Southwest Student Conference

The SPIE/OSA Southwest Optics Student Conference will be held for the first time from June 15th to June 17th 2009 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Participating universities are

University of Arizona, Tucson	University of Colorado, Boulder
Texas A&M University	University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Attendees

If you would like to be a part of this meeting, follow the registration instructions below. We offer housing at a subsidized rate. If you live near one of the participating universities you can also join them and travel to the conference together. If you would like to present your research at the conference, submit a simple 1 page abstract following the instructions below. Presentations will be given either as a poster or orally.

Field Trip

The following options for field trips are available. The spots are first come first serve. Please send an email to Andreas Schmitt-Sody to sign up. All field trips will be in the morning on Tuesday the 16th.

Site	Spots
CVI	10
Wavefront	10 (Name and citizenship information required in advance!*)
Schott Solar	10
Starfire Optical Range	Cancelled!
Emcore	10

*) Citizens of the following countries, that are not us residents cannot participate in the tour of Wavefront Sciences: Syria, Iraq, Rwanda, Libya, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Myanmar (Burma), North Korea, Balkans, Liberia, Zimbabwe.

Registration

To register for the conference, please download the registration form, fill it out and fax the signed copy to the number indicated on the form. Please note that the conference fee is due in advance and that the registration is not valid unless the fee has been received. The registration deadline is June 5th 2009. Late registrations and on site registrations are subject to the on site registration fee of $40. The OSA and SPIE chapters at participating universities can help you with your application and accept the payment of the conference fee. There contact addresses are listed in the table below.

Travel

The Student Chapters are organizing group travel to the conference. If you live near one of the participating universities and would like to join them contact them. The contact addresses are:

Submissions

Our submission deadline has been extended to Friday, May 22nd!

Any graduate student of optics or a related field can submit and abstract to the conference. Submissions should be in the form of 1 page abstracts, otherwise following the CLEO style guide. Technical content in any field of active research in optics is appropriate. Accepted submissions will be presented as an oral or poster presentation at the conference. Submitted work can be previously published and should focus on a general overview of the current/published research project. Submissions will be accepted from March 15th to May 15th. Please email your submissions to Denis Seletskiy. You will receive a confirmation email within 2 working days.

Housing

We have obtained low group rates from Motel 6 as well as from the Albuquerque Hilton where most of the conference will take place. Please indicate your housing preference in the registration form. You have the option to book a room for yourself alone or to share it with roommates.

The Hilton is booked out for the dates of the conference! Please indicate on the registration form if you want a room at Motel 6 or no room at all.

The rate at Motel 6 is $35.95 per room for up to 2 students in a room with 2 queen size beds. The Motel is about 5 minutes walking distance from CHTM where the reception and registration will take place and about 5 minutes driving from the Hilton where the technical sessions and panel discussion are located. The Motel is newly renovated with hardwood floors. It is right next to the highway which makes it somewhat noisy. There is no direct public transport from the Motel to the conference site. The Motel is at
1000 Avenida Cesar Chavez Southeast
I-25 at Avenida Cesar Chavez, Exit #223

Schedule

This schedule is subject to change.

Visiting Albuquerque

For more information on the city, go www.cabq.gov. If you are looking for recreational activities in and around Albuquerque check www.itsatrip.org.

Sponsors

This event is sponsored by:

UNM Center for High Technology Materials

UNM Dean of Engineering

UNM Department of Physics and Astronomy

UNM Physics GSA

UNM Provost Office

If you are interested in sponsoring this event please contact us at osa@unm.edu.