General Information
Programs and Events/General Information (PDF format)
Location of Functions
Annual Meeting registration, scientific sessions,
poster sessions, short courses, town meetings, special
sessions, and exhibits will be held at the San Diego
Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego,
CA 92101-7899; tel: 619-525-5000; fax: 619-525-5505.
Committee meetings will be held at the Marriott.
Parking
Parking is available at the San Diego Convention Center
for $8.00 per day.
Message Center
AMS will operate a message center in the lobby of
Exhibit Hall C of the San Diego Convention Center for
meeting attendees and exhibitors. The message center
hours of operation are as follows:
To leave messages for attendees, call 619-525-
6205: Sunday, 9 January–Thursday, 13 January,
7:30 A.M.–5:00 P.M.
To leave messages for exhibitors, call 619-525-
6201: Friday, 7 January and Saturday, 8 January,
7:30 A.M.–4:30 P.M.; Sunday, 9 January–Thursday, 13
January, 7:30 A.M.–5:00 P.M.
Attendee Information/Member Services Lobby of Exhibit Hall C
An Information Center/Member Services Desk will
be located on the Lobby of Exhibit Hall C of the San
Diego Convention Center. The hours of operation on
Sunday–Thursday, 9–13 January, coincide with those
of registration.
The information center provides maps of the convention
center and schedules of committee meetings and conference sessions, as well as details on other
programs of interest. A conference message board is
available in the convention center lobby for the posting
of conference-related information, including lastminute
program changes and messages for meeting
attendees and student assistants.
The member services desk, located in the main
lobby of the convention center, provides attendees with
the opportunity to renew dues, apply for membership,
and/or inquire about account activity. AMS staff will be
available for assistance during the hours of registration.
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AMS ANNUAL MEETING
PROGRAM STAFF
Main number: 617-227-2426
Meetings staff: Cara Christensen (ext. 228)
Claudia Gorski (ext. 305)
Marjorie Huntington (ext. 226)
Brenda Ward (ext. 227)
Exhibit staff: Megan Krol (ext. 251)
Publications staff: Bryan Hanssen (ext. 238)
Briefing for First-Time Attendees Sunday, 11 January, 3:00–4:00 P.M.; Room 5B
This session is designed to provide first-time attendees with an overview of the annual meeting and suggestions on how to get the most out of their time. AMS Past President George Frederick and Ken Heideman, Director of Publications, will provide an overview of the programs, special events, exhibits, and services. All attendees and exhibitors are welcome to attend.
E-mail Stations Sunday–Thursday, 11–15 January
E-mail stations will be available in the convention. As
a courtesy to other attendees, e-mail users are asked
to limit their time at the e-mail stations. Hours of operation
are Sunday–Thursday, 11–15 January, 7:30
A.M. until close of activities in the convention center.
San Diego Restaurant Reservations and City Information
The San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau Restaurant
and Information Booth will be located in the
Grand Lobby of the Convention Center near registration.
Menus, nightlife, theater, and sports referrals
are all part of this service, along with their capacity
to make immediate phone calls, to secure reservations.
Statement on Open Meetings
Throughout the week, AMS Committees, Boards, and
the Council will be meeting at various times and locations.
These meetings are, in principle, open to
members of the Society, although portions of some
meetings may be held in executive session when dealing
with personnel issues, awards, or other matters of
a confidential nature.
As a matter of courtesy and to ensure adequately
sized meeting rooms, members wishing to observe a
particular Committee, Board, or Council meeting
should contact its chairperson in advance. Members
may request a place on the agenda by following a similar
procedure. Please feel free to contact Joyce Annese
(tel: 617-227-2426 ext. 206; e-mail: jannese@
ametsoc.org) at AMS Headquarters for assistance.
Americans with Disabilities Act
It is the Society’s sincere desire to comply fully with
both the letter and the spirit of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. Attendees with special
needs at the convention center should check with the
AMS Meetings Department (617-227-2426 ext. 226,
227, 228, or 305) four to six weeks prior to the meeting.
Special housing needs should also be requested when
hotel reservations are made. AMS wants to ensure that
each attendee’s stay at the 85th Annual Meeting is a
pleasant one.
Special Meals
Attendees who have special dietary requirements including
vegetarian or kosher meals should contact the
AMS Meetings Department (617-227-2426 ext. 226,
227, 228, or 305) four to six weeks prior to the meeting.
Special meal requests should be made when registering
for the meeting.
Photo Release
From time to time AMS uses photographs of conference
events in its promotional materials. Unless this
permission is revoked in writing to the AMS, by virtue
of their attendance all conference visitors agree
to the use of their likeness in such materials.
Attendee Lists
The AMS will make attendee lists available to any registered
attendee. Attendees who do not want their
name and address information included on the list,
must note this on their registration forms. A card is
available at the Registration Desk to request a copy
of the list. The list will only be delivered in electronic
form and will contain name, address, and affiliation
(if provided). No phone numbers or e-mail addresses
will be provided.
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Child Care Services
Attendees should contact the concierge at their hotel for
a list of child care providers and children’s programs.
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PRESENTER SUPPORT SERVICES
Program and Session Chairpersons
and Presenter Support Sunday–Thursday, 9–13 January, Lobby of Exhibit Hall C
All program chairs, session chairs, and oral and poster
presenters are encouraged to visit the Presenter Support
Services Desk if they have questions. AMS support
staff will be available to answer questions concerning
room setup, poster sessions, audio/visual
support, and practicing presentations. If you encounter
any problems with audio/visual and computer
equipment, Internet services, heating and cooling of
meeting rooms, lighting, or room overcrowding,
please report your concerns to the student assistant
assigned to your conference or session or the staff
member at the Presenter Support Services Desk.
