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Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory


  • [Overview] [Registration] [Hotels] [General] [Transportation & Parking] 
    [Soudan Trip] [Accompanying Persons]

    University of Minnesota DUSEL Workshop

    Minneapolis, July 22 – 24, 2005


    Agenda and Workshop Presentations


    OVERVIEW

       The fourth Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) Solicitation-1 (S1) workshop will be held at the University of Minnesota Friday morning through Sunday noon, July 22-24, 2005. All sessions will occur in Tate Laboratory of Physics on the University's Minneapolis East Bank campus (116 Church St. SE, Minneapolis MN 55455). The agenda will be determined by the S1 Principal Investigators: Bernard Sadoulet, Eugene Beier, Charles Fairhurst, T.C. Onstott, Hamish Robertson, and James Tiedje (see http://www.dusel.org for contact information).

      July is peak tourist season in Minneapolis and all of Minnesota. The U of M's Minneapolis campus lies at the center of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which has a population of 2.97 million (April 2000). The campus spans the Mississippi River, about one mile east of the Minneapolis city center and about 7 miles northwest of the city center of St. Paul. The workshop site and timing are ideal for family vacations (see Program for Accompanying Persons and Additional Attractions in Minneapolis-St. Paul). Participants who choose an optional visit to the Soudan Underground Laboratory may wish to combine that tour with time spent in nearby tourism centers, such as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Superior National Forest and Quetico Provincial Park; the North Shore of Lake Superior, including Isle Royale National Park; and Voyageur's National Park (near to the site of the recently approved NOnA Off-Axis electron neutrino appearance Far Detector).

    Low-Background Counting Workshop
                Synergies in Low-Background, Ultra-Sensitive Radiation Techniques: A Workshop to Develop Applications and Collaborations across Disciplines will immediately follow the DUSEL workshop and will be held on Monday and Tuesday, July 25 and 26, at the same location. See the website for more information.

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    REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

    Please register as soon as possible, using the workshop's online registration form, so that the organizers can make appropriate plans for the meeting. (Information about the payment procedure will be available soon.)

    Before June 21, 2005 – $125
    After June 21, 2005 – $175

    The registration fee includes the conference dinner and morning and afternoon refreshments. You are encouraged to register immediately, especially if you wish to participate in the optional tours. Procedures for payment of all fees will be sent to the registered participants in early June.

    Conference Dinner*
    The conference dinner will be held at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 22, in the Memorial Hall of the McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak Street SE. The Memorial Hall is a pink granite-covered geode designed by New Mexico architect Antoine Predock.

    *Additional guest tickets for the dinner ($50 each) must be booked at the time of registration and paid together with other registration fees.

    Optional Soudan Underground Laboratory visit and Accompanying Persons tours must be booked at the time of registration. See below for details.
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    HOTEL INFORMATION

    (Workshop participants are strongly encouraged to make hotel reservations as soon as possible)

       Hotels near the U of M campus and in the Minneapolis city center are sufficiently busy in July that they are unwilling to block reservations at a reasonable rate. Ask for the government or the University of Minnesota contract rate at all hotels. The GSA government rate for Minneapolis varies between $57 and $105. You can use the usual reservation websites or call some of the listed hotels below directly.
       You may prefer a hotel outside the city center (for example, around the Mall of America), especially if you plan to bring your family. There are many such hotels and they are generally far less expensive than the hotels in the center.

    Here are a few alternatives:

    Campus Area:

