Dear CNBC Faculty, Post-docs, and Students:

We would like to invite you to join us for the 13th Annual CNBC Retreat, to be held on September 25-27, 2009, at Seven Springs Mountain Resort. The goal of our retreat is to foster scientific and social interactions among faculty, post-docs, and students affiliated with the CNBC. The program will include a full agenda of scientific presentations and discussions, as well as other informational, social, and recreational events.

Student-organized data blitz
There will be a student-organized data blitz Friday night at the hotel beginning at 8:00 pm. This session is open to all graduate students, post-docs, and faculty interested in attending. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided beginning at 7:30. The graduate student retreat representatives will be in touch with the students to provide more detailed information on the data blitz.

Retreat
The first scientific session begins promptly at 9:00 am on Saturday, with a continental breakfast available beforehand. The program ends at 11:30 am on Sunday.  A preliminary schedule of events can be found at http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu/retreatsched.

Talks
Saturday and Sunday morning talks will feature local University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon faculty. Our invited keynote speaker, Dr. Daniel Wolpert, Professor of Engineering, University of Cambridge, will speak on Saturday afternoon before dinner.  On Sunday morning, in addition to multiple full-length faculty talks, there will be a faculty data blitz, during which we will hear about exciting new research going on at Pitt and CMU.

Poster session
There will be a poster session on Saturday evening (7:30-9:00 p.m.) featuring the recent work of students and post-docs. Faculty should urge their students to make a poster presentation. The poster can be simple and include only a title, abstract, and a few figures, or can be a recycled or preview of prepared conference posters. Students and post-docs are encouraged to sign up for the poster session during the registration process.

New this year
Note that we have some innovations this year: post-doc data blitz on Saturday, faculty data blitz on Sunday, the long-awaited CNBC Idol on Saturday night (so start practicing your gig) and the opportunity to meet the new CMU-side, CNBC  Co-Director, Dr. Michael Tarr.  


REGISTRATION / MEALS / LODGING / DIRECTIONS

Faculty & Post-docs
The CNBC will cover the cost of Saturday night lodging (based on double occupancy), registration, and meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday). Please note that faculty and post-docs arriving on Friday will be responsible for their own lodging expenses.

Students
The CNBC will cover the cost of registration, meals (pizza on Friday, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday), and lodging on Friday and Saturday in a chalet which sleeps 10 students.

Special Arrangements
If you register to bring a guest or require single lodging accommodations, a CNBC staff member will be in touch with you to provide information on personal costs.

Directions
Seven Springs is located approximately one hour's drive southeast of Pittsburgh. It is easily accessible off exit 91 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Turn left off the exit ramp (Routes 711 and 31); approximately two miles,  turn right on Route 711; follow 711 for about two miles; at the Star Market in Champion, turn left; follow the  signs to Seven Springs (approximately  eight miles) on the right.

Online registration will close on Friday, August 21st.

2009 Retreat Registration Form

For questions, please contact Barbara Dorney ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or Melissa Stupka ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), or members of the retreat planning committee.

We look forward to seeing you in the mountains of Pennsylvania.


2009 Retreat Planning Committee
Marlene Behrmann (CMU faculty) - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Erika Fanselow (PITT faculty) - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Shreejoy Tripathy (CMU student representative) - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Krysta Fox (PITT student representative) - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Mayu Nishimura (CMU Post-doc representative) - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it