FINAL CIRCULAR
6th International
Bioerosion Workshop
July 13-20, 2008
Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah, western North America's geological wonderland,
welcomes the world to the
Sixth International Bioerosion Workshop!
About the Workshop …
  
The International Bioerosion Workshop (IBW), now approaching its sixth meeting since 1996, brings together biologists, paleobiologists and geologists from all over the world with a wide range of research interests that converge on the biological penetration and destruction of hard substrates (rock, shell, wood, bone, etc.). In keeping with a workshop format, the smaller group size of the meeting is designed to foster meaningful collegial interactions and promote future research collaborations. Everyone attending the workshop will be expected to participate fully by making a presentation on his/her original research, either orally or with a poster. In addition to their technical presentations, participants will engage in group discussions, examine bioerosion specimens in the University of Utah Ichnology Collection, and visit scenic sites of geological interest in the Salt Lake City area.
   A post-workshop field trip (optional) will take participants on a 5-day journey through the picturesque Desert Southwest. The group will explore sites in Cambrian, Ordovician, Devonian, Jurassic and Paleogene sections in southwestern Utah and southern Nevada, including two of Utah's geological crown jewels (Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks). Due to logistical constraints with respect to the vehicles, the field trip will be limited to 35 people (on a first come, first served basis).

Organizing Committee:
  
Leif Tapanila (tapaleif@isu.edu) Idaho State University
   Tony Ekdale (
a.ekdale@utah.edu) University of Utah

Important Dates:
   April 7, 2008: Abstract deadline & full payment for workshop and field trip fees
   July 13, 2008: The workshop begins!

Final Registration Deadline: April 7, 2008
   Initial registration is now closed. Participants of 6th IBW and the optional post-meeting Field Trip must make final registration and payment of all fees by April 7, 2008. Note that the fees include lodging for all the nights and almost all the meals for the entire week.

Workshop only (Sunday evening through Wednesday afternoon):
Fee = $340.00 (USD), includes:

• icebreaker reception
• 3 nights lodging, double occupancy, with continental breakfast
• 3 lunch and coffee break vouchers
• 2 group dinners
• Salt Lake area field trips
• workshop T-shirt
• abstract volume and fieldtrip guide

Workshop with Field Trip (Sunday evening through Sunday evening):
Fee = $840.00 (USD), includes:

• all Workshop items listed above
Plus
• transportation costs
• 5 nights lodging, double occupancy, with continental breakfast
• 4 lunches in the field

Scholarships for Students:
   A limited number of $210 scholarships will be available for students who register for the full workshop, including the field trip. The scholarship will cover 25% of the fee, bringing down the total cost for the entire week to $630 for students. To apply for a student scholarship, please email Leif Tapanila (tapaleif@isu.edu) and provide the following information:
Name of school; degree being sought (M.S., Ph.D., etc.); expected graduation date; name of faculty advisor; and any financial assistance expected from your home institution to support your participation in the 6IBW.

Mode of Payment:
6th IBW Payment Options: Payment of the workshop fees should be mailed directly to Tony Ekdale at the University of Utah, and the fees may be paid in any one of the following ways:

(1) Credit Card. You may provide us with the name as listed on the credit card, the credit card number, and the expiration date. We strongly advise that you call us and give us this information over the telephone rather than sending us this very important personal information via e-mail or FAX, because we have no way of guaranteeing the security of e-mail and FAX transmissions. You may place a phone call directly to our accounting staff - either Ms. Chris Carver at 801-585-6652 or Ms. Thea Hatfield at 801-581-7062. Be sure to tell them the amount to be charged, and also tell them that it is for your registration for the IBW (International Bioerosion Workshop). They will make the appropriate charge to your credit card number for you and will keep your personal information confidential.

(2) Money Order or Cashiers Check. You may pay with a money order or cashier's check drawn in US dollars from your bank. Please make the check payable to "University of Utah", and designate "6th IBW" in the bottom corner of the check.

(3) Personal Check. You may write a personal check from your own bank account in your home country's currency. Please figure out the most recent currency conversion rate to US dollars, and designate "6th IBW" in the bottom corner of the check. If there is a foreign currency conversion fee involved, please factor that figure in the amount of your check.

In the case of a money order or check, please mail your payment to: Dr. A. A. Ekdale, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Room 719 WBB, 135 South 1460 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0111, USA.
(Note that we are not able to accept payment via a wire transfer from a bank.)

Cancellation Policy:
   Cancellation on or before April 7, 2008: full refund.
   Cancellation on or before May 19, 2008: 50% refund.
   Cancellation after May 19, 2008: no refund.

Visa and Entry to the USA:
   
Participants are advised to check their individual circumstances for entry in the United States. At a minimum, a current passport with photo identification is required, but you may also require a visitor's visa. If you need an official invitation to get your visa, please contact the organizing committee.

