city of Santa Fe is about a 1 hour drive from Albuquerque.

Albuquerque International Airport is served by most commercial airline carriers including American, Delta, Continental, America West, United and Southwest, with direct flights from many major hubs. The airport is located 2 miles south of the UNM campus and is easily accessible by taxi and scheduled bus services. The main hotel for the meeting is the Wyndham Hotel, a 5 minute walk from the airport terminal.

REGISTRATION

The registration fee for the workshop is $200.00 ($150.00 for students). All participants must register for the meeting. Prepaid registrations received by December 2, 2005 will be discounted by $50 (to $150 general, $100 for students). A welcome reception will be held on Tuesday evening, January 10, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Wyndham Hotel, close to Albuquerque International Airport. This event, breakfasts and lunches (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday), meeting break refreshments, a hardcopy volume containing the program and abstracts, and a CDROM of the program are all included in the registration fee. (Because of logistical considerations, the Thursday evening dinner has been removed from the schedule.)

We cannot accept online payments. All attendees must complete and submit an online registration form from this link. When the form is submitted, immediate online confirmation will be returned to you with a registration number and your contact information on it. Print this confirmation and return a copy with payment. Thet registration number will be needed if you are submitting an abstract. Payments by credit card or purchase order may be mailed or faxed. Payments by check must be sent by mail. Registration forms must be completed by Friday, December 2, 2005 and (mailed-in or FAXed forms with) payment received no later than Friday December 9, 2005 to receive the pre-registration discount. Foreign participants, who state on the registration form (or by Email before December 9 to nanopeps@unm.edu) that they have a currency exchange problem, may pay in cash at the meeting (and receive the pre-registration discount) if the form is received by December 2, 2005.

Those who have completed the online registration and have obtained a registration number but do not have a printed registration confirmation form, may complete an NSF-NNIN Workshop Payment Form (Acrobat PDF format) and mail it to the address on the form or FAX it to the number given.

Conference check-in will commence at 5:30 pm at the Wyndham Hotel during the welcome reception and afterwards throughout the meeting in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences throughout the meeting in Northrop room 117, just outside the meeting room. On site "walk-in" registration (at the non-discounted rate) will be available at the welcome reception, at the check-in desk. Personal or Institutional Checks, Mastercard, and Visa will be accepted as payment on-site.

STUDENT TRAVEL GRANTS

A limited number of student travel grants for up to $300 will be available for undergraduate and graduate students who wish to attend the meeting. Preference will be given to students who submit abstracts to the meeting. Applicants for student travel grants should indicate they are applying by ticking the box 'Student Travel Grant Applicant' on the registration form. The student should send an Email to Dr. Adrian Brearley (brearley@unm.edu) advising of their registration #, their name, and the name and Email address of their advisor.

LODGING

The two hotels for the meeting are the Wyndham Hotel and the Plaza Inn. The Wyndham Hotel will be served by a conference shuttle during the meeting. The Plaza Inn is about 15 minutes walk from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences through a pleasant residential neighborhood and will not be served by the shuttle. Attendees should make their reservations directly with the hotels. Details for each hotel are listed below. A map showing the location of the department and the conference hotels will be found on our web page. A large number of modern hotels are also available in Albuquerque. Please note that a room tax (currently 12.75%) will be added to the room rates given below.

Wyndham Hotel - The Wyndham Hotel is conveniently located within 5 minutes walk of the terminal building of the Albuquerque International Airport.  There is also a free shuttle service to the airport.

Wyndham Albuquerque Hotel
2910 Yale Blvd SE
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106
United States
Phone: 1-505-843-7000 or 1-800-227-1117 (Toll Free)

Rates for Standard Room:

Single Occupancy

  $68/night

Double Occupancy

  $88/night

Guests must make reservations by telephone by December 11, 2005 and request "Center for High Technology Materials" to receive the conference rate.


Plaza Inn - The Plaza Inn is about a 15 minute walk from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences through a pleasant residential neighborhood. The hotel also has limited shuttle service available for guests.

