Conference Activities

Conference Check-In (12:00 - 7:00 pm Sunday and 7:30 - 11:30 am Monday)

You should check into the conference in the Illini Union. You will receive registration materials, including a bag, a note pad, a pen, the program and abstract book, and Champaign-Urbana materials. People attending the tours or tutorials on Sunday, November 1 should register before the respective activity ({between 12--1 pm}).

NCSA Facilities Tour (2:00 - 5:45 pm Sunday and 1:30 - 5:45 pm Wednesday)

There will be two sections for the tour of the NCSA facilities, one from 2:00 - 5:45 pm on Sunday, November 1 and another after the end of sessions 1:30 - 5:45 pm on Wednesday, November 4. You should have checked one of the two sessions on your registration form. Each section is composed of several individual tours. A limited number of people can be accommodated on each tour; tickets for specific tours will be available upon registration. Each tour lasts approximately one hour and forty five minutes. The tours will start at the Illini Union and will require walking a few blocks.

The tour will include a tour of the NCSA computer facilities, which houses NCSA's SGI Origin 2000 supercomputer. The SGI Origin 2000 is separated into nine different machines with a total of 768 MIPS R10000 processors.

There will also be a short demonstration of the CAVE(tm) virtual environment. The CAVE is a room-sized, multi-person, 3D video and audio environment. High-performance graphics computers generate stereoscopic imagery, which is rear-projected to the floor and three walls. Users wear lightweight liquid crystal shutter glasses and interact with the graphics environments with a hand-held device called the wand. Visualization of astronomical data using software created at the University of Illinois will be presented. There will also be a demonstration on the NCSA InfinityWall. The InfinityWall is 12 feet wide and 9 feet tall, providing a large, stereoscopic display surface. Like the CAVE, users at the InfinityWall wear lightweight stereo glasses and interact with a wand.

Conference Reception (7:00 - 9:00 pm Sunday)

The conference reception will take place in the Illini Union Ballroom from on Sunday evening. The reception will include heavy appetizers. It is likely that participants will not need to plan for an additional dinner.

Conference Banquet (7:00 - 10:00 pm Tuesday)

The Conference banquet will take place in the University Inn Concorde Room. The Concorde Room located on the twentieth floor offers its guests a dramatic view of the University of Illinois campus. The University Inn is three and a half blocks away from the Illini Union. A choice for dinner (chicken, beef, or vegetarian) should have been noted on the registration form.