    • Limited on-campus housing is available at Comstock Hall, 210 Delaware St. SE, 612-624-1995. Single: $40.00, Double: $70.00. Reservations should be made ASAP online
    • EconoLodge, $, currently offering a $57 government rate, 877-424-6423, (10-15 minute walk to Physics)
    • Radisson Hotel Metrodome (currently full, but vacancies may open), $$, 800-822-6757, (5-minute walk to Physics)
    • Days Inn University (currently full, but vacancies may open), $, 800-375-3990, (10-15 minute walk to Physics)
    • Holiday Inn Minneapolis Metrodome (currently full, but vacancies may open), $$, 877-465-4329 (15-minute walk to Physics)
    Minneapolis City Center:
    • Best Western Normandy, $, currently offering an AAA rate of $84.60, 800-372-3131, (5 minute walk plus 10 minute bus ride to Physics)
    • Embassy Suites, $$, currently offering a government rate of $105, 800-EMBASSY (5 minute walk plus 10 minute bus ride to Physics)
    • Residence Inn Minneapolis Downtown, $$, currently offering a government rate of $105, 888-236-2427, (5 minute walk plus 10 minute bus ride to Physics)
    • Holiday Inn Express, $, currently offering a $95 government rate, 877-465-4329, (10 minute walk plus 10 minute bus ride to Physics)
    • Crowne Plaza Northstar , $$, currently offering a $105 government rate, 888-303-1746, (5 minute walk plus 10 minute bus ride to Physics)
    • Hyatt, $$ (10 minute walk plus 10 minute bus ride to Physics)
    • Towne Place Suites Minneapolis, $, university contract rate is $64 for a studio apartment, 612-340-1000 (5-minute walk plus 10 minute bus ride to Physics)
    • Minneapolis Grand , $$$ (5-minute walk plus 10-minute bus ride to Physics)
    • Le Meridien , $$$ (5-minute walk plus 10-minute bus ride to Physics)

    Mall of America Area:
    Go to the Mall of America website for hotels in the area. These hotels generally offer free shuttle service to the mall.

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    COMPUTERS AND AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT

    Internet Connections
    Wireless internet connections are available inside the Tate Laboratory of Physics. Login information will be provided at the workshop. Some computers will be available for use by participants without laptops.

    Audiovisuals
    All workshop rooms will have video and transparency projectors. Participants with other needs should contact the Organizing Committee.


    PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING

       It is possible, even desirable, for a single person traveling light to use public transportation in the Minneapolis city center/U of M campus area. A Light Rail Transit (LRT) line, with frequent, fast service, connects Minneapolis Airport (both terminals) with the city center and Mall of America (fare machines take credit cards). The LRT station at the airport Lindbergh (main) Terminal is underground (another CNA Engineers' project!) at the south end of the parking structures (follow the signs). To reach the campus, you will need to transfer at the Metrodome Station to an eastbound bus on 4th Street for a 10-minute ride (use the same LRT ticket). Walking will take an hour. Buses between the city center and the U of M campus run every few minutes during rush hour (tell the driver you want to exit at Coffman Union). The bus fare depends on the time of day and is either $1.25 or $2.00). After leaving the bus, cross Washington Avenue on one of the two shiny bridges and walk about 100 m north. Tate Laboratory is on the east side of the main Campus Mall. It's the building with the green copper observatory dome on the roof. You can learn more about public transit on the MetroTransit website.

        Parking is available, but not cheap, both in the city center and on the U of M campus. On campus, the Huron Boulevard Parking Complex has the best deal—about $3.25 per day. (See the university maps.) These lots are about a 10-minute walk from Tate Laboratory of Physics. Free shuttle-bus service is available. There are closer parking structures and underground parking (Church Street Garage is less than 100 m), but they are more costly (about $2.50 per hour; $12.00 daily maximum.

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    TOURS OF THE SOUDAN UNDERGROUND LABORATORY:

       Workshop participants will have the option to visit the Soudan Underground Laboratory at no additional cost, thanks to the support from the University of Minnesota and the State of Minnesota Iron Range Resources. The following three alternatives are offered, and the reservations must be made on the registration form on or before June 21, 2005:

