Presenter Guidelines
and General Information

Oral Session Information

Oral sessions will be held in six rooms on the first floor of the Marriott (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 and M6) Monday morning through Thursday afternoon. Oral sessions will also be held Monday morning through Wednesday afternoon in 4 sections of the third floor ballroom in the Sheraton Hotel (Poplar Hall, Providence, Stratford and York Hall). Marriott rooms M1, M2, M3 and M4 will also be used throughout the day on Friday for continuing Chesapeake Bay Research Colloquium sessions.

There will be ten concurrent oral sessions from Monday morning, October 17, through Wednesday afternoon, October 19, in both the Sheraton and the Marriott. On Thursday, October 20, six concurrent sessions will be held in the Marriott only, and on Friday, October 21, four concurrent sessions will be held in rooms M1, M2, M3 and M4 of the Marriott.

Oral presentations are allotted 12 minutes for the talk and 3 minutes for questions (a total of 15 minutes). Some sessions may feature a 30-minute presentation either at the beginning or end of the session. Poster summaries are included in several sessions; generally, poster summary presentations will only last 1.5 minutes and may include one PowerPoint slide or overhead transparency for display during the talk. Be sure to contact your session chair for additional instructions if you are giving a poster summary. Session chairs will adhere strictly to the printed schedule to facilitate movement between sessions and to ensure that all presenters and conference participants have the best conference experience possible.

Each oral session room will be equipped with a laptop computer and LCD projector, an overhead projector, screen and laser pointer. A 35-mm slide projector will be available only upon request. Please contact Computer Central (cchristm@odu.edu ) (Marriott, 4th floor, ballroom, section 3) as early as possible if you wish to use a slide projector. Each room will be staffed by two student volunteers to assist with all aspects of the presentations. Each speaker should introduce him- or herself to the session chair and the student volunteers during the break before the session in which he or she is speaking.

Synthesis Sessions

An innovative aspect of the conference’s scientific program is the inclusion of Synthesis Sessions. During these sessions exciting, emerging topics on estuarine research and management will be emphasized.

Synthesis Sessions will be 90 minutes long with a team of three featured speakers and two moderators. Each speaker will give a 20-minute synthesis of salient aspects of conference sessions relevant to the synthesis topic and provide their perspective on future research needs with special emphasis on the conference theme, Estuarine Interactions: Biological-Physical Feedbacks and Adaptations. After each speaker, 10 minutes will be available for discussion.

Five synthesis sessions have been scheduled over two days of the conference, Tuesday and Wednesday, October 18 and 19. Times and locations for the synthesis sessions are:

Tuesday, October 18		Session 1: Interactions with Estuarine Physics 4:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Marriot Norfolk Waterside Convention Center, Ballroom, first floor, Room M6

Wednesday, October 19		Session 3: Interactions with Management of Estuarine Systems 4:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Sheraton Norfolk Waterside, Poplar Hall, third floor Session 4: Interactions with Estuarine Biology 4:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Sheraton Norfolk Waterside, Stratford Hall, third floor Session 5: Interactions with Observing Systems 4:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Marriot Norfolk Waterside Convention Center, Ballroom, first floor, Room M5

Thursday, October 20		Session 2: Interactions with Estuarine Chemistry 10:15 p.m. – 12:00 noon Marriot Norfolk Waterside Convention Center, Ballroom, fourth floor, Section 3

We hope you’ll take the opportunity to participate in these new, interactive sessions!

Computer Central Room

Marriott, 4th floor ballroom, section 3
Cory Christman, Manager (cchristm@odu.edu)

Computer Central will be open

Sunday, October 16: 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Monday, October 17– Wednesday, October 19: 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 20: 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Friday, October 21: 7:00 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.

Each oral presenter must bring their presentation to Computer Central AT LEAST 24 HOURS prior to their oral session. Monday morning presenters should email their presentations to Cory Christman before the conference or bring them directly to Computer Central on Sunday before 5:00 pm. Presenters will have no access to their presentations after they have been submitted to Computer Central.

Presentations should be in Power Point (not Keynote) and loaded onto either a flash drive or burned onto a CD. If you have questions about, or special needs, for your presentation (for example, you require video), please contact Cory.

Note: If you are using a presentation mode other than Power Point, such as an overhead projector or a slide projector, you MUST check in with Computer Central 24-hours in advance so they can make this equipment available in your session room. If using slides, we recommend preloading your own carousel and bring to Computer Central so they can make sure it works properly on the available projectors.

Note: No individual computers will be used in the oral sessions.

Speaker Ready Room

Marriott, 4th floor ballroom, section 2

Sunday, October 16: 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Monday, October 17– Wednesday, October 19: 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 20: 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Friday, October 21: 7:00 a.m. – 5:45 p.m.

