COMBINATORIAL METHODS FOR DNA MAPPING AND SEQUENCING, Oct 6-9, 1994

[Pavel Pevzner]

                        DIMACS SPECIAL YEAR: 
            "Mathematical Support for Molecular Biology"

                          DIMACS Workshop
  COMBINATORIAL METHODS FOR DNA MAPPING AND SEQUENCING, October 6-9, 1994 

           FIRST  ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
           

In the context of the 1994-95 DIMACS special year on Mathematical
Support for Molecular Biology, a four day workshop on "Combinatorial
Methods for DNA Mapping and Sequencing" will be held on October,6 -
October,9, 1994. The focus of the workshop will be on the
computational problems involved in mapping and sequencing DNA. The
scope encompasses the mathematical problems motivated by DNA mapping
and sequencing with a strong emphasis on applications of combinatorial
methods in molecular biology. The goal is to create a dialogue between
biologists and computer scientists. We aim to offer a setting for
relaxed and productive professional interaction, and hope that the
workshop activities will expand the participants' research interests
and promote collaborations between biologists and computer scientists.

PARTICIPATION

The workshop will be held at DIMACS at Rutgers University, Piscataway,
New Jersey.  DIMACS is the NSF science and technology center for
discrete mathematics and computer science.  It is a consortium of
Rutgers and Princeton Universities, AT&T Bell Laboratories, and
Bellcore.  Co-organizers for this workshop are:


 Charles Cantor - co-chair  (Center for Adv. Biotechnology, Boston U.)

 Patrick Gillevet (National Center for Human Genome Research, NIH) 

 Richard Karp (Comp. Sci. Div., U. of California, Berkeley) 

 Maynard Olson (Molecular Biotechnology Dept, U. of Washington)

 Gene Myers (Comp.Sci. Dept., University of Arizona)

 Pavel Pevzner - co-chair  (Dept. of Comp. Sci. and Eng., Penn State U.)

 Mihalis Yannakakis (Bell Labs) [mihalis at research.att.com]


The workshop will include invited presentations, contributed talks,
poster presentations, software demonstrations and an open problems
session.  Limited number of contributed talks will be selected by the
Workshop Committee for inclusion in the program.  Contributions from
junior researchers are encouraged. Contributed talks, poster
presentations and software demonstrations are solicited in all areas
of DNA mapping and sequencing. Applications for contributed talks,
poster presentations and software demonstrations should be received by
July,1, 1994 at:

                 Pavel A. Pevzner  (DNA Mapping and Sequencing  Workshop)
                 Department of Computer Science and Engineering 
                 The Pennsylvania State University
                 University Park, PA 16802
                 (814) 863-3599 pevzner at cse.psu.edu
                        

Requests for contributed talks, poster presentations and software
demonstrations should include a 1 page hard-copy abstract plus any
other supporting data such as a copy of a paper, a statement of
interest, or a summary of related research by the individual.  Authors
will be notified of acceptance by July,30.  The authors of the
accepted applications will be invited to contribute a paper to the
special issue, "DNA Mapping and Sequencing", of the new Journal of
Computational Biology.

We invite contributions of open problems which will generate
discussions and collaborations. In order to make the Open Problems
Session more productive, participants are urged to submit problems in
advance of the workshop dates.  Each submission should include
information on the origin/context of the problem, partial results and
known special cases as appropriate, and references. Please send each
submission to

             Dr.Gene Myers, Computer Science  Dept., 
  University of Arizona, Tucson,AZ 85721  (gene at cs.arizona.edu)

REGISTRATION

The DIMACS Conference Center at Rutgers can accommodate about 150
participants.  Subject to this capacity constraint, the workshop is
open to all researchers To register, contact Pat Toci
[toci at dimacs.rutgers.edu, (908) 932-5930]. If possible, please
register by August,1.

