XXIVth International Biometric Conference

July 13 - 18, 2008

University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Please visit the conference website (www.cpregistrations.com/ibc/2008)
for more information

Hosted by the British and Irish Region of the International Biometric
Society


Welcome

The next IBC is now fast approaching and on behalf of the Local
Organising Committee I am delighted to invite you to attend this meeting
in Dublin. As always it will be a great opportunity for scientific and
social interchange - a place to present and see new work in biometry, an
occasion to meet old and new friends, and the chance to visit a new
country, experiencing traditional Irish hospitality and the wonderful
city of Dublin. The current IBS President, Tom Louis, and
President-elect, Andrew Mead, also look forward to welcoming you to
Dublin and the flagship meeting of our international society.

The International Programme Committee has already put together an
excellent programme of 20 Invited Sessions covering many aspects of
biometry and on the Sunday there are four pre-conference full-day Short
Courses. See the website for further details of the scientific
programme, and all other information on the meeting including
accommodation and social events.


Abstracts

The Scientific Programme is the cornerstone of the meeting and the
success of this depends upon the vitality of the Contributed Programme,
both oral and poster presentations. I encourage you to take part in this
by submitting an abstract - by presenting your work you will get much
more out of the meeting with new ideas for your work and new
collaborators.

Abstract submission is now open through our online submission system.
Abstracts must be prepared using the Word or LaTeX templates provided,
but the system is very easy to use. 

Don't forget that the deadline for abstract submission is 31st January
2008 and this will be strictly adhered to.


Registration

Registration for the meeting is now also open using the on-line system.
This system allows you to manage all aspects of your conference
participation from submitting abstracts, registration, booking
accommodation, through to signing-up for short courses and social
events. You can add more options at any point and get a profile of your
current status.

So register now and start planning your trip to Dublin.  The deadline
for "early-bird" registration is 15th April 2008.


Setting

The conference will take place at University College Dublin (UCD). This
modern campus is surrounded by attractive landscaped gardens and is
about 6km from the city centre with good public transport links.
Accommodation will be available on campus and also at hotels, both
nearby and nearer to the city centre.  Daily transport will be provided
between the hotels and the UCD campus

Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is a vibrant city famous for its
Georgian buildings and its musical and literary life. Built on the River
Liffey and around Dublin Bay it is both beside the sea, and close to
countryside and mountains. The rest of the country is easily accessible
by car, train, or bus. Ireland, with its beautiful scenery, offers a
range of attractions to the tourist including ancient archaeological
sites and monuments, a variety of sporting activities such as fishing,
riding and golf, as well as traditional dancing and music.


Social

On Wednesday there is only one scientific session and the rest of the
day is set aside for tours - a great chance to form new friendships.
Organised tours will include Glendalough Lakes and its monastic
settlements, a visit to the Japanese Gardens and the National Stud
(Ireland is world-famous for it race horses), a trip around Dublin Bay
and its castles, a Dublin city tour, and, of course, for the more
energetic the traditional IBC hike walking in the Wicklow mountains.
Other social events include an evening of Irish music and dancing.

The Conference Dinner on Thursday evening will be a gala event in the
O'Reilly Hall at UCD showing off Irish hospitality and entertainment at
its best.


Satellite Meetings

There several satellite meetings in the lead-up to the conference aimed
at more specialist audiences. These are:

* The International Statistical Ecology Conference, 9-11 July 2008 at
the University of St. Andrews, Scotland
(www.creem.st-and.ac.uk/isec2008). This will cover all aspects of
statistical ecology from survey design and sampling methods through to
population modelling. 

* Epidemiology and Biometry 2008: Recent statistical methods in
epidemiology, 10-11 July 2008, Paris. This meeting will focus on
innovative statistical approaches to the design and analysis of
epidemiological surveys.
(http://biomserv.univ-lyon1.fr/SFB/fichiers/epidbiom2008.html

* European GenStat Applied Statistics Conference, 21-22 July 2008 at the
Agri-food & Biosciences Institute (ABFI) in Belfast.  This meeting will
focus on recent development in the theory and practice of statistics in
the context of the GenStat statistical system, including a workshop on
Advanced Linear Models.
(http://www.vsni.co.uk/resources/events/egasc08.php
 

Act now - visit the new website at

www.cpregistrations.com/ibc/2008

Submit your abstract and register for the meeting.


John Hinde
Chair, LOC
IBC Dublin 2008