The Society of Rheology: 73rd Annual Meeting (Oct 2001) General Information

Location

The site of the meeting is the Hyatt Regency Hotel, in Bethesda, Maryland. The hotel is just 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Washington, D.C. border, near the National Institutes of Health. The hotel is situated directly above a stop on Washington’s Metro subway system, for convenient access to the Smithsonian Institution museums, the National Zoo, the White House, the Capitol, and the monuments around the National Mall. Admission is free to most of the Federally operated locations, such as the Smithsonian Institution. There are also more than 100 restaurants within walking distance of the Hyatt Regency. October is a peak tourist season in Washington, with an average high temperature of 69 °F (20.6 °C) and an average low temperature of 50 °F (10 °C). For that reason, reservations at the Hyatt Regency should be made early; special room rates for the meeting are $149 for single occupancy, $169 for double occupancy.

The meeting coincides with the Centennial of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly the National Bureau of Standards), located 15 miles (24 km) farther north in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Some connection between the meeting and Centennial events at NIST is planned.

For more information, please visit the following web sites:

Cheery Blossoms and the Washington Monument

*About Washington, D.C.*
	http://www.washington.org/
*About Bethesda, Maryland*
	http://www.bethesda.org/
*About Hyatt Regency Bethesda*
	http://www.hyatt.com/usa/bethesda/hotels/hotel_bethe.html
About Montgomery County, Maryland
	http://www.cvbmontco.com/
*About National Institute of Standards and Technology*
	http://www.nist.gov/

Transportation

The location is convenient to all three of the airports that serve Washington, D.C., with easy freeway access to Dulles International Airport (25 miles, 40 km), Baltimore-Washington International Airport (35 miles, 56 km), and Reagan National Airport (15 miles, 24 km). Reagan National Airport can also be easily reached via the Metro subway system, since the Hyatt Regency sits directly above the Bethesda stop on the Red Line. There is also rail service connecting the Metro subway system and Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

If you are flying, please double-check your itinerary. Reagan National Airport is now open but on a restricted schedule. If you do fly into Reagan National, there is a direct Metro subway connection from the airport to the hotel (directly atop the Bethesda stop on the Red Line). Otherwise, the driving distance to the hotel is about equal for all three of the local airports: Reagan National, Dulles International and Baltimore-Washington International (BWI).

The cost of a direct taxi from Dulles Airport to the Hyatt-Regency is between $30 and $40. The cost of a direct taxi from BWI Airport to the Hyatt-Regency is between $60 and $70. If you are not in a group, a shuttle van will be more economical. The Hyatt-Regency hotel recommends a company called Royal Airport Shuttle which charges $21 from Dulles and $30 from BWI. Advanced reservations with Royal Airport Shuttle are strongly recommended - phone numbers: 800 653 0888 or 301 657 0888.

For more information, please visit the following web sites:

*About Reagan National Airport*
	http://www.metwashairports.com/National/index.html
*About Dulles International Airport*
	http://www.metwashairports.com/Dulles/index.html
*About Baltimore-Washington International Airport*
	http://www.bwiairport.com/
*About Metro Subway and Bus Service*
	http://www.wmata.com/
*About Montgomery County Bus Service*
	http://www.dpwt.com/TransSvcDiv/TransSvcDiv.html

Special Event

We will offer a tour of the NIST Center for Neutron Research, located about twenty minutes away in Gaithersburg, MD. The tour will be offered during lunchtime on Tuesday (and perhaps Wednesday if there is sufficient response). The total time including transit will be about 2 ½ hours. Thus participants will miss the beginning of the afternoon session of the SoR meeting.

Neutron-based measurement techniques offer unique probes into the structure of complex fluids, such as polymers, emulsions, colloids and biomaterials. They have also provided decisive information in many rheological investigations, for example, the structure of gels under uniaxial strain, the shear induced transitions in colloidal dispersions and many others. The tour will cover several of the most commonly used instruments for rheology, in particular small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and neutron reflectivity. Beam time on the instrumentation is available to all, based on a peer reviewed proposal system. For more information about the NIST Center for Neutron Research, visit http://www.ncnr.nist.gov/

Registration

Conference registration includes access to all technical sessions and the vendor display, the program and abstract booklets, two receptions, one luncheon, coffee breaks, and refreshments at the poster session. The registration fee does not include the Banquet, which is subject to limited seating. Please see details on the meeting registration form.

On-site registration will be held on Sunday, October 21th, from 3 to 8 PM, in the foyer on the Conference Level (down the escalators from the lobby). Registration will continue each day, Monday through Wednesday, from 9 AM to noon.

Welcoming Reception

A welcoming reception hosted by TA Instruments will be held on Sunday, October 21st, from 7 to 9 PM in Fellini's Bar and Grill (Lobby Level).

Society Reception

Society Luncheon

All attendees are encouraged to attend the society luncheon of The Society of Rheology, to be held on Monday, October 22th, from 11:50 AM to 1:30 PM in the Crystal Ballroom.

Society Business Meeting

All attendees are encouraged to attend the annual business meeting of The Society of Rheology on Tuesday, October 23rd. This meeting will start at approximately 5:30 PM in the Cabinet/Judiciary Rooms.

Bingham Award Banquet

Rheometric Scientific will host a reception in the Foyer outside the Crystal Ballroom beginning at 7 PM on Tuesday, October 23rd, prior to the Bingham Award Banquet. The Banquet will be held in the Crystal Ballroom. Dinner will be served at 8 PM.

Poster Session

Bohlin Instruments will host a reception in conjunction with the Poster Session on Wednesday, October 24th. This event will start at 6 PM. Posters will be displayed in the Crystal Ballroom.

Exhibits

Vendors will demonstrate their products in the Chesapeake/Susquehanna Suite (Basement Level). Coffee and refreshments will be served in this room.