The Indian River Lagoon Research Institute at Florida Institute of Technology Announces Second Technical Conference on Coastal Water Quality Solutions

September 30-October 1, 2016 on the Florida Tech Campus

The IRLRI TechCon2016 committee seeks engineers, scientists, contractors and students who are actively working and researching in the field of coastal water quality remediation and restoration to submit an abstract for a presentation. The conference is focused on adapting and applying science to guide management decisions and develop solutions aimed at improving coastal water quality.

Registration

Registration for the technical session starts May 15 and is open through September 5.

• Conference registration ($40) includes the conference sessions, coffee breaks, lunch and drinks during the evening poster session.  Also included in the registration is a ticket to Saturday night’s The 2nd Annual Estuary Affair Dinner
• Excursion registration ($25) books your place for a boat tour on Saturday morning, as well as the open house on FIT campus Saturday afternoon
• Student registration ($15) includes the conference sessions, coffee breaks, lunch and drinks during the evening poster session
• Saturday Dinner registration, The 2nd Annual Estuary Affair Dinner, ($25) includes cocktails and dinner on Saturday from 6:00 to 9:00 pm

Presentations

Abstracts are sought that explore the use of available science to develop and implement solutions to water quality problems in coastal communities. The conference is open to everyone, we only request that all participants register. Presenters must submit an abstract and register for the event before September 5th (not to exceed 250 words, along with title and authors via abstract submission web page). Questions and concerns should be sent to Dr. Kelli Hunsucker: khunsucker@fit.edu.

Submission Guidelines

Authors must submit their abstracts as one of the identified types:

• Standard Oral
• Tech Teaser
• Poster

The selection committee reserves the right to suggest an alternative format from that selected by the author as needed to fit the final format of the workshop.

Oral Presentations

We are accepting abstracts for two types of oral presentation

• 12 minute oral presentation
• 5 minute ‘Tech Teaser’.

Standard Oral Presentations

These presentations will have a 12 minute time slot with added time for questions. Standard Oral Presentations will be grouped into themes based on the following priorities:

• International coastal degradation
• Muck removal and control
• Novel approaches to water quality improvements
• Policy, permitting and planning, governance
• Nutrient removal

Presenters will have the option of submitting a paper / report covering their presentation which will be published online through the FIT Library.

Tech Teasers

These short presentations are strictly limited to 5 minutes. Presenters will be held to a strict time limit of 5 minutes. These talks are meant to perk the interest of the attendees, inform the group about the existence of a project and spark future conversation.

Poster presentations

There will be a poster presentation reception which will allow the authors to discuss their work. Poster will be grouped by topic.

Maximum size is approximately 3’×5’ (a size used commonly at many conferences and meetings). Posters should be printed/displayed in landscape view. Posters should be hung in the morning to allow viewing during the scheduled breaks.

Proceedings

Authors have the option of contributing to the TechCon 2016 Conference Proceedings to be published online. Authors can choose to contribute an abstract, research paper, or case study/project summary.

Schedule

TechCon2016 will be held in the Hartley Room on the Florida Tech Campus.

Friday, September 30th

• Welcome & opening remarks: 8:30 am
• Keynote Speaker : 9:00 am
• Oral presentations: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
• Tech Teasers: 12:30-1:00 pm
• Lunch: 1:00-2:00 pm
• Oral presentations: 2:00-5:30 pm
• Posters Reception: 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Saturday, October 1st 

• Shoreline Excursion: Van departs at 8:30 am and returns at 1:30 p.m
• Open House: (Local scientists and organizations host tables and share information): 2:00 – 4:00 pm on Florida Tech’s main campus
• The 2nd Annual Estuary Affair Dinner:  6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Sponsoring & Exhibition

We are currently seeking sponsors for the TechCon2016. Our sponsorship categories are listed below.

For more information contact Dr. Robert Weaver: rjweaver@fit.edu

Sponsorship Categories

• Tributary $ 100.00

• Sponsors will receive two conference tickets

• Bay $ 250.00

• Sponsors will receive 2 Conference Tickets and 2 Excursion tickets.

• Estuary $ 500.00

• Sponsors will receive 2 Conference Tickets, 2 Excursion tickets, and 2 Dinner tickets.

• Ecosystem $1,000.00

• Sponsors will receive 4 Conference Tickets, 4 Excursion tickets, 4 Dinner tickets and a Table.

Food & Beverage Sponsorship Packages

• Coffee Break Sponsor $500.00

• Lunch Buffett Sponsor $1,500.00

• Poster Session & Reception Sponsor $1,500.00

• Saturday Excursion Sponsor $1,000.00

• An Estuary Affair Dinner Sponsor $1,500.00

Other Conference Sponsorship Opportunities

• Conference Bags
• Conference Lanyards
• Conference Program

Exhibition Opportunties

Exhibitor fee is $250 and includes space for Friday and Saturday events. Exhibitors are responsible for the transportation, setting up, storage and exhibition of their equipment(s), cabling and documents, and all related costs.

Any questions regarding exhibits should be directed towards Dr. Robert Weaver: rjweaver@fit.edu.

Information on TechCon 2015 can be found below.

IRLRI Tech Con 2015 Program and  Abstracts