54th Symposium of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy
Wednesday 13th - Friday 15th September 2006
&
15th Symposium of Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation
Tuesday 12th September Ecole Nationale Des Mines, Paris, France
Venue
SPPC and SVPCA will be held at the Ecole Nationale des Mines (National School
of Mines, for more information see: http://www.ensmp.fr/Fr/ENSMP/Geographie/Paris/geo-paris.html),
60 boulevard Saint-Michel, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, courtesy of Dr
Lydie Touret, the curator of the mineralogy collection at the Ecole des Mines.
The Ecole Nationale des Mines had a long tradition of palaeontological research
and teaching, and some eminent French palaeontologists, including Jean Piveteau,
worked there. The Ecole Nationale des Mines also had a large fossil collection,
which in the 1970s was transferred to the University of Lyon (invertebrates)
and the National Museum of Natural History, Paris (vertebrates). Some large
Mesozoic marine reptiles are still on display at the Ecole des Mines and will
be available for inspection by the participants. The Ecole des Mines still houses
one of the best mineralogy collections in France.
The Ecole Nationale des Mines, located next to the Luxembourg Gardens, is in the centre of the so-called "Latin Quarter", the university district in the heart of Paris, within walking distance of the Jardin des Plantes and Natural History Museum (please note that if you wish to see specimens at the Museum during the symposium, you should contact colleagues in the palaeontology department well in advance). The nearest underground station is Luxembourg (on RER line B, which provides a direct connection with Gare du Nord railway station and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport). Stations "Odéon" and "Cluny", on Metro line 10, are also nearby). For information on public transport in Paris, see: http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/index.php
Accommodation and food
As mentioned in the first circular, because of lack of suitable university accommodation
in Paris, participants are asked to make their own bookings at hotels. It should
be noted that travel operators such as Eurostar offer packages including travel
+ hotel which can be very good value for money.
Please note that in France hotel rates usually are per room rather than per
person, so that sharing a twin room will normally result in a lower cost. Breakfast
(usually of the continental kind) is normally not included in room rates. See
the following web sites for information about hotels and booking:
http://en.parisinfo.com/paris_hotels/
http://www.francehotelreservation.com/fr/francehotelcity-32451_2-paris-cities.html
Hotels in the immediate vicinity of the Ecole des Mines (5th and 6th arrondissements) tend to be slightly more expensive than those located a little farther (13th and 14th arrondissements).
Here is a short list of moderately priced hotels in the 13th arrondissement, near the Place d'Italie, which are a 15 to 20 minute walk from the Ecole des Mines, and also easily accessible by bus or underground (metro).
- Hotel Rubens (good value for money): http://en.federal-hotel.com/hotel_hotel-rubens-paris_2174.htm
- Jack's Hotel : http://www.jacks-hotel.com/
- Hotel Novex (simple but OK): http://www.cybevasion.fr/hotels/france/paris/hotel_index_novex_1149.html
- For cheaper accommodation of the hostel type in Paris, see: http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/france/paris/
Please note that September is still the tourist season in Paris, so early booking is highly recommended.
Many cafés and restaurants, to suit all tastes and pockets, can be found in the immediate vicinity of the Ecole Nationale des Mines. No special arrangements have been made for lunches and dinners (except for the Symposium Dinner on Friday 15th).
TOPThank you for your response to the 1st Circular about these meetings. Response has been very encouraging, as 124 people have pre-registered, as of 11th May (although interest in SPPC seems to be rather low: see below). Enclosed are booking forms for registration and symposium dinner together with further details of arrangements.
TOPSymposium Dinner
The Symposium Dinner will be held on the evening of Friday, 15th September,
at the Café du Commerce (51 rue du Commerce, 75015 Paris), a restaurant serving
traditional French food. The cost will be 40 euros (about £ 27) for a three-course
meal, including an aperitif, wine and coffee. For more information about Café
du Commerce, see: http://www.lecafeducommerce.com
TOP
Receptions
A reception with wine and snacks will be held at the Ecole des Mines following
the auction on Wednesday, September 13th. On the evening of Thursday, September
14th, there will be a reception in the palaeontology building of the Muséum
National d'Histoire Naturelle, with the opportunity to view the palaeontology
gallery. TOP
SVPCA Auction
The annual auction in aid of the Jones-Fenleigh Memorial Fund will be held
on the Tuesday early evening at the Ecole Nationale des Mines. Please bring
books, reprints, casts, memorabilia and more. Because of high bank charges
on foreign cheques, buyers from outside France will be asked to pay in cash
(euros).
TOP
Abstracts
A booklet of abstracts will be available on registration and the abstracts
will be put online on the SVPCA website. Oral presentations should be in English.
Posters in other languages are acceptable but English is preferred.
Abstracts (in English) should be sent as e-mail attachments (Word or rtf) to eric.buffetaut@wanadoo.fr, not later than June 5th. Please do not forget to mention whether the abstract is intended for SPPC or SVPCA, and what type of presentation you prefer (oral or poster). A large number of oral presentations have been announced (73 as of May 11th), plus 15 posters. Some presentations originally planned as talks will have to be given as posters. Selection of oral presentations will be made by the organisers on the basis of abstracts. You will be notified about the type of presentation no later than June 15th.