Abstract Submission Deadline: April 7, 2008
   Abstracts must be submitted to Leif Tapanila (tapaleif@isu.edu) by April 7, 2008. Late submissions will not be included in the program. Please submit abstracts electronically as DOC or RTF files, in English. Abstracts are limited to 300 words, and they may not include figures, plates, tables or references. If your abstract contains non-ASCII symbols or special characters (delta, x-squared, etc.), please notify the organizers in your submission email to avoid typographical errors in the final program.

Use 12 point Times New Roman font.
Indicate oral or poster.
On separate lines, write the Title, Author(s), Institutional Affiliation, and Abstract Text.
If more than one author, please designate the intended speaker with an asterisk (*).

Oral Presentations:
   Presentations will be scheduled for 20-minute time slots, with 15 minutes for the talk and 5 minutes for questions. Computer projection of PowerPoint presentations will be the only available mode; there will be no opportunity for projecting 35mm slides, lantern slides or overhead transparencies. Presentations should be in PowerPoint (PPT) format and compatible with PC. MAC users should verify that their file is PC-compatible before submitting their presentation. All PowerPoint files must be delivered to the organizing committee at least one day before the scheduled talk. CD-ROM or thumb drive (flash drive) storage devices are the best means to deliver the files.

Poster Presentations:
   Participants are responsible for printing their own posters prior to arriving at the workshop. Poster easels that accommodate sizes up to 4 feet (1.2 m) high by 8 feet (2.4 m) wide will be provided.

Accommodations:
   Workshop participants will stay in the University Residence Halls on the University of Utah campus (double occupancy, cost included in the workshop fee). The University Residence Halls, which were built six years ago to serve as the athletes' Olympic Village for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, provide modern, convenient, dormitory-style lodging for conference attendees. The Residence Halls are located a 10-minute campus shuttle bus ride or an easy 20-minute walk to the Geology and Geophysics Department buildings, where the workshop technical sessions will be held. There is also convenient access to the local TRAX light rail system, which will carry visitors to various destinations in downtown Salt Lake City.

   Field trip participants will stay in motels along the field trip route in southern Utah (double occupancy, cost included in the field trip fee).

Meals:
   The Workshop registration fee ($340) includes all meals during the workshop.

Sunday: Welcoming reception in the early evening.
Monday: Continental breakfast at lodging, lunch voucher on campus,    dinner off campus.
Tuesday: Continental breakfast at lodging, lunch voucher on campus,    dinner off campus.
Wednesday: Continental breakfast at lodging, lunch voucher on campus.

   The Workshop plus Field Trip fee ($840) also includes continental breakfasts and picnic lunches on the trip, but the cost of evening dinners on the trip will be the responsibility of the field trip participants.

 
Tentative Workshop Program:
Sunday,
July 13
Afternoon: Arrival in Salt Lake City.
Participants check in at University Residence Halls.
Evening: Welcoming reception (light snacks).
Monday,
July 14
Morning: Oral technical presentations.
Early Afternoon: Examine bioerosion trace fossils in lab.
Mid Afternoon: Field trip in the Wasatch Mountains.
Evening: Group dinner off campus.
Tuesday,
July 15
Morning: Oral technical presentations.
Early Afternoon: Discussion of posters.
Mid Afternoon: Field trip to the Great Salt Lake.
Evening: Group dinner off campus.
Wednesday,
July 16
Morning: Oral technical presentations.
Early Afternoon: Group discussions on bioerosion topics.
Late Afternoon: Field trip participants depart for Delta, Utah.

(Those not going on the field trip depart for home)
Post-Meeting Field Trip, Tentative Itinerary:
Wednesday,
July 16
Late Afternoon, drive from Salt Lake City to Delta, Utah.
Overnight in Delta, Utah.
Thursday,
July 17
Early Paleozoic carbonates of the West Desert, Utah
• Early Ordovician bioerosion, Pyramid area, House Range.
Middle Ordovician hardground fauna, Fossil Mountain.
Cambrian stromatolites and trace fossils, Steamboat Pass.
Overnight in Cedar City, Utah.
Friday,
July 18
The Late Devonian Alamo Impact Event, Nevada
Type section at Hancock Summit, Pahranagat Range.
UFO-ology at Rachel (adjacent to "Area 51").
Frasnian reef on impactite, Irish Range.
Overnight in Cedar City, Utah.
Saturday,
July 19
Jurassic ichnology and paleoecology, Utah
Early Jurassic dinosaur track site, Johnson Farm.
Middle Jurassic bioerosion, Gunlock Reservoir.
Overnight in St. George, Utah.
Sunday,
July 20
Amazing "Red Rock" country of southern Utah
Zion National Park, Jurassic Navajo Sandstone.
Bryce Canyon National Park, Eocene Claron Formation.
Overnight in Salt Lake City, Utah.
(Note that our return to Salt Lake City on Sunday probably will be too late for participants to depart for home on that evening, so lodging for Sunday night is included in the field trip fee.)
** Download a PDF copy of the Program & Abstracts Here **
   
Tapanila's Website
last updated 4/3/2008© Leif Tapanila