Frequently Asked Questions

Conference Registration

• How do I register for the conference?
• Is the conference banquet included in my student registration fee?

Travel

• How do I get from the Albuquerque airport to the conference center?
• When should I plan to arrive?

Housing

• What are the housing arrangements for students, and how many nights are covered?

Poster Session

• What size poster boards will we use?
• What are some suggestions for poster preparation?
• When will the posters be on display?
• Do I have to be there while my poster is on display?

Other

• How much time will student activities occupy during PANIC05?
• When will award decisions be made?
• If I don't receive a travel, lodging, or registration waiver award, can I still participate in the student program?

Conference Registration

  How do I register for the conference?
The PANIC05 registration fee for students is significantly reduced from the full registration fee. Each student must register for the conference in the normal way, using this link. If you are requesting a waiver of the conference fee, do not register for the conference until we have notified you of your award, if any. You will have at least two weeks between our notification and the early registration deadline. However, if we are not able to waive your conference fee, you will have to pay the $200 student registration fee by the early registration deadline. If you've already paid for registration and have been granted a conference registration fee waiver, send a request for reimbursement to Andrea Palounek.

  Is the conference banquet included in my student registration fee?
No.

Travel

  How do I get from the Albuquerque airport to the conference center?
Consult the PANIC05 webpage for useful information about ground transportation to and from the airport. There is no free shuttle service between the ABQ airport and Santa Fe. The Santa Fe Shuttle (http://www.shuttlesantafe.com/ or 888-833-2300) runs $21/person one way and $38/person round trip; the Sandia Shuttle Express (http://www.sandiashuttle.com/ or 888-775-5696) runs $23/person one way, $43/person round trip. You must make a reservation at least 24 hours prior to departure.

  When should I plan to arrive?
The conference begins Monday morning, October 24, but you should plan to arrive by late Sunday afternoon in order to attend the conference reception at the Hilton. You should plan to depart Friday night or Saturday morning (October 28 or 29) in order to participate fully in the conference, which ends late-afternoon Friday. You are free to depart later than Saturday, although student housing will not be available past Saturday morning the 29th. The student housing will not be available before Thursday night the 23rd or past Saturday morning the 29th.

Housing

  What are the housing arrangements for students, and how many nights are covered?
PANIC05 has arranged for inexpensive (by Santa Fe standards) housing within walking distance of the Hilton and Sweeney Center. Students receiving housing awards will share rooms (two to a room). Students paying for their rooms may share or not, according to their preference. Students accommodations are available for the nights of October 23rd through the 29th. PANIC05 student housing awards will not cover the cost of alternate accommodations.

Poster Information

  What size poster boards will we use?
Each student will have a standard 4' x 4' area on which to display research. Pushpins will be available for mounting. We suggest that you either print out the entire poster on one sheet, or put your individual pages onto a single, larger sheet of stiffer cardboard. That way the single piece can be mounted using the provided pushpins. Individual sheets can be mounted using pushpins, but it would help to mount fewer sheets in order to conserve pins.

  What are some suggestions for poster preparation?
Prepare several pages of material summarizing your research project. At the conference center poster room, arrange these pages using pushpins on the display boards, which will be already set up. All text should be in a large and dark font so it can be read comfortably from a moderate distance. You should consider including the following:

• Title of the project: Place somewhere near the top of the display, along with all the names of people involved. Font size for this information should be between 40 and 72 pt.
• Textual description of the project: be clear and concise. Avoid pages with lots of dense text; use separate sections of a few sentences at a time and spread them out generously on the page. Font size should be a minimum of 24 pt.
• Total information content: Remember that you will be there to discuss your work with visitors, so the displays don't need to contain every little detail. your poster should give the viewer a concise overview of your project.
• Use graphics wherever possible: Include photographs, diagrams, plots, etc. wherever appropriate.
• Avoid crowding pages on the poster board: Spread them out generously and arrange them in a logical flow.
• Add contrast: A sheet of colored construction paper placed underneath a page and slightly offset from it adds contrast and gives the page a "framed" look. It may also help to place blocks of text in boxes using whatever word processor you use.

  When will posters be on display?
The poster session is listed on the PANIC05 schedule of events. You will have ample time to set up your poster earlier ini the day.

  Do I have to be there while my poster is on display?
Please make every effort to be by your poster for the whole duration of the poster session.

Other

  How much time will student activities occupy during PANIC05?
There are several activities planned as part of the special program for students, including a welcome reception, invited "hot topic" physics talks, the poster session, recruiting opportunities, and a Friday afternoon closing session. None of these activities should conflict with your attendance at the normal conference schedule. We strongly encourage you to participate fully in PANIC05.

  When will award decisions be made? You will be notified of student awards by September 2, before the deadline for "reduced fee" registration. If you miss the deadline for early registration, you (or your department or your sponsor) will have to pay the extra registration cost.

  If I don't receive a lodging or registration waiver award, can I still participate in the student program?
Most definitely! The goal of the PANIC05 student program is to provide an enhaced experience for all attending students, whether or not we are able to award them financial assistance. This is a regular physics conference -- as long as your research is appropriate to the conference, you are welcome to participate in all activities, including the student poster session. If you don't receive a student award, we hope that your advisor, research institution, or home institution will be able to provide the funds to let you participate in the meeting. We suggest that you check with them to see what assistance they might be able to give you in case you don't receive an award.