Abstracts should be no more than 250 words in length, without figures, and presented as follows:
NAME(S) OF AUTHOR(S) Address(es) including e-mail Title Main text (no more
than 250 words)
For examples, see 2005 abstracts on SVPCA web site: http://www.svpca.org/years/2005_london/abstracts.htm
TOP
SPPC
No local organiser has been found for SPPC, but 6 oral presentations and a
few posters have been announced, so a session will be held, as usual, on the
Tuesday preceding SVPCA (12th September), at the Ecole Nationale des Mines.
As there is no palaeontological preparation lab at the Ecole des Mines, no
practical demonstrations using laboratory equipment will be possible. TOP
Conference and Dinner Booking
Please return the Payment Form (Word document to download), which includes
booking for the Symposium Dinner, not later than 1 July 2006. Keep a copy
for your records. See payment options on form (although foreign participants
may pay in euros on arrival, credit card payment is preferred, as a deposit
will have to be made to book the symposium dinner). Please also indicate whether
you are interested in attending the field trip. Cost of field trip will be
payable at the meeting.
TOP
Field trip
A field trip to Meudon, in the southern suburbs of Paris, will be organised
on the morning of Saturday, September 16th, to see the vertebrate-bearing
Late Cretaceous Chalk, and possibly the Early Eocene Meudon conglomerate in
underground quarries. For safety reasons, official permission to enter the
quarries had to be obtained from the owner of the land and has just been granted.
Because public transport (train) will be used to get to Meudon, the cost of
the field trip will be kept low (10 euros at most). Participants will be able
to get back to central Paris by 2 PM. Please note that, although not strenuous,
the visit of the quarries involves some physical effort (and is not suitable
for people suffering from claustrophobia !).
Please indicate on the registration form whether you are in interested in the field trip.
Payment for the field trip will be during the symposium.
TOP
Jones-Fenleigh Memorial Fund
The Jones-Fenleigh Memorial Fund was started in 1989, with money donated by
the Jones-Fenleigh family in memory of the man who introduced the first museum-quality
dinosaur models, made by Invicta Plastics of Leicester. It helps pay for delegates
with no institutional financial support to attend SVPCA meetings. For more
information, see: http://www.svpca.org/general/jonesfenleigh.htm
In 2006, two grants (covering registration fees, accommodation and basic subsistence) will be awarded. Applicants should be participants (such as students, amateurs, etc.) who wish to present an oral communication or a poster and will not receive institutional support to attend SVPCA.
Applications should be sent to eric.buffetaut@wanadoo.fr before June 5th, 2006. They should include:
- An abstract (see above for abstract presentation)
- Covering letter explaining your circumstances and need
- If appropriate, a letter from your employer/institution supporting your application and including an assurance that you will not be financially supported.
Selection will be made on the basis of the relevance, originality and general
quality of the abstract. The successful applicants will be notified before
the end of June.
TOP
Timetable
| Tuesday 12th September | Ecole Nationale des Mines: from 2 PM: SPPC and SVPCA Registration SPPC Presentations |
| Wednesday 13th September | Ecole Nationale des Mines: SVPCA Registration SVPCA Papers Auction and early evening reception |
| Thursday 14th September | Ecole Nationale des Mines: SVPCA Papers Evening reception at Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle |
| Friday 15th September | Ecole Nationale des Mines: SVPCA Papers Symposium Dinner at Café du Commerce |
| Saturday 16th September | Field trip to underground quarries at Meudon |
TOP
Third Circular and Programme
A list of participants with titles of presentations will be posted on the
SVPCA web site in June, after all abstracts have been received. A third circular
with programme and additional information will be sent out in July. TOP
Contact
Eric BUFFETAUT CNRS (UMR 5125, Paléoenvironnements et Paléobiosphère) 16 cour
du Liégat 75013 Paris, France E-mail: eric.buffetaut@wanadoo.fr
Registration
To register, please fill in the ultimate registration-form (if a pre-registration
has already been done you will just need to confirm it) >> Registration-Form
TOP
Registration fees and payment methods
Registration fees SPPC - Full rate: 15 euros - Société géologique de France
members and full-time students: 8 euros
SVPCA - Full rate: 60 euros - Société
géologique de France members: 45 euros - Full-time students : 40 euros
Symposium
Dinner at Café du Commerce : 40 euros
The payment of your registration fees -Euros exclusively, see "Registration fees" - can be done by:
* Bank transfer (make mention of "SGF-SVPCA"): Fortis Banque IBAN: FR76 3048 8000 7700 0477 0072 249 SWIFT: BPARFRPP
* Personal cheque: only cheques in euros drawn on a French bank will be accepted (because of prohibitive bank charges on foreign cheques). Please make cheques to the order of: SGF-SVPCA *
* Postal money order to SGF-SVPCA *
* Credit Card: VISA or MASTERCARD. Please fax or mail the form with your signature to SGF (address on the form) *
* Please download the Registration/Payment Form and append it to your payment. Send both NOT LATER THAN JULY 1st to:
Société géologique de France - SVPCA 77 rue Claude Bernard, F - 75005 Paris, France Tel: +33 (0)1 43 31 77 35 Fax: +33 (0)1 45 35 79 10 e-mail: accueil@sgfr.org http://www.sgfr.org
