TSRC encourages scientists to propose new workshops in active or emerging areas of molecular science. The proposal process is outlined below.
Expectations and Suggestions
TSRC is about pushing the frontiers of science, exploring new ideas, and building collaborations. TSRC co-founders, Stephen Berry and Peter Salamon, instituted a powerful workshop format to advance these goals:
- Keep the group size small. The average TSRC workshop has 25 participants, although they can be as small as 10 or as large as 30. Our most commonly used rooms become less comfortable as you go above 30 participants. Meetings larger than 30 are "Conferences" rather than “Workshops” and require a larger registration fee.
- Allow ample time for discussion. Talks are normally scheduled for 30-60 minutes with substantial discussion during each talk. Interruptions are encouraged. The point of the talk is only to stimulate conversation and the sharing of ideas.
- Present unpublished research versus results that other participants might already know well. The goal is to push the boundaries and think outside the box.
- Create an atmosphere that allows participants to challenge ideas, while maintaining a supportive and collaborative environment.
- Encourage diversity in the participant. TSRC believes that these diversity factors inherently create new perspectives, and this is a key ingredient of successful brainstorming and problem solving.
- Allow for substantial "free time" for participants to talk and think. Free time is a hallmark of TSRC Workshops as often the best thinking comes during walks through the town or hikes in the mountains. Many organizers have found that an all day meeting on the first day followed by half-day meetings the remaining days of the week is an effective workshop format.
- All participants are expected to stay for the entire duration of the workshop. A good workshop is a collaborative effort and complete participation should be encouraged.
- Organizers should encourage the participation of young scientists who can bring new ideas to the group. TSRC's young scientists are the future of the organization.
- As a way to help keep the workshop "fresh," organizers should seek to turnover the workshop to new group of organizers at the end of each meeting.
- Scientists are encouraged to consider bringing family or friends. Telluride offers a number of options for children's camps (including Telluride Academy, Aha School for the Arts, and Pinhead Institute) and an active program of festivals for family entertainment.
What is typically included in the registration fee
- Use of the meeting space.
- Staff support Monday-Thursday from 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m., Friday from 7:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.
- A hearty breakfast each morning with hard-boiled eggs, fruit, ham, cheese, yogurt, fresh baked pastries, baguettes, bagels and more.
- Morning and afternoon nuts, fruit, cookies, and other snacks.
- Coffee, tea, and soda all day.
- A picnic on Wednesday night with beer and wine. Family members and friends of participants are encouraged to attend free of charge.
- Technical equipment (projectors, screens, chalkboards, etc).
- Tech support.
- High-speed wireless Internet at the meeting site.
- Note that lodging and travel are not included in the registration fee.
- Lunch is not included in the normal registration fee, although you can have it added for $22/person/day
- A paragraph or two stating the purpose of your workshop and its relation to molecular science.
- Proposed dates of the workshop (typically Monday through Friday).
- The names, institutions, and email addresses of the organizers.
- The title of the workshop.
- Names of participants you intend to invite. (When selecting participants for your workshop or conference, please note that we encourage diversity in the participant list with regard to seniority, gender, nationality, institution/organization representation, and approach to the workshop’s scientific focus.)
- The number of people you expect to attend. (The ideal size of a workshop is 20-30 participants, to allow free time for informal discussions and exploring the town and mountains. Larger meetings, in the "conference" category, are also possible. Please indicate whether your event will fall into the workshop or conference category.)
- To help TSRC offer the greatest variety of programming, please visit TSRC webpages that list future and past workshops and assess overlap of your proposed workshop with other on-going workshops. In your proposal, please include a brief discussion explaining how your workshop differs from future and past workshops. In addition, identify whether your proposed event will have synergistic overlap with another workshop or summer school (in which case it may be desirable to coordinate the timing of those events in parallel or in series).
The Scientific Programming Committee reviews proposals on an on-going basis. You will be notified when review, including discussion by the TSRC board, is complete. TSRC may propose an alternate date for your workshop/conference, to coordinate with other meetings that have already been planned. Once the proposal is accepted, TSRC's staff will do everything possible to make the planning and organization easy for you. If you need to see when another meetings will be held in order to plan yours, visit the “Future Meetings” page on TSRC’s website.
If your proposal is accepted, you need to:
- Invite participants.
- Set your own program schedule for the workshop. The Executive Director or Managing Director will review your proposed schedule and provide information on other related events (such as the Town Talk and weekly TSRC Picnic) that should be incorporated into the scheduling.
- Discuss with TSRC's staff which venue is best suited to your meeting along with any special requirements you may have.
- Keep in touch with your anticipated participants to encourage registration in a timely manner, inform them of your workshop schedule, and share useful information about travel, housing, and workshop venue. To accomplish this, TSRC will send regular emails to the organizers that can be forwarded to the anticipated participants.
- You may monitor registration by visiting the current meeting webpage and clicking on the name of your workshop.
- Please contact TSRC's staff if an uninvited person registers and you need assistance (this happens, but only rarely).
Ready to get started? Contact TSRC today and get the ball rolling.