       Thursday, July 21: Departure from Minneapolis city center and University of Minnesota campus area hotels and from Minneapolis airport. A 10:00 a.m. airport departure will permit same day travel from most major American and Canadian airports ("red-eye" flights from LAX, SFO and HNL). Trip will include lunch and dinner and a three-hour visit to the Soudan Underground Laboratory, including a historic tour of the Soudan Mine. Participants will return to Minneapolis city center and campus area hotels about 10:00 p.m. Family members can participate if space is available. Register on or before June 21, 2005. Space for family members must be requested on or before June 21 and will be confirmed after June 21.
       Sunday, July 24: Depart from Tate Laboratory of Physics at the close of the workshop at 12:00 noon sharp and fly to Soudan by chartered aircraft. Trip will include a box lunch, a light supper and return to Minneapolis city center and University of Minnesota area hotels between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., depending on airport availability near the Soudan Laboratory. Space for this trip will be very limited, restricted by aircraft capacity. An early signup for this trip is strongly advised.
       Flexible: The Soudan Laboratory is located about 220 miles north of Minneapolis. It is an easy, four-hour drive—about 200 miles of freeway and 20 miles of two-lane state highway. A visit to the laboratory can be combined with an extended leisurely tour of the area. The recommended attractions include

       The Organizing Committee will arrange individual, no cost laboratory and historic visits for the workshop participants and accompanying persons. There is no age restriction and both the laboratory and historic tours are handicap-accessible. Early reservations on the registration form will ensure a more rewarding trip.
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    PROGRAM FOR ACCOMPANYING PERSONS

       The Organizing Committee is pleased to provide the following programs at no cost for the accompanying persons and workshop participants who wish a small respite. Space may be limited and reservations are required on the Registration Form on or before June 21, 2005.

    Tour of Eastcliff and its gardens, Friday, July 22, 2005, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
       Eastcliff is the home of University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks and his wife, Susan Hagstrum. It overlooks the Mississippi River and is included in the National Register of Historic Places.

    Tour of the Weisman Art Museum of the U of M, Friday, July 22, 2005, 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
       The University's Weisman Museum is located in a building, designed Frank Gehry, located on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Its regular collection features early 20th century American artists, such as Georgia O'Keefe and Marsden Hartley. Current special exhibits include West! Frank Gehry and the Artists of Venice Beach, and Fresh Cut, an international exhibition of the American Society of Botanical Artists.

    Tour of the Underground Space, Friday, July 22, 2005, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
       The U of M is a national leader in the use of the underground space. This tour of the university's Civil Engineering Building and its Elmer L. Andersen Underground Archive Library will be led by engineers and architects who were responsible for designing the underground space as a useful working environment.

    Tour of the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Saturday, July 23, 2005, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon.
       Recent and current projects have added about $500 million of capital improvements to the Minneapolis arts and culture infrastructure, including a new Tyrone Guthrie Theater, overlooking the Mississippi River; a new Cesar Pelli-designed Minneapolis Public Library and Planetarium; and Michael Graves-designed additions to both the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Children's Theater Company. The first of these projects to be completed is the addition to the Walker Art Center by Basel architects Herzog and deMeuron, who also designed London's new Tate Gallery. This tour will provide an opportunity to view the Walker's modern art collection and the adjacent Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

    Tour of the Mill City Museum, the Stone Arch Bridge, and the Falls of St. Anthony Saturday, July 23, 2005, 1:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
       The Mill City Museum sits within the ruins of the Washburn A Mill, a national historic landmark. The museum provides a multisensory interactive journey through the history of flour-milling and its influence on the growth of the American Upper Midwest. The nearby Stone Arch Bridge is a national historic engineering landmark and was built in 1883 to carry the Northern Pacific Railroad across the Mississippi River.

    Additional Attractions in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area
       There are numerous websites that provide information on things to do in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Please check the following:

    http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=minneapolis_st_paul@105 ,
    http://www.frommers.com/destinations/minneapolisandstpaul/191_indattr.html ,
    http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/north_america/minneapolis/ ).

       There is no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota, so a trip downtown or to the Mall of America may be a worthy expedition for the back-to-school shopping. At the time of the workshop, the Minneapolis Aquatennial, a summer festival, will be nearing completion; Beach Boys will be playing at the Mystic Lake Casino; the Guthrie Repertory Theater will be showing His Girl Friday;and the Orpheum Theater, Little Show of Horrors; and the Van's Warped Tour '05 will be at the Metrodome. The Organizing Committee will be glad to design a program according to individual wishes and suggestions.

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