Speaker Ready Room
The speaker ready room is open from 7:30 A.M.-6:00 P.M. in room 11B through Thursday.
Please note that AMS will supply the following standard
equipment for each meeting room: one overhead
projector, one screen of appropriate size, a wired lavaliere
microphone, a personal computer, and a data/
video projector. If two overhead projectors are needed,
please complete the A/V request form that can be
found on the AMS Web site (www.ametsoc.org) under “Authors Resource Center.” Additional special
equipment (such as Beta SP, VCR, or 35-mm projector)
can be made available, but only if it is requested
in advance via an A/V form. There is a nominal
charge for use of Beta SP or VCR playback equipment;
however, if the necessary equipment is already in the
meeting room, it may be used. AMS cannot accommodate
any on-site requests for equipment that is not
preinstalled in the meeting room. Presenters should
load their presentation on the computer the day prior
to their presentation. The following media are accepted
for presentations: CD-ROM, Zip disks, 3.5-
inch floppy disks, and USB memory sticks.
Speakers are encouraged to use the installed
AMS computer in each meeting
room. Connecting personal laptops can
cause technical delays and can cut into a
presenter’s time.
Recording of Presentations
In an attempt to expand the audience for
presentations and to provide a more complete
and permanent record of the author’s
remarks, the AMS would like to record the
voices of authors and their slides as presentations
are being made for those authors
that grant the Society permission. To facilitate
the recordings, and to make things
easier for everyone at the meeting, presenters are asked
to load their presentation well before the start of their
session if it is to be loaded on site. This must be done
in the Speaker Preparation Room, which is located on
the upper level of the convention center. Speakers
scheduled to make their presentations on Monday
morning are encouraged to upload their presentations
on Sunday afternoon.
Presenters who choose to load their presentations
at the meeting will be required to use a special “installer”
software running on the meeting room PC.
These presenters will not be permitted to store their
files on the PC desktop. Instead the Installer software
will automatically create a special directory for those
file(s). Once stored there, presenters will be able to
check that their files were copied and will run properly.
Speakers who wish to load files at the meeting site
need to bring their presentations on one of the following
media: 3.5-inch diskette, a CD-ROM, USB
drive, or Zip disk. Presenters who need to edit their
presentations on site using a laptop that has a USB
port will need to copy their files from their laptop to
the AMS computer using a USB storage device. The
AMS computers are equipped with the latest versions
of Powerpoint, Corel Presentation, Adobe Acrobat,
Windows Media Player, Quicktime, and Internet
Explorer—the most common software needed by presenters.
Please note, while equipped with Internet
Explorer, the PCs will not have access to the Internet.
Recorded presentations will be available on the
AMS Web site (www.ametsoc.org) after the meeting
only to those authors that submitted an extended
manuscript for the conference or for those that purchase
a mini-suite. All authors may use the installer
software to load their presentations.
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HOTEL AND TRAVEL INFORMATION
Hotels
Attendees were responsible for making their own hotel
reservations directly with their hotel of choice. Reservations
must have been made by phone, fax, mail,
and for some hotels online. Blocks of rooms were reserved
at eight San Diego hotels with special rates. Reservations
were made on a first-come, first-served basis.
Using the AMS hotels helps the Society avoid
penalties for not filling its hotel block. This helps slow
the rate of growth in registration fees. Your guaranteed
reservation was only for the date of arrival. If you failed
to notify the hotel that you were arriving on a different
day, you will lose your room.
Airport Shuttle
Cloud 9 Shuttle operates between San Diego International
Airport and the downtown San Diego hotels.
Adult tickets are $5.50 each. Reservations can be made
and tickets can be purchased at the following site:  https://www.hudsonltd.com/cgi-bin/cld1/res?USERIDENTRY=AMS2005&LOGON=GO.
You can also request a Cloud 9 Shuttle when you
arrive at the airport. Follow the ground transportation
signs to the shuttle island and ask an airport attendant
for a Cloud 9 Shuttle.
Rental Cars
Avis and Hertz are the official rental car agencies for
this meeting, and attendees can reserve their cars
through the airline when making airline reservations.
To make reservations directly with Avis, call 1-800-
331-1600 (the AMS file number is J945229); for Hertz
call 1-800-654-2240 (the AMS file number is
CV#02WW0003).
Local Ground Transportation
Shuttle buses will be running rush hour service from
Sunday through Thursday, 6:30 A.M.–10:00 A.M. and 6:30
P.M.–10:00 P.M. All of the hotels will have service with
the exception of the San Diego Marriott Hotel and
Marina as well as the Omni San Diego Hotel since both
are within walking distance of the convention center.
Please note that the times are subject to change; it is
best to verify the times at the hotel upon arrival. An
information sign will also be located in the lobby of the
convention center.
CONFERENCE HOTELS
San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina (Headquarters Hotel)
tel: 619-234-1500; fax: 619-230-8978
The Westgate Hotel
tel: 800-221-3802; fax: 619-557-3757
Omni San Diego Hotel
tel: 800-843-6664; fax: 619-645-6517
Embassy Suites Hotel San Diego Bay—Downtown
tel: 619-239-2400; fax: 619-696-9184
Westin Horton Plaza
tel: 619-239-2200; fax: 619-239-0509
Radisson Hotel Harbor View
tel: 619-239-6800; fax: 619-238-9543
Hampton Inn—San Diego Downtown
tel: 619-233-8408; fax: 619-233-8418
Residence Inn by Marriott—San Diego Downtown
tel: 619-338-8200; fax: 619-338-8219
For more information please visit http://www.ametsoc.org/MEET/85annual/85hotel_inf.html.
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