3 October 2001
POC: Todd Boroson, Roger Brissenden (POC alumnus), Dick Crutcher, Daniel Durand, Francoise Genova, Tom Handley, Rick Harnden, Richard Hook, Gareth Hunt, Jan Noordam, Dick Shaw, Betty Stobie, Doug Tody, Christian Veillet, Patrick Wallace
LOC: Severin Gaudet, Pierre Lamoureux (2001 LOC); Perry Greenfield (2002 LOC)
The following is a summary of the discussion of items listed in the meeting agenda.
The conference was running very smoothly, and the POC gratefully acknowledged the outstanding efforts of the LOC in hosting ADASS XI. The unofficial total registrations reached about 240 prior to the terrorist attacks of 11 Sept., which was almost 20% higher than the last time ADASS was held in Victoria (1993). Subsequent cancellations brought the total registrants down to about 220, although that total includes 10 no-shows. Several of the cancellations were the result of institutional restrictions on travel imposed after Sept. 11. Considering the tremendous uncertainty in the few weeks prior to the conference, the impact on ADASS XI appears to have been fairly small.
The new walk-up DHCP and wireless network connections (for personal laptops) appeared to be very popular, and the handling of electronic presentations appears to have set a new standard of excellence. The banquet was a tremendous success, and apparently was self-funding. While the oral program did suffer from the withdrawal of one invited and five contributed presentations, the overall program remained strong. The last session was cancelled, and additional time was allowed between some oral sessions for poster viewing.
This conference was budgeted to break even if the attendance exceeded about 200, although there were some late, unanticipated expenses that have yet to be factored in. Even with several cancellations, early indications suggest that expenses will match revenues to within a few thousand dollars. Dick mentioned that a small over-run could be covered by the ADASS carry-over funds. Approximately 70 people attended the Python tutorial, meaning that even with substantial support to the speaker and additional costs for the auditorium space, it was a net contributor to the budget.
A discussion ensued about what position to take with regard to people who chose or were compelled to cancel their ADASS registration. The strong concensus was to provide refunds in strict accordance with the advertised policy, i.e., full refunds minus a CAD$40 fee for cancellations received by 21 Sept., and no refunds for cancellations received afterward. It is likely that, had the terrorist attacks occured as little as one week after 11 Sept., ADASS XI would have been cancelled. While no one would like to think that another such calamity will ever occur, it is possible to imagine less dramatic circumstances that could put a given conference in doubt. A lesson learned for future ADASS conferences is that it is critical to review the cancellation policy to ensure a sufficient margin of financial security against unforseen events.
This year a number of POC members noted that the quantity and quality of financial aid applicants was lower this year than in years past. [A database of financial aid recipients is being build by Irene Barg and Betty Stobie.] This may be a result of two factors: for budgetary reasons only USD$5000 was allocated to direct financial aid (beyond support for invited speakers), and the stated policy of no support for transportation. It was agreed that more funds should be allocated next year if possible, and that the policy should be re-worded such that travel funds are permitted in exceptional circumstances. The idea is that full funding might be offered for one or two exceptionally well qualified applicants, even if fewer people can be supported overall, and that this would not place too heavy a burden on the LOCs to make travel arrangements.
The balance in the carry-over fund is roughly $20,000, not including an expected return of nearly $13,000 once the books are closed on ADASS X, and a promised contribution from the NSF of $5000. Approximately $14,000 is obligated to pay for the proceedings of ADASS XI. The activity for the past ~year is:
| Balance Forward (Jan. 2001) | $6,739 |
| Institutional Contributions | $8,000 |
| NASA Contribution: ADASS XI | $5,000 |
| Balance as of 30-Sept-2001 | $19,739 |
| SAO/ADASS X Excess Funds | $13,000 |
| Anticipated NSF Contribution: ADASS XI | $5,000 |
| Proceedings publications costs for ADASS XI | ($14,000) |
| Approximate Carry-Over Balance for ADASS XII | $23,739 |
Roughly $24,000 of un-obligated funds will be left in the carry-over account, unless we need to make up a shortfall in the ADASS XI budget. Provided that future institutional and agency contributions are similar to this year, and future conference budgets are approximately balanced, the carry-over account should remain healthy for the forseeable future.
