Conference Overview

WHAT ARE THESE TUTORIALS?: Over the course of 3 evenings (4-7pm, after ski lifts close) we have a series of about two dozen 12-minute elementary tutorials, plus some shorter blitz talks by the students. These tutorials should be accessible to a broad audience of people in other disciplines with different backgrounds from the speaker — thus, no jargon, no acronyms.  The format of talks is akin to a TED-talk. Important Note:  These are *not* intended to be reviews of the speaker’s own research. We limit the total number of slides to 20 (max of 2 data panels or figures per slides) of which no more than 4 can be from the speaker’s own research lab. Think of these as collegial continuing-education tutorials at an advanced undergraduate level. We ask everyone to end their tutorial with a summary of Key Future Directions, Knowledge Gaps, & Opportunities for Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration.

WHY NO ZOOM/HYBRID OPTION?  We envision these tutorials as the start of informal interdisciplinary conversations that will continue throughout the three days over breakfasts, dinners, breaks, in the hot tub, or on the chairlifts. Ideally, these in-person conversations will lead to new friendships and new cross-disciplinary collaborations. Because these unstructured informal one-on-one and small group discussion are a core raison d’être for this meeting, there is no zoom/hybrid option to attend or to speak. As they used to say in the 1960s: Be there or be square.

EVENT LOGISTICS: January 5-7, 2027, at Deer Valley Ski Resort in Park City, Utah (45 minute shuttle or uber from SLC airport, with direct flights from all over). Nice hotel at base of mountain: The Lodges at Deer Valley. We plan for breakfasts together as a group (included in group hotel rate) and 2 out of 3 evenings we have group dinners arranged at the hotel. Generous time is allowed for breaks. For those who don’t ski or snowboard (which is usually about half the attendees), lots of other mountain recreation is available, as well as spas, and a nice hotel pool and hot tub. The historic mining town of Park City is nearby to explore.  We will organize some non-skiing group outings for attendees.  This is a family-friendly event, and some attendees bring along partners and their children.

COSTS & SUPPORT: The overall costs for the coming year will be about the same as last year in terms of both registration fee ($350, including two dinners) and hotel rooms which are $330/night base price ($408/night including all taxes and fees) if you book it early as part of our discount rooming block. Note: All attendees, including speakers, pay for their own airfare, hotel, and registration. We do raise money from private and corporate sponsors for student attendees and a competition for these limited student travel fellowships will be announced over the summer.