Mini-Workshops

If you would like to host a MARGINS related mini-workshop held in conjunction with the 2010 AGU Fall Meeting, we invite you to submit your proposal to the MARGINS Office (margins@nsf-margins.org) by September 1.

A mini-workshop is a small event that can last 1-4 hours one evening after AGU sessions, or it could be a half-day to one day event before or after the AGU meeeting. The purpose is to expedite integration and synthesis of MARGINS science results. The MARGINS Office can provide logistical support and a venue. Travel costs are not covered; people already attending the AGU meeting are encouraged to participate.

The application guidelines and a proposal example are below, please contact the MARGINS Chair or the Office for further inquiries (margins@nsf-margins.org).

MARGINS Mini-Workshop proposal guidelines [PDF]

The MARGINS Office and Steering Committee aim to support efforts that expedite synthesis of results from MARGINS science
in the various focus areas and initiatives. To this end, the MARGINS Office offers to help MARGINS funded investigators
organize and fund mini-workshops held at national meetings for the purpose of bringing together a group of multi-disciplinary
investigators to synthesize results to date. Such mini-workshops can be associated with GSA, AGU, or other national meetings
at which your research area is well represented. They can be 1-4 hour workshops one evening after sessions, or half-day to day- long sessions before or after the meeting. They can bring together multiple investigators from a single focus site or from both focus sites within an initiative, or can address a theme that transcends initiatives, according to what makes the most scientific sense and where there is the greatest need.

There are some ground rules for such mini-workshops, as discussed below. The rules are intended to maximize the benefit of
such workshops to a larger scientific community and emphasize opportunities for interdisciplinary integration, as opposed to
providing a venue for a single or few proponent groups to meet. Once the MARGINS Steering Committee approve a mini-
workshop proposal, arrangements will be made as follows:

1. The MARGINS Office will provide the cost of a meeting room, presentation equipment and non-alcoholic refreshments, and will work with the meeting conveners and local hotels to make logistical arrangements. Regretfully, the MARGINS Office CANNOT afford to provide travel or lodging costs for participants. Alcoholic refreshments may be served as a goodwill gesture from another appropriate organization (a convener’s home institution, for example), but CANNOT be subsidized using MARGINS Office funds.
2. Workshop conveners are responsible for developing the science program, communicating with workshop participants on scientific matters and working with the MARGINS Office to arrange logistics.
3. Any MARGINS Office supported mini-workshop will be open to all interested parties and will be advertised via the MARGINS mailing list, MARGINS website, and meeting program.
4. Workshop conveners will provide a brief write-up of the major results of the workshop for dissemination via the MARGINS website and newsletter, so that important outcomes may be shared with the larger community.

If you are interested in hosting a mini-workshop, coordinate with your colleagues, and then send the MARGINS Office a 1-2
page outline of your meeting plan as soon as possible (margins@nsf-margins.org). Requests should generally come not later than 3 months ahead of the meeting. The MARGINS Steering Committee will review the submitted proposal before the MARGINS Office will agree to support a synthesis mini-workshop. Your write-up should include:

1. Scientific rationale for the meeting and reasons for its timeliness.
2. Evidence that a wide group of interdisciplinary researchers would be able to attend.
3. A draft scientific program for the mini-workshop.
4. The national meeting with which the mini-workshop would be associated.
5. The format (evening, half-day or full day, pre- or post-meeting) desired and acceptable dates.
6. Size of meeting envisioned.
7. Anticipated cost items (meeting space, refreshments, A/V equipment, etc.). Note that a detailed budget for these costs is not initially required.

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Proposal Example

Proposal for an Interdisciplinary Workshop on MARGINS-Subduction Factory-IBM at Fall AGU,
San Francisco, December 2006
Co-convenors R.J. Stern (U Texas at Dallas), Y. Tatsumi (IFREE/JAMSTEC), R. W. Embley (PMEL/NOAA), Kaneda or Kodaira (Japan Continental Shelf Project)

Efforts to reach InterMARGINS and MARGINS-Subduction Factory science objectives in the Izu-Bonin-Mariana focus site have been enhanced by recent NOAA “Submarine Ring of Fire” investigations and the Japan Continental Shelf Project. Geoscientific studies in the region are being further stimulated by a set of IODP preproposals for drilling in the IBM arc system. These complementary efforts can be stimulated in turn by involving the MARGINS-Subduction Factory community. The purpose of the proposed workshop is to inform the three communities, of these efforts solicit feedback, and explore possible synergies. We propose to hold this meeting for about 90 minutes just after the IODP evening “icebreaker”, hopefully in a nearby room. We held a similar workshop two years ago and it was quite successful. We need MARGINS office to arrange a room (near the IODP icebreaker if scheduled to follow), suitable comfortable seating for 50-70 participants, digital projector and overhead projector, refreshments, and assistance of the MARGINS office to reserve, advertise, and run the meeting. We hope also to present the status of ~ 3 day MARGINS/IFREE workshop on IBM perhaps similar to the one held Hawaii one in 2002.

Draft program:

Introduction and Welcome
Overview of MARGINS program (NSF representative)
Review of MARGINS-Subduction Factory Science Objectives in IBM and future plans (MARGINS office)
Status of NOAA-Submarine Ring of Fire effort and future plans (Embley)
Status of Japan Continental Shelf Project and future plans (Kodaira or Kaneda)
IODP proposal status and future plans (Tatsumi or Stern)

Other possible participants:
US Mariana mapping effort (Larry Mayer)

Other sample proposals and sample budgets available upon request, please contact the MARGINS Office.

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