| Rick | Send a cheque for the excess funds from ADASS X (payable to AURA, Inc.) to Dick Shaw for deposit into the ADASS carryover account at NOAO. |
| Daniel/Pierre | Send the final budget from this conference to Dick & Perry Greenfield as soon as the financial picture has clarified, but in any case before the end of the calendar year. |
| Perry | Establish a cancellation policy for ADASS XII in light of the budget & existing contracts, and communicate this to the POC. |
The editor team for ADASS X (Harnden, Primini & Payne) reports that the proceedings volumes are being shipped to all ADASS X participants. Some concern has been expressed over the past few months about the year-long publication cycle that typifies the ADASS proceedings. Rick and his editor team have written a set of recommendations that they believe will streamline the editing process. Beyond that, there was general agreement that the deadline for receiving manuscripts for the proceedings should be no later than 3 weeks following the conference.
The editor team for ADASS XI (Bohlender, Durand & Handley) report that the author resources for manuscript preparation are ready and available from the ADASS XI Website.
[An issue not covered: should someone write up a 1-2 page summary for the PASP "Conference Highlights" section? This is potentially good advertising for ADASS in the community. Are there volunteers?]
The editor team for ADASS `02 should be selected in the next few months so that they may prepare instructions, files, and procedures for the for the next meetings' submissions, and so that the experience of the current editor team can be transferred to them smoothly. It would be prudent to name at least 3 editors, owing to the quantity of work to be performed; ideally at least one of them would be an experienced ASP proceedings editor, and one or two of them should be solicted from next year's LOC.
| All | Send to the POC distribution nominations for individuals who would be able and willing to edit the proceedings for ADASS XI. [Note: two volunteers from next year's LOC were identified after the POC lunch: Harry Payne and Robert Jedrzejewski.] |
| Dick | Post the ADASS X editor recommendations on the adass.org web site. |
A review of the ADASS paper presentation policy and its implementation for ADASS X was prepared by Rick Harnden. While the current restriction of one oral or poster paper per presenting author has a virtue of simplicity, it has some disadvantages, including the cost of enforcing the rules for 10-12 authors each year who submit more than one abstract anyway, and the perception that the rule places "career" software developers at major institutions at a disadvantage. The following suggestion was offered as a compromise:
One implication of the above proposal is that the abstract submission process will have to be closely tied to the registration so that the proper fees can be assessed. [An issue not addressed: what policy should apply to financial aid recipients?]
| Dick | Draft a revision to the presentation policy for comment by the POC. |
The next ADASS conference will be hosted by STScI from 13 - 16 Oct. 2002 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel. See the website at http://adass2002.stsci.edu/ The ADASS XII LOC at the moment consists of the following individuals:
The budget is being finalized. The LOC would like to use part of the registration fee to offset some of the cost to participants of the room rate, which would be at least $206/night otherwise. The point is to bring the room cost down to approximately what nearby hotels charge (in order to increase the chance that the commitment of 600 room-nights will be met), and to apportion the actual cost of the facilities to local participants.
A very brief discussion of the program for ADASS XII yielded a few suggestions for key topics:
In 2003 ADASS will be hosted by CDS in or near Strasbourg, France from 13-16 Oct. 2003. The venue may be the Strasbourg Convention Center, but this is not yet firm, as it depends on whether the European Parliment convenes during that time. Alternative sites are being explored.
IPAC/Caltech will host ADASS in 2004; Tom Handley is the contact person. NOAO/Tucson is a possibility for 2005.
| Perry | Finalize the ADASS `02 budget and send the POC the proposed room cost and registration fees. |
| Dick, Todd | Explore the possibility of hosting ADASS in 2005. |
Rick Harnden and Doug Tody will step down from the POC following this meeting. These individuals have been a guiding force behind ADASS since its inception, and the POC expressed their deep appreciation for their service and dedication. Doug and Rick have agreed to remain on the POC e-mail list as "information only" members.
Suggestions were offered to add a POC member to represent SAO (to replace Rick), and to consider a POC member from Japan. Some nominees:
| Dick | Solicit additional nominations via e-mail from the POC. |
The adass.org Web site has developed steadily, if slowly, over the last year. The pages that contain the ADASS "corporate" memory, currently hosted at STScI, will be migrated to adass.org in the near future. These pages include a collection of notes to support LOC planning, among other things. "Career services" resources will be developed by Ray Plante and Gareth Hunt over the next few months. The concept is still under development, but job postings, links to sites related to computer/IT jobs, and a "subscription" service are likely to be offered.