AUGUST 25, 2023
Dear Conference Participants,
The first day of MODEST-23 is right around the corner. This is the final email you will receive before the conference begins. If you have any logistical questions, please contact ciera-events@northwestern.edu. If you have any scientific questions, please email elena.prieto@northwestern.edu and newlinweatherford2017@u.northwestern.edu.
VENUE FLOORPLANS
Signage will be posted around the venue, and physical copies of these maps will be available at the sign in table, but below are key locations to note. On the last day of the conference, luggage may be stored in basement room L06, which will also be used as the breakout space. Please note that Harris Hall is not a CIERA space, and we have only booked the rooms indicated on these floorplans (107, L04, L05, L06, L28). Please do not occupy rooms not listed here. If you have any questions about the building, or require additional space, please locate an organizer (purple stripe on their name badge).
We have recently learned that the West entrance doors may not be held open, so please enter from the North (ramp) entrance.
1st floor: talks, coffee & snacks
Basement: posters, coffee & snacks, breakout room, lactation + conference support storage
POSTERS
Poster numbers will not be assigned ahead of time. Please only hang a poster where a number has been placed. If you are presenting a poster, please upload your one-slide to the Google Slides linked here. These will be used during the Poster Flash.
PRESENTING TALKS
All speakers will be presenting talk slides from their own laptops. When you arrive at the podium, an organizer will assist your connection to the room’s projector. You will have the option of utilizing a handheld microphone, a lapel microphone, or the podium’s built-in microphone to present your talk. Please coordinate this choice with the organizer assisting your connection to the A/V system. Please refrain from reconfiguring unnecessary settings on the A/V control panel without consulting an organizer.
PLACES TO EAT
Morning and afternoon snacks + coffee will be provided, but full meals (besides the Wednesday night conference dinner) will be obtained on your own. Below is a list of nearby restaurants.
Quick Bites/Takeout
Norris University Center (basement cafeteria), Blaze Pizza, Jimmy John’s, Koko Table Korean, Soulwich, Edzo’s, Elephant and Vine, Sweetgreen, Colectivo Coffee, Habibi Mediterranean Grill, 10Q Chicken, Dozika, Chipotle, Potbelly’s, Noodles & Co.
Sit Down/Dinner (many also offer takeout options) (^=more costly)
Bat17, Mumbai Indian Grill, Chili’s, Stacked and Folded, Tapas Barcelona, Kansaku, TOMO, Koi, Trattoria Demi, Peppercorn’s Kitchen, Taco Diablo, Compagnola^, Oceanique^, Mt. Everest, Lou Malnati’s, The Barn Steakhouse^, LeTour^, Fonda, NaKorn Urban Thai
MODEST-23 will begin on Monday, August 28. Opening remarks will begin at 8:45AM. Please allow yourself ample time to sign in, receive your name badge, and hang your poster (if applicable) before the conference begins. If you arrive before 8AM, organizers will still be setting up and may be slower to assist you.
See you all soon!
AUGUST 21, 2023
Dear Conference Participants,
Thank you for registering for MODEST-23: Star Clusters in the Post-Pandemic Era! We are excited to welcome many of you to Northwestern this coming Monday, August 28.
Below you will find relevant logistical information. More detailed floor plans of the conference venue will be circulated at the end of the week. If you have any logistical questions, please contact ciera-events@northwestern.edu. If you have any scientific questions, please email elena.prieto@northwestern.edu and newlinweatherford2017@u.northwestern.edu.
GETTING TO EVANSTON AND PARKING
The fastest way to get to Evanston from O’Hare International Airport is by taking an Uber/Lyft/Taxi. Uber and Lyft drivers are authorized to pick up riders from designated pickup zones (viewable in the relevant app). Surge pricing may be in effect, but non-surge rates typically run around $60. The drive to the Hilton Garden Inn (conference hotel) can take anywhere between 25 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic. Alternatively, American Taxi can be pre-arranged and offers a flat rate of $42 from O’Hare to Evanston. To pre-arrange a ride, please call (847) 673-1000.
If you are driving into Evanston, visitor parking passes may be obtained for $9/day from the Northwestern Transportation office (1841 Sheridan Road). With one of these passes, you may park in any lot on this map that allows visitor parking. The closest visitor lots to the conference venue are marked 207 and 208 on the map. Alternatively, ParkEvanston operates a number of spots downtown (farther away but comparable rates) that can be paid for hourly via their app.
We also advise those who are coming directly from the Ann Arbor conference this week that Amtrak tickets are booking up several days in advance right now, so we recommend you book tickets to Chicago ASAP if you have not done so already (see details on the MODEST travel webpage).
GETTING TO THE CONFERENCE VENUE
MODEST-23 will be taking place in Northwestern’s Harris Hall (1881 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208). Rooms in the building will be used as follows:
Talks: Room 107 (1st floor)
Posters: Room L04 and L05 (basement)
Breakout space / meeting room: Room L06 (basement)
Conference support storage and lactation space: Room L28 (basement)
Harris Hall is a 12 min walk from the conference hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn. A map of the route is below:
When you arrive, please be sure to sign in and obtain your name badge. The sign in table will be located inside the building’s main entrances from the West (which are up steps). An accessible entrance can be found on the North side of the building, connecting to the main atrium where the sign in table is located.
If you are presenting a poster, please proceed to the basement rooms L04 and L05 to hang your poster. Please only hang your poster near your assigned poster number. Posters will be affixed directly to the wall and tape will be provided in the poster rooms. If you have any questions about hanging your poster, or notice damage to the walls during the conference, please email ciera-events@northwestern.edu.
SCHEDULE AND SPEAKERS
A friendly reminder that the conference schedule (including speaker slots) can be found on our website. Please note that morning and afternoon snacks/coffee will be provided but participants will obtain lunch on their own.
For the benefit of fellow participants (and colleagues who could not attend), we encourage those with talks who are willing to upload their finalized talk slides to the following Google Drive folder under the format [Last Name]-[First Name].[File Extension]: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZXbSk5w9qfmoCE1QEKQP4njHKvQw3WaD?usp=sharing.
This NOT mandatory but a courtesy and will also allow the organizers to use their computers for the presentation if there are any technical difficulties with a given presenter’s laptop.
The conference dinner will take place on Wednesday, August 30 at 5pm, at the Northwestern University Lakefill. In the event of inclement weather, the venue will move indoors. Should this be necessary, we will notify you of the venue change by Tuesday, August 29.
If you have any questions during the conference, please find one of the handful of folks with a purple stripe and CIERA banner attached to their namebadge.
See you all soon!
By Request: Video excerpt from MODEST-23 JM satellite meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx0XdhIhjps