Meeting Site Information

The City and Meeting Site
You will find the best of all worlds in Wisconsin's vibrant capital city and picturesque surrounding towns: natural beauty and outdoor recreation, stimulating cultural offerings, distinctive restaurants and shops, and an irreverent spirit of fun.

Built on an isthmus between lakes Monona and Mendota, Madison is renowned for its beautiful scenery. A total of five area lakes and over 200 parks provide an abundance of year-round outdoor activities, from hiking, biking, swimming and sailing along with cross-country skiing, snow sailing, and ice fishing.

The 06-ISS will be held at two campus locations, the Microbial Sciences Building and the Memorial Union. The majority of sessions will be held in the Microbial Sciences Building, built in 2007. This state-of-the art research and instruction facility houses the Departments of Bacteriology, Medical Microbiology & Immunology, the Food Research Institute, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, the Wisconsin Center for Infectious Disease, and the UW-Madison Symbiosis Cluster.

Congress-wide opening sessions and one concurrent session will be held in the Ebling Symposium Center. It seats 450 people, and contains a sophisticated AV system that includes dual multimedia projectors, DVD and VHS players, document camera, presentation recording camera, and sound system with wireless microphones.

The second concurrent session will be held in a modern 200-seat classroom with comprehensive audiovisual capabilities for instruction in microbiology. This classroom is around the corner from the Ebling Center, facilitating movement between sessions. Both rooms are served by a common outer lobby, which will serve as the gathering place for refreshments during breaks. Outdoor terraces and patios, as well as indoor relaxed seating areas with mobile marker boards on every floor, will encourage informal shoptalk and brainstorming.

Symbiosis Education events will be held in the specialized instructional laboratories built for training in general and advanced microbiology, immunology, microbial physiology, mycology, pathogenic microbiology, microbial diversity, microbial genetics, food microbiology, parasitology, host-microbe interactions, and molecular biology.

The keynote lecture, poster sessions, and the post-doctoral/grad student forum will be held at the Memorial Union. It is a pleasant 20-minute walk by the lakeside between these venues, which are also served by a free campus bus.

The Memorial Union is commonly referred to as the “heart and soul of the University.”  The Italian-Renaissance style building is located on the shore of Lake Mendota in the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. It is a focus of student activities and is close to shops, museums, libraries, and many local eateries.

More information can be found at: www.visitmadison.com/visitorinfo/

Computer Facilities
Computer access will be available for all conference participants.  Wireless internet access information will be given out at registration.  A limited number of computer terminals are located on the first floor and a computer lab is located next to the meeting site in College Library.

Sailing
Two options available to conference coordinators and participants are able to be offered well in advance of the event by Wisconsin Union Conference Services. Conference coordinators can plan for a sailing social as part of their conference, or offer participants the opportunity to pre-register for a guided sail, much in the same way as other social events and tours are offered.

Option #1 – Customized Sailing Regatta
Conference participants learn the basics of sailing from Hoofer instructors, and then compete in a mini regatta with each boat captained by an instructor and crewed by the conference attendees. Race committee provided with results available soon after completion.
Time: About 2 to 2.5 hours of sailing
Cost: $50 per person
Group size: 4 participants per boat plus an instructor
Minimum: About 20 participants
Limits: Maximum of 36 participants per event

Option #2 – Prescheduled Guided Sail
Sit back and enjoy the beauty of Madison while a qualified Hoofer Sailing Instructor guides you and your party across Lake Mendota. This package requires no prior sailing knowledge and can be a cruise or instruction as desired by those aboard.
Time: About 2 hours of sailing (longer for added charge)
Cost: $35 per person
Group size: 3-6 participants per boat plus an instructor
Minimum: 3 participants
Limits: Maximum of 30 participants at one time (multiple sessions per day/week possible)

Wisconsin weather changes rapidly and can affect the ability to sail. In no-wind, heavy-wind, or stormy conditions events would need to be rescheduled or cancelled. Please contact Symbiosis Conference Services (symbiosis@union.wisc.edu) if you wish to sign up for a sail.

Madison Weather
May  is typically warm and pleasant, but come prepared for cool or rainy weather as well. For current updates visit: www.weather.com/outlook/sports/local/USWI0411

Child Care
The following child care sites are local recommendations that offer daily drop in care.  Please contact the sites directly for more information.  The Wisconsin Union is not responsible for coordinating child care. 

Eagle’s Wing Child Care
Eagle Heights Community Center
611 Eagle Heights Madison, Wisconsin 53706
(608) 265-3332
www.housing.wisc.edu/eagleswing
Eagle’s Wing is an on-campus, nationally accredited facility located in the Eagle Heights community with an overall capacity for 105 children, ages 2-5. Eagle’s Wing will provide drop in care for children based on availability of space on any given day. You must call ahead to inquire about openings. An hourly fee is charged for this service.

YMCA of Dane County
The YMCA offers day care for school-age children. For more information, please call at (608) 221-1574.

The Conference Organizers wish to thank the following for their generous support:

American Society of Microbiology
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Albert (Al) L. Toon, Jr
AT8 Private Investment Companies
Danisco Inc.
Microbes in Health and Disease Training Program
New England Biolabs, Inc.
The New Phytologist
OpGen
Promega
The United States National Institutes of General Medical Sciences (R13GM088986)
UW-Madison Department of Bacteriology - Dennis and Alicemay Waston Fund
UW-Madison Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology

For questions regarding the ISS Congress, please contact Alicia Cramer at amcramer@wisc.edu.

For questions regarding the meeting site and registration, please contact Conference Services at symbiosis@union.wisc.edu.

CONFERENCE DEADLINES:    
Poster Abstract Submission: Monday, June 29, 2009 - This is a firm deadline. No abstracts will be allowed after this date.

Early Registration Deadline: Friday, May 15, 2009
Lodging Reservations (via registration site): Monday, July 6, 2009
Payments: All charges must be paid in full after Monday, July 6, 2009

The Wisconsin Union - Conference Services
Symbiosis 2009 Conference
800 Langdon Street
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-890-1077
Fax: 608-265-8299
Email: symbiosis@union.wisc.edu
The University of Wiscosin Tax Identification Number is 39-1805963
Please make checks/PO payable to: Wisconsin Union - Symbiosis 2009

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