PARTIAL LIST OF INVITED SPEAKERS

C.Cantor (Boston U.),  
R. Drmanac (Argonne Nat. Lab.), 
A. Frieze (Carnegie Mellon), 
P.Gillevet (NCHGR), 
P.Green  (U. of Washinghton),
L.Hood   (U. of Washinghton),
S.Istrail (Sandia Nat. Lab.), 
R.Karp (U. of California, Berkeley), 
J.Kececioglu  (U. of California, Davis), 
R.Kosaraju (Johns Hopkins),
H.Lehrach (Imperial Cancer Research Fund),  
M.Li (U. of Waterloo), 
R.Lipshutz (Affymetrix),
T. Marr (Cold Spring Harbor),  
E.Myers (U. of Arizona), 
J.Orlin (MIT), 
M.Olson (U. of Washinghton), 
P.Pevzner (Penn State), 
R.Shamir (Tel Aviv U.)
S.Skiena (SUNY Stony Brook),
M.Waterman (USC), 
R.Wilson (Washington U. Saint Louis).

PARTICIPANT SUPPORT

* Limited funds are available for partial support of junior researchers
  and graduate students.
* Requests for support should include a statement of interest, the intended
  duration of conference participation, estimated transportation expenses,
  and the amount of support available from other sources.
* Requests from graduate students should also include a letter of
  recommendation.
* For full consideration, requests for support should be received by
  July 1, 1994 along with the registration form (below).   
* For  questions regarding:
  registration/support/local transportation/accommodations/driving directions
  contact workshop coordinator Pat Toci [toci at dimacs.rutgers.edu, (908) 932-5930].  

TRAVEL AND HOTEL INFORMATION:

It is recommended that participants arriving by plane fly into Newark
Airport. Flying into Kennedy or La Guardia can add more than an hour
to the travel time to DIMACS.

DIMACS has successfully and quite pleasantly used the Comfort Inn and
the Holiday Inn, both in South Plainfield - they are next to each
other.  The Comfort Inn gives DIMACS the rate of $40.00 and the
Holiday Inn of $60.00 (includes a continental breakfast).  The Comfort
Inn's # is 908-561-4488.  The Holiday Inn's # is 908-753-5500.  They
both provide free van service to and from DIMACS.  If desired, hotel
reservations can be made by Pat Toci [toci at dimacs.rutgers.edu, (908)
932-5930], the workshop coordinator.  She will need to know the date
of arrival and departure, which hotel is preferred, and a credit card
and expiration number.

To travel between Newark Airport and DIMACS/hotels, we recommend ICS
Van Service, 1-800-225-4427.  The rate is $23.00 per person.  It must
be booked in advance.  From the New York airports, participants may
take the Grayline Air (bus) Shuttle (1-800-451-0455) to Newark and
then ICS Van service from there.

Participants arriving to DIMACS by car will need a parking permit.
Parking permits can be obtained in advance by sending email to Pat
Toci.  Otherwise, they can be obtained any day of the workshop.

All workshop events will take place at DIMACS, located in the CoRE
Building of Rutgers University, Busch Campus, in Piscataway, New
Jersey.

For further questions regarding local transportation and
accommodations, or to obtain detailed driving directions to the hotels
and to DIMACS, contact Pat Toci [toci at dimacs.rutgers.edu, (908) 932-5930].

REGISTRATION FORM 

Early registration will be very helpful in planning the conference events.
To register, please send a completed copy of the form below to  Pat Toci,
DIMACS, Rutgers University, P.O. Box 1179, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1179.

Full name:___________________________________   Title:_______________________
Affiliation and address:_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Telephone number:____________________________
e-mail address:______________________________
I will attend   CMMS '94   from ___________________   to___________________
Housing choice:
  Reduced rates for conference participants are offered at
  Holiday Inn (908-753-5500) ($60/night) and Comfort Inn
  (908-561-4488) ($40/night), both within 10 min
  driving distance of the conference site (transportation will be
  provided).
   * I wish to make a reservation at Holiday Inn___  Comfort Inn___
    from _______________________       to ________________________
    My room should be non-smoking_____    smoking_____   no preference_____
    I wish to share a room with another participant:  no____
       yes____       no preference____       sex: female____ male____
       preferred roommate (if any)______________________________
    To guarantee your reservation, please provide credit card information:
       MC____ Visa____ AmerExpr____
       Card number___________________________ Expiration date_________________
   * I will make alternate housing arrangements ____________
Parking:
  *  I will drive and need a campus parking permit:  yes ____  no____
  * Payment must be made by check or money order in U.S. currency,
    payable to Rutgers University, and should be accompanied by the completed
    registration form.

FURTHER INFORMATION
* Questions will be gladly answered by
      Pat Toci, toci at dimacs.rutgers.edu, (908) 932-5928