Events and Orientation

Opening Plenary Session
Wednesday, January 4
The Plenary Address will be given by John Wingfield, Past President, and will be titled “Control of reproduction in diverse habitats: multiple pathways for environmental signals.”

Sessions-Symposia-Social Events
The Year 2006 Annual Meeting for the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) is an educational and research forum for investigations of biology on a broad comparative scale. The meeting will include many symposia and special programs in addition to hundreds of contributed papers in divisional and topi-cal sessions. Watch the SICB Web site for Schedule of Events updates and the posting of abstracts in late October, 2005.

Special Symposia
In addition to the wide variety of divisional symposia, there will be two Society-wide symposia:
1. Ecological Immunology: Recent Advances and Applications for Conservation and Public Health
2. Metamorphosis: A Multi-Kingdom Approach

Social Events
Attend SICB’s social events and use your free drink ticket! All events will take place at the Buena Vista Palace Resort and Spa in the Walt Disney World Resort.

Special Events

• The George A. Bartholomew Award recipient this year is James Gillooly. For details of his lecture see schedule entry.
• The Howard Bern Lecture will be held by Stacia Sower. For details see schedule entry.
• NSF will have program officers present to meet with members and discuss funding opportunities. NSF program officers will again be interested in hearing what members think should be supported by NSF.

Grad Student/Post Docs Welcome and Meeting Orientation
Wednesday, January 4, 2006, 5:30 pm. “How to get the most out of your SICB meeting.”

• How to find relevant talks/posters during the meetings
• How to find everyone at the meetings
• How to approach a “big guy or gal”
• How to enter or leave a room/move between rooms
• How to plan your meeting
• How to get involved in SICB or attend business meetings and the importance of attending the meetings (exposure, recognition).

This will be followed by a lightning round of first timers’ questions.

American Microscopical Society
AMS members are invited to meet for their yearly luncheon. This year’s special lecture will feature Kevin Eckelbarger with an historical talk on influential invertebrate biologists of the recent past. This talk is on Friday, Jan. 6, from 5:15 pm tp 6:15 pm in room Ireland A.

Welcome to Orlando Reception
The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology welcomes you to Orlando with a reception on Wednesday, January 4, following the Plenary Session. A cash bar will be available and snacks will be provided.

Companion Orientation/Continental Breakfast
All registered guests are welcome to join an informal gathering on Thursday, January 5, from 9:00-10:00 am. A knowledgeable local person will be on hand to let you know about some of the many fascinating facts and sightseeing opportunities that Orlando is famous for.

Student/Postdoctoral Luncheon
The SICB Student/Postdoctoral Affairs Committee offers students an excellent opportunity to meet with fellow student members in an informal setting on Thursday, January 5, at Noon. The annual meeting of SPDAC will be held during/after this hour.

SICB Business Meeting
The SICB Business Meeting will take place Saturday, January 7, from 5:15 – 6:15 pm.

SICB Society-Wide Evening Social in Honor of Students and Postdocs

Join your fellow SICB members for a Society-Wide Social on Saturday, January 7, from 8:00-9:30 pm. Coffee, desserts and fruit will be served and a cash bar will be available.

Post Doc and Student Workshops
1. Workshop: “Optimizing Your Graduate School Experience” – Saturday, January 7, 6:00-7:00 pm

• dealing with funding your graduate studies (even after TAships expire)
• finding a good mentor (COS, societies, web listserves)
• getting funding as a graduate student
• getting to meetings and making future connections (aka, networking)
• building your CV to impress future hirers
• how to get the “right” postdoc for the “right” job

2. Workshop: “Strategies for Landing an Academic Job/Postdoc” – Saturday, January 7, 7:00-8:00 pm

• Differences in the requirements for major research universities, comprehensive universities and undergraduate liberal arts college resumes. There will be a follow up with questions from the audience.