4th International Symposium on Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems

YEAH!!!!! One of my favorite conferences (naturally) put up the first curricular for the 4th International Symposium on Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems. It was formerly called the International Symposium on Vent and Seep Biology, renamed to accommodate whale falls and emphasize the common link to these amazing deep sea habitats. The conference occurs every 3 years. I went in 2005 when it was in La Jolla and it was very interesting! Most of the papers are preliminary results from works in progress and it is very grad-student friendly offering many opportunities to interact with leading PI's in the field. If you can make it this to beautiful Okinawa (where I hear the seafood is outstanding!), I highly recommend it. I will do my best, although abstracts are due in by January 31. Come on guys! The conference isn't until June 29, you can give us a little more time than that!

The Symposium will be held at Bankoku Shinryokan in Nago City, Okinawa, Japan, which is set next to beautiful sandy beaches. Coral reefs and subtropical forests with exotic wildlife surround the venue. Convinced to go now? Here is the announcement, the website should be up and running by the 2nd announcement (it isn't working now).