Plaza Inn Albuquerque
900 Medical Arts Avenue, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: 1-505-243-5693 or 1-800-237-1307 (Toll Free)
Email: PlzINABQ@aol.com

Rates:

Single or Double Occupancy

  $55 - Queen
$65 - King or 2 Doubles

Guests must make reservations by phone by December 20, 2005 and mention "NanoPEPS Conference" to receive the conference rate.


ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

Abstract deadline: November 28, 2005

General Instructions

Abstracts should be in Microsoft Word (PC or Mac) or rich text format. PostScript files will be accepted ONLY from those authors who are unable to submit in any other format.

Abstracts should be no more than two letter pages in length, including any figures, with one inch margins and a minimum of 11 point font. Authors should follow the format for title, affiliation and body text in the linked sample (provided in MS-Word .DOC format or Acrobat .PDF format). Abstracts will be converted to PDF format for publication on the web site.

Note Regarding Fonts

Authors are urged to use a serif-type font common to Macintosh and PC platforms, with Times Roman or Times New Roman preferred. Symbol should be used for mathematical symbols and Greek letters. The electronic version of your abstract will be published online as an Acrobat PDF file. If the PDF conversion program does not recognize the font you have used, it will have to use the best-available choice from its substitution table and the final product may not be as expected.

Submitting Your Abstract

Prepared abstracts must be submitted electronically as attachments to Email sent to nanopeps@unm.edu. No paper submissions will be accepted. Anyone submitting an abstract must be registered for the conference, and in the Email accompanying the abstract, authors must include the registration number generated when completing the online registration form.

In the Email accompanying the attached abstract please include the following information:

  • Your name and full contact information (Address, telephone, Email, and affiliation)
  • Your registration number generated through the online registration form
  • Your session preference from the listed topics above (Please note we do not know what will be submitted, thus cannot guarantee placement in a particular session.)

You will receive of receipt of your abstract by Email. We will attempt to confirm receipt of your abstract promptly. If you have not received a confirming Email within 72 hours of submission, please contact Jim Connolly by Email (connolly@unm.edu) who will assist in resolving the problem.


PARKING

Parking on the UNM campus requires a daily parking permit. For participants bringing or renting vehicles, arrangements can be made to provide parking permits to park on the UNM campus. If you require parking permits please note the number of days required on the registration form (up to a maximum of three).


CONTACT INFORMATION

For additional information about the workshop scientific program, please contact:

Dr ADRIAN BREARLEY
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences,
University of New Mexico
e-mail: brearley@unm.edu

Dr RHIAN JONES
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences,
University of New Mexico
e-mail: rjones@unm.edu

For more information about workshop logistics, contact

Jim Connolly
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences,
University of New Mexico
Tel: 505 277-9447; FAX 505 277-8843
e-mail: connolly@unm.edu

or

Dr Kirsty Mills
Center for High Technology Materials
University of New Mexico
Tel: 505 272-7764
e-mail:
kmills@chtm.unm.edu


SCHEDULE

  • Abstract deadline - November 28, 2005
  • Program available online - Wednesday, December 7, 2005
  • Deadline for Pre-registration - Friday, December 2, 2005 (Payment must be received no later than Dec 9)
  • Deadline for group rate Hotel reservations - Wyndham: December 11; Plaza Inn: Dec 20
  • Workshop Dates - January 11-13, 2006 (end by noon on January 13)

LINKS TO MEETING INFORMATION


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Keynote lectures: Each major subtopic will have 30-minute invited presentations to provide introduction and background. These will be followed by several 15-minute talks per session, with the remaining time allotted for discussion. We intend to hold speakers to their allotted times (15 or 30 minutes) for the formal presentation, but will allow the discussion to continue as long as useful interchange of ideas is occurring. For more information, refer to the online program and abstracts (available on or about December 1, 2005).

All electronic presentations must follow workshop guidelines as detailed in the Instructions for Electronic Presentations.

Webpage Construction
Pat Helles, UNM/CHTM and Jim Connolly UNM/E&PS
Revised 3-Jan-2006