Pittsburgh on Demand Issue 2
New Pilot Program of Poster Tours to Debut in Pittsburgh
AAEA is looking for new ways to increase the value of the Poster presentations at the meeting, both for authors and meeting attendees. In Pittsburgh, we’ll be trying a new pilot program of Tours of Selected Posters which will take place during the Attended Poster Sessions on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. If these tours prove popular, we’ll expand the pilot program to include more Posters at our next Annual Meeting.
Five tours will take place on both Monday and Tuesday, highlighting a total of about 50 Posters. The most popular subject codes will be used as the basis for each tour, helping to ensure that each tour will focus on a different topic. As this is a test program, Posters will be chosen for the tours based on a wide range of criteria, and are not meant to reflect the quality of those chosen.
Tours will feature an author of each Poster presenting their research for ten minutes, followed by a short time for discussion. Each tour will be open to all meeting attendees, and will end with enough time left for you to visit the other Posters in the hall.
Resource and Environmental Economics Well Represented in 2011
Research focusing on environmental and resource economics is an important segment of the body of work completed by AAEA members. At the 2011 Joint Annual Meeting, research in this area will be well represented in the concurrent sessions, in the form of Selected Paper Sessions, Posters, and AERE sponsored Organized Symposia.
More than 20% of the Selected Presentation abstracts submitted for the Pittsburgh meeting fell under the subject codes Natural Resource Economics, Resource and Environmental Policy Analysis, or Environmental and Nonmarket Valuation. You can expect to see a similar percentage of Selected Paper Sessions and Posters on these topics.
AERE sessions as part of the AAEA Annual Meeting have been a consistent presence for many years. This year, AERE is organizing seven sessions that will take place on Monday and Tuesday. These sessions typically feature three to four presentations, each of which includes a discussant who provides context to the research.
Financial Support Available for Young Professionals and Graduate Students to Attend the Meeting
For those new to the profession, the AAEA Trust is providing funding to offset the costs of traveling to Pittsburgh for the Joint Annual Meeting. These travel grants are available to graduate students or comparatively new professionals in the field who are interested in participating in the meeting. Up to $400 will be awarded to each applicant selected to defray housing and transportation costs associated with attending the meeting. Applications are due by April 18, 2011. You can learn more in the call for applications.
Pittsburgh’s New Green Approach Includes Meeting Facilities
After more than a century of being associated with industrial steel mills, the city of Pittsburgh has worked hard to redefine its image, with a strong focus on new technology, including clean energy. This approach also has been adopted by the meeting facilities that will be used for the 2011 Joint Annual Meeting. The headquarters hotel for 2011, The Westin Convention Center, Pittsburgh features a slate of new environmental practices, while the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the site of the majority of meeting activities, is the only meeting venue to be awarded Gold LEED® Certification.
The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is dedicated to being a green facility, having been built with these standards in mind. For example, more than 75% of the entire building is naturally lit, and a series of improvements has allowed the facility to see a 66% reduction in purchased water. You can learn more about what the convention center has done in the area at www.greenfirst.us.
The Westin is also strongly focused on its environmental practices. This includes a program where guests who stay at the hotel can opt-out of receiving housekeeping services, earning them a $5 voucher for each day to be used for food or drinks at the hotel.