[Swarmfest2007] draft announcement

[Steve Railsback]

OK, I have a draft SwarmFest announcement for your review, below (and 
at: 
http://www.swarm.org/wiki/Talk:Swarm:_SwarmFest#Announcing:_SwarmFest_2007)

We obviously need to get it out as soon as possible, then follow up soon 
with the Call for Papers with additional details.

I'm still very excited about the location. Our last major holdup has 
been confirming the availability of cheap dorm rooms; it looks like 
DePaul can provide rooms as cheap at $50 right in the middle of 
downtown. We are reserving a block of them, including some single rooms.

Our host (Steve Lytinen) has been tied up in interviewing candidates to 
be his new dean, but his department has experience putting on 
conferences and he has some administrative support so things should get 
rolling.

Any comments before we move ahead with the announcement?

Steve

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==Announcing: SwarmFest 2007==
Swarm Development Group is pleased to announce SwarmFest 2007, the 11th 
of our annual conferences of agent-based modelers and users of Swarm and 
other ABM platforms. The dates will be July 12-15.

SwarmFest is an interdisciplinary, informal conference that provides the 
opportunity to present and discuss innovative modeling work and tools 
and techniques for ABM. We especially encourage presentation of work 
that may be too new, esoteric, or methods-oriented for other scientific 
forums. Swarm Development Group also uses SwarmFest to gather feedback 
from the modeling community on development and support priorities.

This year we have a particularly exciting location: DePaul University's 
"Loop" campus in the heart of downtown Chicago. Our hosts will be Steve 
Lytinen and colleagues at DePaul's School of Computer Science, 
Telecommunications, and Information Systems (http://www.cti.depaul.edu). 
In recent years, Chicago has become one of America's most livable and 
lively urban centers. The summer weather is often excellent, with the 
midwest heat tempered by cool breezes from Lake Michigan.

Among the nearby amenities are:
*Chicago's lakefront with its parks, beaches, museums, etc;
*The http://www.artic.edu/aic/ Art Institute, one of the best art 
museums in the country;
*Outdoor art and free concerts at the new http://www.millenniumpark.org/ 
Millenium Park;
*The famous Michigan Avenue shopping district; and
*The near north side's dining and nightlife.

Access from O'Hare and Midway airports is via an easy, inexpensive train 
ride.

Housing options will include inexpensive dormitory rooms and discounts 
at several hotels, including the historic 
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/CHIPHHH-The-Palmer-House-Hilton-Illinois/index.do 
Palmer House.

We are expecting to have several training classes available on Thursday, 
July 12; and regular presentation sessions on the 13-14th. We will also 
have a poster session.

The official call for papers will be circulated soon. It will include 
deadlines for submitting abstracts, and registration costs and deadlines.

Questions should be addressed to: address@hidden