Bristol 2009
Glasgow 2007Dublin 2008
First Circular
Dear Colleagues
We are proud to announce that the 16th Symposium of Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation (SPPC) will be held in Dublin (Republic of Ireland) on September 2nd 2008, followed by the 56th Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy (SVPCA) from September 3rd to 6th 2008.
Both events will be hosted jointly by University College Dublin (UCD) and the Natural History Division of the National Museum of Ireland (NMINH) through their collaborative program 'Collections-based Biology in Dublin' (CoBiD) (www.ucd.ie/cobid).
If you would like to express an interest in attending either of these meetings and to receive the 2nd circular, please send an email to dublin2008@svpca.org
Presentations and posters associated with the SPPC will be held in the headquarters of the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) located in the Beggars Bush complex, Haddington Road, Dublin 2. The main venue for the SVPCA meeting will be the National Museum of Ireland's Archaeology and History Museum on Kildare Street, Dublin 2. These venues are a short walk from one another across the beautiful Georgian southside of Dublin City.
The Beggars Bush complex also houses the Museum's Natural History research collections (inc. palaeontological and geological specimens). Access to these collections, as well as to those housed in the Geology Museum of Trinity College Dublin, will be available throughout the meeting. Maps and instructions for these venues will be provided in the 2nd Circular that will be mailed in mid March.
The annual Jones-Fenleigh auction to benefit student participation at the SVPCA will take place during the meeting, as will the annual conference dinner. Several other conference events and receptions are also planned. A number of fieldtrip options will be offered within Dublin, the County Dublin area and further afield in Ireland. More details will be provided in the 2nd Circular.
Accommodation options and suggestions for your stay in Dublin will be provided in the 2nd Circular. Dublin City is small and easily navigable and boasts a huge number of hotels, hostels and B&Bs at a range of prices (http://www.dublinuncovered.net/; http://www.dublinks.com/). In addition to the main conference venue (the Kildare Street Museum) rooms in a local pub (Dublin 2) will be reserved for the duration of the meetings to provide a cosy socialising venue in keeping with Irish tradition.
Presentations
Offers of papers should be accompanied by a short abstract of not more than 200 words. Your abstract will form the basis of our decision as to whether or not your paper will be included, and if so, whether as an oral or poster presentation. Note that the abstract submitted will also constitute a submission for the symposium abstracts volume. Abstracts should be sent electronically to the organiser (see e-mail address below) as a .rtf or .doc file (created in Microsoft Word).
A deadline for abstract submission will be announced in the 2nd Circular.
Provisional Timetable (2008):
| Monday 1st September | SPPC registration (Kildare St) 4-5PM |
| Tuesday 2nd September | SPPC papers (GSI) SVPCA registration (Kildare St) 4-5PM |
| Wednesday 3rd September | SVPCA papers (Kildare St) |
| Thursday 4th September | SVPCA papers (Kildare St) |
| Friday 5th September | SVPCA papers (Kildare St) |
| Saturday 6th September | Field Trip(s) |
Collections Access
As in previous years, visits to collections in Dublin will be welcomed, and those interested are encouraged to make contact with the requisite individuals well in advance. Details of collections holdings are also available on request. Note stipulations for each institution:
National Museum of Ireland: please contact Matthew Parkes to arrange to visit these collections (mparkes@museum.ie)
Trinity College Dublin, Geology Museum: please contact Patrick Wyse Jackson to arrange to visit these collections (wysjcknp@tcd.ie)
If you would like to express an interest in attending either of these meetings and to receive the 2nd circular, please send an email to dublin2008@svpca.org
We look forward to welcoming you in Dublin in September!
Gareth Dyke (UCD) and Nigel Monaghan (NMINH)
