Social Events

An integral part of any scientific conference is an opportunity to exchange ideas with other conferees.  While the Plenary Lectures, invited and oral presentations, and posters provide an excellent venue for the dissemination of information, there must be times when conferees can discuss research and ideas with one another.

We are attempting to facilitate those interactions.  The opportunities are largely dependant upon sponsorship of the exhibitors:

Opening Reception This reception will be held Sunday evening, June 12, from 18:00 to 20:00.  This reception is sponsored by the Doubletree Hotel Sonoma Wine Country and Thermo Scientific.  We anticipate that this will be an enjoyable event where conferees can meet one another and there will be ample food and beverages for the evening.

Monday Poster Session Agilent Technologies has graciously agreed to provide wine and cheese (as well as non-alcoholic beverages) during the latter half of one of the Poster Sessions.

Coffee Breaks InfraRed Associates is sponsoring the Monday morning coffee break and DeltaNu is sponsoring the Tuesday morning coffee break.

Wednesday Evening Barbecue After the excursion on Wednesday afternoon Bio-Rad Informatics and Horiba Scientific have arranged for partial support  of a barbecue to be held on a beach on the Russian River.  The barbecue will take place from about 6:30 to 8:30.  There will be ample food, local beer, and other beverages.  The afternoon excursion buses will take people to the barbecue and bring them back to the Doubletree hotel.

Evening Meals The Conference is providing transportation to and from the city of Santa Rosa for dinners Monday and Tuesday evenings.  There is a sign-up facility for conferees to reserve spaces at the restaurants.  The restaurants can accommodate groups of various sizes so conferees will be able to book tables for those who wish to dine together.  The restaurants are reasonably priced.  There are many more restaurants in the Santa Rosa downtown and the City of Santa Rosa has a wonderful interactive map that can assist in finding restaurants and other establsihments.

Bus service will start around 6:30.  There will be two buses making the round trip to Santa Rosa and they will depart approximately 30 minutes apart and each will run for a total of four hours.  Consequently the last bus to leave Santa Rosa will depart at approximately 10:30 and arrive back at the Doubletree Hotel at 11:00.  If you miss the last bus you will have to hire a taxi to bring you back to Rohnert Park.  The only hotel serviced in Rohnert Park will be the Doubletree Hotel Sonoma Wine Country.

Conference Excursions.  Two different Conference Excursions are available:

  1. Russian River Canoe Trip.  Canoe down the Russian River through an old growth redwood forest.  The canoes carry two people, and actual paddling time is three to three and a half hours.  There are beaches and rest areas along the river where time may be spent sunbathing or swimming.  Extra water and soft drinks will be provided at the rest areas.  This excursion is open only to people who are proficient swimmers.  Although the river is not rapid or rough, canoes can tip or overturn, so it is necessary to be a good swimmer.  All participants in this excursion must wear a life preserver, which will be provided.  The cost of this excursion is USD60 per person.  (The added cost is for the rental of the canoes and refreshments provided along the river.)
  2. Armstrong Woods and Korbel Champagne Cellars or other winery.  Stroll through an old growth redwood forest and state park.  Information on the forest will be given.  In addition, enjoy a tour of the Korbel Cellars where they produce wines by the Methode Champenoise.  Korbel may not be able to accommodate everyone hence some people may visit Kendall-Jackson or Rodney Strong wineries. If there is sufficient time, there will be a side trip to see the Sonoma Coast near the mouth of the Russian River, which is a favorite spot for sea lions to rest.
  3. Potential tour of JDSU JDS Uniphase Corporation has a spectroscopy facility in Santa Rosa.  They are an exhibitor at ICAVS-6 and they have graciously offered to give a tour of the facilities.  They do require that interested conferees sign up for the tour so that they can start to obtain the necessary credentials to see the facility.

Conference Banquet The Conference Banquet will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Sonoma Wine Country, Thursday evening, June 16.