DAMOP 2009: Information from Local Organizing Committee
The 40th meeting of the Division of Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics (DAMOP) of the American Physical Society will be held at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia from Tuesday, May 19th to Saturday, May 23, 2009. Now is the time to make your plans. See the conference website for details.
The conference will be held on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. The area offers many historic attractions, and it is close to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Shenandoah National Park, which is particularly attractive in May and has many hiking trails.
Over 900 abstracts were submitted to the meeting, a new high for the DAMOP meeting We are grateful to those who sorted the abstracts, Seth Aubin, Lou Bloomfield, Bill Cooke, John Delos, Lou DiMauro, Kevin Lehmann, Pierre Meystre, Chris Monroe, Irina Novikova, Olivier Pfister, Cass Sackett, Charles Sukenik, Lepsha Vuscovic, Tom Gallagher, and Bob Jones. The sorting went very quickly, guided by Vinaya Sathyasheelappa of the APS meetings department.
The program is online at http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DAMOP09/Content/1407
Important Sign Up Sheets on the Conference Website
We wish to draw your attention to several sign-up lists found on the conference website. More information about each of these can be found below and on the website.
- Airport buses
- Box lunches
- Dormitory rooms
- Accompanying persons program
Registration
The deadline for early registration, at the reduced rate, is March 31. The early registration fee is $435 for APS members, $500 for non-members, and $225 for students. The registration fee includes all receptions and the conference banquet. On site registration will begin Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 4:00pm in Newcomb Hall.
Registration this year is being done through the APS web page.
A link is also available on the conference web site.
Abstract Submission: The DEADLINE for contributed abstracts was Friday January 23, 2009.
Poster Sessions
The Poster Sessions will be held in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom and Main Lounge from 4:00pm to 6:00pm on Wednesday through Friday and from 1:30pm to 3:30pm on Saturday. Poster presenters can put up their posters in the morning of the day the poster is presented and are asked to remove them by 6:30pm of the same day.
Oral Sessions
Oral sessions will run from 8:00am to 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, Wednesday-Friday and from 8:00 am to 12:30 PM on Saturday. There will be a break in the morning sessions from 10:00am to 10:30am. There are 6 parallel sessions, two in Clark Hall, two in Gilmer Hall, one in Chemistry, and one in Minor Hall.
Contributed presentations must be uploaded to conference computers by flash drive (not supplied) or CD prior to the start of each session. External VGA connections will be available for invited speakers wishing to present from a personal laptop. Any speaker who wishes to use transparencies for their presentation should contact the conference organizer, Karen Bloomfield, to arrange for a transparency projector.
Conference Banquet
The conference banquet will be held Friday May 22 at the John Paul Jones Arena near the main campus. A reception immediately preceding the banquet will begin at 6:30 pm. Buses will be available for transportation to/from the arena. Additional banquet tickets can be purchased for $50. Seating at the banquet is limited.
Exhibits: As in previous years, vendor exhibits will be set up near the poster sessions.
Special Events – Tuesday, May 19th
A Graduate Student Symposium will be held on May 19th in Clark Hall featuring tutorial talks by Robin Cote, Lene Hau, Margaret Murnane and Thad Walker. Students and others interested are urged to sign up on the conference registration form or by contacting the conference co-ordinator, Karen Bloomfield. The cost is $50.00 which includes lunch.
The Welcome Reception will be held in the Newcomb Hall Ballroom from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
Special Events – Wednesday, May 20th
The opening session of the 2009 DAMOP Conference meeting is the Plenary Session at 8:00am in the Cabell Hall Auditorium with talks by Gustav Gerber and Misha Lukin, winners of the Broida and Rabi prizes.
The annual Women in DAMOP reception will be held in the garden of Pavillion III near the University Lawn from 5:00pm to 6:30pm.
A Laboratory Open House of the AMO laboratories in the Physics and Chemistry buildings will be held to welcome visitors from 7:00pm to 9:00pm.
Special Events – Thursday, May 21st
The Physical Review A / Physical Review Letters "Meet the Editors" reception will be held in the garden of Pavillion VII (the Colonnade Club) from 4:00pm – 6:00pm.
A public lecture, "The Physics of NASCAR," will be presented by Diandra Leslie-Pelecky of the University of Texas, Dallas at 7:30pm in the Old Cabell Hall auditorium.
Special Events – Friday, May 22nd
The DAMOP business meeting will be held at 5:00pm in the South Meeting Room of Newcomb Hall.
Accommodations
Blocks of rooms have been reserved in nearby hotels as listed on the conference website. The rooms will be released on April 19th so book your room now. Locations of the hotels relative to the UVa grounds and meeting rooms can be viewed on maps provided on the conference web pages.
A limited number of dormitory rooms are available at special 5 night conference package rates (arrival Tuesday May 19th and departure Sunday May 24th ):
$205 (single occupancy) or $160 (double occupancy)
To sign up for a dormitory room please visit the links posted on the conference website. Reservations received after April 17th will incur an additional $50 late fee.
Travel to Charlottesville
It is possible to fly directly to Charlottesville but the number of flights and seating is limited. The airport is 7 miles from the University and nearby hotels. These can be reached by taxi or rental car. It will be more convenient for many to fly to the Richmond or Washington Dulles airports which are 75 and 85 miles from Charlottesville, respectively.
There will be DAMOP charter buses leaving Washington Dulles at 4 pm and 7 pm and leaving Richmond at 6 pm on Tuesday, May 19. You can register for one of these buses on the conference website. Cost is $30 one way, payable by cash or check at the bus. There will be buses returning to the airports on Saturday, May 23, at approximately 3:30 in the afternoon. Charlottesville is also served by AMTRAK and Greyhound.
Student Travel Support
The level of student participation at DAMOP meetings has always been a pride and joy of this division. Student travel funds assist those who might not otherwise be able to attend. Last year over 100 students applied for support. Only students who submitted an abstract then attend the conference can receive support. The abstract deadline has past. However you can still make an email request for Student Travel Support by following the instructions on the following web page by March 20, 2009.
Invitations for Visa Purposes
Individuals requesting a letter of invitation should write to the conference coordinator, Karen Bloomfield. These letters are to enable participants to obtain permission to attend the meeting or a visa. The letter does not imply that the registration fees or other costs will be assumed by the conference. To obtain a letter for Visa purposes, address your request to:
Karen Bloomfield
Department of Physics
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904
Accompanying Persons Program
In addition to self-guided tours of Charlottesville and the scenic countryside of central Virginia, two outings are planned.
Tour, Wine Tasting, and Lunch at King Family Vineyards
Wednesday, May 20 9:45am–2:30pm
Cost: $30 per person, including transportation and food
Tour and Lunch at Jefferson's Monticello
Thursday, May 21 9:45am–2:30pm
Cost: $30 per person, including transportation and food
Reservations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis and spaces are limited. More details and a sign-up sheet are available on the conference website.