Located adjacent to Computer Central, this room will be open from Sunday through Friday. It will be equipped with computers, an LCD projector, slide projector, and an overhead projector. Speakers may modify or view their presentations prior to submitting them to the Computer Central team.

Since we will only have a few computers in this room, a sign-up sheet will be available in Computer Central on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Poster Session Information

All poster presenters should fill out the Poster Questionnaire at the following webpage (http://www.erf.org/user-cgi/erf05posterform.pl) before September 2, 2005. If it is not filled out, we will assume that the only supplies you need to are pushpins.

Overview
In order for us to provide a high quality poster session, we will need the cooperation of all contributors. Therefore, we have prepared the following guidelines to assist participants in preparing and displaying poster presentations in Norfolk, Virginia. The guidelines below address poster requirements, recommendations, restrictions, and how to request special accommodations. We ask that you review the guidelines, adhere to the requirements, and advise us of special needs. Contact us if you need clarification.

Interactive Posters
Interactive poster presentations are planned for two of the oral sessions. These posters will be set up in the same room as the oral session and time will be allotted for each poster presenter to give a two minute introduction/summary of their work from the podium. The audience will have the chance to view the poster and question the author during the day’s breaks. The posters can be moved to the Poster Hall when the session ends and will be available for all attendees to view. All interactive poster presenters should follow the same guidelines for those in the General Poster Session.

Poster Hall Location
Conference organizers have designed a layout in the Hampton Roads Ballroom on the third floor of the Marriott Norfolk Waterside Convention Center that will allow for easy access and interesting displays. Posters will be organized by theme or subject matter. Each poster will be assigned a number and location that will correspond to a map located on page 110 of the conference program.

Important Times for Poster Presenters
Please mount your poster on your assigned board between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on your assigned day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday).

You are expected to be at your poster from 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. on the day that your poster is displayed. The morning and afternoon coffee breaks in the poster hall are also good times to be available.

Please plan to keep your poster up on your board until at least 6:00 p.m. Please plan to remove all posters and associated paraphernalia by 8:15 p.m. each day or the posters will be discarded.

In many of the oral sessions, poster summaries will draw the attendee’s attention to posters hall posters associated with that particular session.

Poster Information Booth
A poster information booth will be set up near the doors to the poster hall. Please stop by to confirm your poster position, pick up pushpins, and ask questions.

Poster Format and Content
New technologies and media have expanded and enhanced the types of presentations that may be given during the poster sessions. Therefore, we have tried to anticipate various presentation media and needs in preparing these guidelines. However, in order for conference organizers to meet your needs (and avoid last-minute surprises), please complete the information form, which will help us identify supplies, equipment, materials, and/or special needs for your presentation. The questionnaire is available at http://www.erf.org/user-cgi/erf05posterform.pl and should be filled out and submitted to confirm your presentation no later than September 2, 2005.

Keep your poster simple and provide a clear “take-home” message; you can provide details in discussions or during the conference. Consider having supplemental information by your poster (e.g., reduced copies of the poster, business cards, printed abstracts, etc.). Three good sites that help with ideas for preparing posters are:

Mounting
Posters will be displayed on 8-foot wide by 4-foot
high poster boards with a 2-inch border (interior dimensions are approximately 92" wide by 46" high). Push pins for mounting your poster will be available.

Dimensions
Each poster should be no more than 92 inches (233 cm) wide and 46 inches (116 cm) high and no less than 60-inches (152cm) wide and 36-inches (91cm) high (posters smaller than this size are not readable).

Special Requests for Your Display Space
Early notification (on or before 2 September) of special needs and coordination with conference organizers is very important! Please fill out the form available at http://www.erf.org/user-cgi/erf05posterform.pl

Electrical supply (standard, 120-volt) can be provided to your space upon request but requires an additional fee. Power-access constraints may apply.
Presenters will be responsible for providing their own computers, projectors, screens, electrical adapters, extension cords, power strips, surge protectors, etc.
Tables are available upon request, but may require an additional fee.
Internet connections may be made available for a substantial additional fee and will require coordination with conference organizers.

Additional Considerations/Recommendations

Provide a schedule of times you (or someone else) will be available at your poster for questions or for providing additional information, in addition to your assigned presentation day/time.
Make yourself available during the conference for follow up discussions.
Provide preprinted abstracts with contact information.
Bring a good supply of business cards.
Please assemble and remove your poster on time.
We cannot be responsible for its disposition.
The Conference Center provides security and the poster hall will be locked after 9:00 p.m. However, presenters should plan to remove their posters and all related objects by 8:15 p.m. at the end of their presentation day.

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