We're just four days away from the 2016 ESIP Summer Meeting. Here's what we’d like you to know before you join us in Durham.

Meeting Website and Schedule. All meeting details are online at meetings.esipfed.org/summer-meeting-2016. We have a new online schedule tool, Sched, which allows you to customize your schedule and see who else is planning to go to the same sessions—plus Sched is mobile-friendly. Information about joining sessions are also on Sched. Please note that the Cloud Computing group is having a hands-on workshop for a limited number of participants; please sign up for this on Sched.

At-a-Glance and Meeting Guide PDFs. If you prefer to print or highlight you schedule, you are not lost (we will also have printed copies at the meeting)! Download the Meeting At-A-Glance and Meeting Guide.

Attendee Directory. So far, there are 292 people registered. Check out the attendee directory to see who's coming.

Tuesday Activities

1. Meeting Welcome (8:00-9:00 a.m.). In the past we launched directly into the breakout sessions on the first day of the meeting. This time we will have a quick welcome and overview of the meeting on Tuesday morning. This is great for ESIP newbies, but not exclusively a new to ESIP session. Please come!
2. How to Talk About ESIP. A lunch mini-session with Annie Burgess, ESIP Vice President Christine White and others. Join us to discuss how we can more effectively talk about ESIP within our organizations. Session information will be located on the lunch tables and on Sched.
3. Drone Field Trip. On Tuesday evening from 6:00-7:30 p.m. the ESIP Drone Cluster will take a field trip to Wake Forest Research Forest. Participants will be able to:
  • Meet Drone Operators Maxwell Messinger, Sean Barberie and Lindsay Barbieri
  • See different drones and the whole flight operations workflow
  • Learn more about post flight imagery and drone data processing
These flights will be used to showcase Esri's Drone2Map software and to help launch the discussion of drone data during our two Friday Drone Sessions. The trip will leave from the ESIP Hotel (21c Lobby) at 6:00 p.m. and aim to be back by 7:30 p.m. There will be a van to take us to our Flight Area (~20 minutes from ESIP). We will try our best to provide rides for everyone, but please add the Drone Field Trip to your schedule if you are planning on attending. Email lindsay.barbieri@uvm.edu with any questions.
4. Musical? There is a jam session on Tuesday evening at the Blue Note Grill starting at 7:30 p.m. Please bring your instrument and join in! Details are on the schedule.

Interviewees needed to help develop curriculum for Earth science data scientist. You’re invited to take part in a study to develop a curriculum for Earth science data scientists. We’d like you to take part in this research study because you are a critical agent as a job incumbent. The research is being conducted by researchers at the University of Tennessee; if you choose to participate, you will be asked to participate in an interview at a time convenient to you during the meeting. Your time is valuable, but by taking thirty minutes (or less) to participate in this study, you will help create a core expertise of the job to guide learning outcomes across education for any Earth scientist needs regardless of domain. More systematic education of Earth science data management should improve access and use of data to benefit all of society through science and policy. All findings will be reported in the aggregate. Please contact Wade Bishop (wade.bishop@utk.edu) if you are willing to participate and have any availability between July 20-22 at the meeting. The interview space will be in the Durham Convention Center and convenient to the conference activities.

The meeting is a community effort and we appreciate all the work that has been and is being done to make it happen. Contact staff@esipfed.org if you have questions or concerns, or there is anything we can do to make this a more productive week for you.

We look forward to seeing you—in person or online!