STEPHEN HAWKING LECTURE
The level of interest expressed in the 18th Texas Symposium has been very gratifying. We expect about 700 participants and are looking forward to an outstanding Symposium. Important arrival information may be found in this bulletin, along with a Summary Schedule for the plenary and parallel sessions, and detailed agendas for the parallel sessions, including oral and poster presentations. If you are scheduled to give an oral or poster presentation, please check the schedule to verify the information there. If there is an error, please send e-mail to the parallel session chair (if applicable) and to sazama@fnal.gov.
If you are presenting a poster, Poster Specifications and Instructions are now on the Web.
In conjunction with the Texas Symposium, the Fermilab Astrophysics Group will host a Workshop on Weak Lensing at Fermilab on Thursday and Friday, December 12 and 13. On-line registration and detailed plans for the Workshop are available on the Web (http://www-astro-theory.fnal.gov/Conferences/WeakWork/welcome.html).
A Symposium on Black Holes and Relativistic Stars in honor of S. Chandrasekhar, late of the University of Chicago, will be held at the University of Chicago on Saturday and Sunday, December 14 and 15. Plans for this symposium and registration information are available on the Web (http://rainbow.uchicago.edu/relativity) or contact the Symposium Office by e-mail at sazama@fnal.gov.
STEPHEN HAWKING LECTURE A public lecture by Stephen W. Hawking is being sponsored by the Adler Planetarium, the Texas Symposium, and the University of Chicago. The lecture will be presented on Tuesday evening, December 17, at 8:00 p.m., at the Field Museum in Chicago (about a 20 minute walk or short ride from the Palmer House). A block of 250 tickets has been reserved for participants of the Texas Symposium. Dr. Hawking's lectures are always very popular, and these tickets are now available on a first-come, first-served basis at the reduced rate of $15 each. Tickets must be purchased prior to your arrival at the Symposium. If you wish to purchase any of these tickets, please contact the Fermilab Conference Office at sazama@fnal.gov or telefax: 630-840-8589, AND mail your payment (check made payable to Fermilab or credit card only) as soon as possible directly to:
A block of rooms has been reserved for Symposium participants at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel at a special rate of $81 per night, single or double occupancy. The deadline for receipt of reservations was November 1, but the Hotel has graciously increased the room block and extended the deadline to accommodate late registrants. If you have not already made reservations, please do so immediately.
Reservations should be made directly with the Palmer House by telephoning 312-726-7500 or telefaxing the Hotel at 312-917-1779. Be sure to inform the Hotel that you are attending the Texas Symposium.
Please note that the Palmer House has an "Early Check-Out Fee" of $25. If for some reason you have to check out before your scheduled departure date, please notify the front desk when checking in to avoid this fee. Any changes in your departure date after check-in will result in the $25 Early Check-Out Fee being assessed to you.
We plan to have 2 transparency overhead projectors set up for each session. If you have any special audio/visual requirements for your oral presentations, e.g., if you want to show slides or video, please contact Cynthia Sazama by e-mail as soon as possible at sazama.fnal.gov with your needs.
O'Hare International Airport and Midway Airport service the Chicago metropolitan area.
The Chicago Transit Authority operates rapid transit trains between both airports and downtown Chicago.
At O'Hare, Blue Line trains leave from inside the terminal on the lower level every 5 to 10 minutes days and evenings, and every 30 minutes from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. The trip is easy and quick (40 minutes) and costs only $1.50. All trains go downtown with free connections to all other trains. To get to the Palmer House Hilton, take the train to the Monroe/Dearborn stop and walk one block east to State Street.
At Midway, Orange Line trains leave from a station connected to the east side of the airport. These trains run Monday through Saturday, 5:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and Sunday/Holidays from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. The trip takes 30 minutes and costs only $1.50. All trains go downtown with free connections to all other trains. To get to the Palmer House Hilton, take the train to the Adams/Wabash stop and walk one block north to the Wabash street entrance to the Hotel.
Detailed schedules for both of these routes are included later in this bulletin.
