VISA INFORMATION
The INFORMS Annual Meeting has been posted on the U.S. Department of State’s Intranet Listing for Conferences in the United States. These sites provide helpful information on visas:
 
http://travel.state.gov
http://usembassy.state.gov
http://www.unitedstatesvisas.gov/
http://www.dhs.gov/us-visit
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/visas/

 
REGISTRATION

• Registration
  
  
• Click here to register. On-site registration will be located at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. You can pick up your printed program and other registration materials at the following times: Saturday, October 11, 3:00-7:00pm; Sunday - Wednesday, 7:00am-5:00pm. These are also the on-site registration hours.
  
  
• Badge Required for Technical Sessions
  Your Washington DC 2008 registration badge must be worn to all meeting events. Badges will be checked at the entrance to technical session areas, as well as the exhibit hall. Attendees without badges will be directed to the registration desk to pick up their badges and register. All attendees, including cluster chairs, session chairs and speakers must register and pay the registration fee.
   

ROOM LOCATIONS
The printed program you receive in Washington will list room locations for all sessions and events, as well as provide floor plans. Technical sessions, registration, exhibits, plenary presentations and the Sunday evening reception will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Additional technical sessions will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel with subdivision meetings held at both the Marriott and Omni.

AUDIO-VISUAL SERVICES
Every room will be equipped with an LCD (data) projector and an overhead. Please follow these guidelines to ensure a successful presentation using the LCD projector:

• Bring your laptop PC to your session. We supply the projector, but we DO NOT supply the computer.
• Bring your AC power adaptor with you. There will be convenient AC power in every session room.
• Arrive at your session at least 30 minutes before it begins. All presenters in a session should set up and test the connection to the projector before the session begins.
• Do NOT attempt to run your presentation off the laptop battery.
• Produce and bring overhead transparencies as a backup.

Speaker Ready Room: There will be a Speaker Ready Room available in the Marriott during the meeting. You can stop by and practice connecting your laptop to the projector. We will also have quick instructions at each session room and technical assistance available for any problems.

PRESENTATION GUIDELINES
Online Program
The program will be posted online late in July. The online program is considered to be the final version of the preliminary program. This means that once the program appears online, we are not able to move either single presentations or full sessions to other time slots. Speakers go to the online program for the date and time of their presentations and then make travel and hotel arrangements based on this information. We can add to existing sessions or add new sessions as time and space permit. You can also make changes to your abstract title, abstract or list of authors.
 
Making Your Presentation
Go to the registration area and pick up your Washington, DC Meeting Program, name badge and other registration materials. The room and location of your session will be listed in the Technical Sessions section and in the Master Track Schedule.

• Arrive at your session at least ½ hour early for A/V set-up.
• Limit your presentation to key issues with a brief summary.
• Time your presentation to fit within your designated time span, leaving time for audience questions. Time per speaker is determined by the number of papers in the session, with equal time given to each paper.
• Bring copies of your paper or other handouts to distribute to the audience.

LATE CANCELLATIONS (after September 1) & NO-SHOWS
 Please don't be a "no-show." While we understand that last-minute emergencies may prevent speakers from attending, we urge you to inform us so we can alert attendees. Speakers who fail to notify us that they are not attending are being unfair to their colleagues and the Organizing Committee. In an effort to improve the quality of the meeting, we maintain records of individuals who are late cancellations (cancel after September 1) and “no-shows.” These people may be required to register in advance for future meetings in order for their papers to be scheduled.

• Send cancellation in writing to abstractcentral@informs.org with the reason for canceling. Cancellations will be listed in the Program Addendum and deleted from the online program.
• Invited and Sponsored speakers should also inform their session chair if they are not able to attend the meeting to make their presentation(s).
• If a paper is withdrawn from a session before the meeting, the session chair may add a new speaker or extra time may be allowed for the remaining speakers.
• Invited and Sponsored session chairs should find a substitute to act as chair in their place.
• If a speaker is a "no-show," the original time schedule should be adhered to rather than sliding every talk forward. This allows for effective session jumping.

SESSION CHAIR GUIDELINES
 The role of the Chair is to coordinate the smooth running of the session. The Chair:

• Begins and ends tje session on time. Each session lasts 90 minutes, with the time per presentation determined by the number of papers in the session. Equal time should be given to each paper.
• Introduces each presentation (just the title of the paper and the name of the presenting author).
• Ensures that presentations are made in the order shown in the program. This allows for "session jumping." If a speaker cancels or does not attend, the original time schedule should be adhered to rather than sliding every talk forward.
• Completes the session attendance forms (forms will be in the room).

HOW TO NAVIGATE THE MEETING
Printed Program
The printed program provides four primary resources to help you understand and navigate the INFORMS Technical Sessions:

• The technical session listing, which provides the most detailed information. The listing is presented chronologically by day/time, showing each session and the papers/abstracts/authors within each session.
• The Author, Session Chair and Session indices provide cross-reference assistance.
• Floor plans that show you where technical session tracks are located.
• The Master Track Schedule - an overview of the tracks (general topic areas) and when/where they are scheduled.

The Session Code
Each session is identified with a code - for example, MB25.

• The first letter is the day of the week.
• The second letter is the time block
  (A = 8:00-9:30am; B = 11:00am-12:30pm; C = 1:30-3:00pm; D = 4:30-6:00pm).
• The number is the track, which correlates with room location.

To Find Your Own Session
Use the Author Index at the back of the printed program - the session code for your presentation(s) will be shown. Then refer to the full session listing for the location of your session(s).
 
To Find Sessions of Interest
Before you arrive in Washington use the online Program Search to identify sessions you want to attend. Search by CLUSTER to see what's available in broad topic areas. Search by KEY WORD for particular interests. Search by SESSION for a chronological look at sessions available each day. Or search by AUTHOR. You can also create your own itinerary.
 
Once you arrive in Washington the best method for finding sessions of interest is to use the Master Track Schedule. It provides an overview of the general topic areas for all sessions during the week.
 
Program Information Booth
In Washington, DC, there will be Program Information booths located near the INFORMS registration desk. If you have any questions or comments about the program, we encourage you to stop by.
 
WEATHER: WHAT TO EXPECT
 Average daytime temperature for October in Washington, DC is 69, night average is 44 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure to bring a light jacket or raincoat.