Continental's Airport Express provides van service between O'Hare International Airport and all downtown hotels. Ticket counters are located across from the baggage claim areas on the ground level of the airport. One-way tickets from O'Hare to downtown Chicago (the Loop) are $14.75/$25.50 round-trip. Vans depart as frequently as every 5 minutes.
Continental's Airport Express also provides van service from Midway Airport to downtown Chicago. Their desk is located across from the Southwest Airlines ticket counter. A van ride from Midway to downtown Chicago is $10.50 one-way/$19.00 round-trip. Vans depart every 15-20 minutes.
A $1.00 discount coupon and schedule of drop-off locations is included later in this bulletin.
If you are driving into the city from the suburbs or if you are renting a car at the airport, the Palmer House does recommend self-parking at 55 East Monroe, a one-block walk from the Hotel. The rate for this parking is $4.50 for 0 to 0.5 hour; $7.50 for 0.5 to 1.5 hours; $10.25 for 1.5 to 12 hours; $12.25 for 12 to 18 hours; $14.25 for 18 to 24 hours. The cost for overnight parking is $14.25.
The Hotel does have two-way valet parking service at the Monroe Street and Wabash Street entrances. The valet rates are $11.00 for 0 to 2 hours; $16.00 for 2 to 12 hours; $20.00 for 20 to 24 hours; and $20.00 for overnight parking.
All Hotel parking tickets must be validated at the Hotel in the Lobby at the Front Desk, Bell Captains, or Concierge Desk. Non-validated tickets will be charged at regular public parking rates.
In addition, there is underground self-parking at the Monroe Street Underground Parking (Monroe Street and Columbus Drive). It is a three-block walk to the Hotel, but it costs $5.00 for 0 to 24 hours of parking.
A Welcome Reception and Registration will be held on Sunday evening, December 15, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., in the renowned Empire Room of the Palmer House Hilton.
Formal registration will take place on Monday, December 16, beginning at 7:30 a.m. in the Secretariat/Registration Area located on the 4th Floor next to the Grand and State Ballrooms. Registration will also be available each day in the Secretariat/Registration Area, Monday through Thursday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. All Symposium participants must register (including those receiving financial aid) in order to obtain a banquet ticket and be assured of receiving the Proceedings.
All plenary sessions will be held in the Grand and State Ballrooms of the Palmer House on the 4th Floor. Parallel sessions will be held in the Red Lacquer Room (4th Floor), the Monroe and the Adams Ballrooms (6th Floor), the Wabash Parlor (3rd Floor), as well as in the Grand and State Ballrooms.
Poster Sessions will be held in the Lower Exhibition Hall on the 3rd Floor from 8:00 p.m. the day before through 7:00 p.m. the day on which the corresponding Parallel Session is to meet. Further details regarding the Poster Sessions and poster preparation are included later in this bulletin.
Access to remote computing resources, along with local printing, will be provided at the Symposium. These facilities will be located in Salons VII and VIII on the 3rd Floor, adjacent to the Lower Exhibition Hall. An enclosed sheet describes in more detail the computing support planned for the Symposium; this information is also on the Web here.
In addition to the Reception on Sunday, a Symposium Banquet will be held at the Palmer House in the Grand and State Ballrooms, on Thursday evening, December 19, at 7:30 p.m. The banquet is included in your registration fee. Tickets for companions may be purchased at Registration for $40.
The Proceedings of the Symposium will be published by World Scientific Press. The deadline for contributions is January 31, 1997. Page limits, format, and submission information is on the Web (http://www-astro-theory.fnal.gov/Conferences/Texas96/proc.html).
A Press Room will be located on the 3rd floor in the Cresthill Room of the Hotel. If you have some noteworthy news, please contact Josh Frieman, Symposium Co-chair, by e-mail at frieman@fnal.gov.
Chicago is a city of unsurpassed beauty where you will find miles of beautiful lakefront parks, renowned museums, superb theatre, elegant shops, and restaurants of every cuisine. Although it may be a bit chilly (average temperature 26.6 degrees Farenheit, 2.47 inches average precipitation in December) in the "Windy City" during your visit to attend the Texas Symposium, there are many wonderful "indoor" activities to enjoy. We have included herewith brochures on some of the many events available.