As you know, the deadline for the receipt of all Meeting Abstracts is January 3, 2000. The complete listings of all the meeting abstracts received to date have been posted on the Web Site listed below and will be updated every day through January. If you receive any original copies of Meeting Abstracts in the correct format, please check the special Toronto Symposium Organizers Web Page to see if you must send the originals to us at Society Headquarters by express overnight mail (if it does not appear on the list or in the author index - then we need it ASAP!) so that they may be included in the final listing of papers for your symposium. On January 14, 2000, all Symposium Organizers will be sent a computer print-out of all the Meeting Abstracts that have been received in the correct format for consideration in your symposium (this print-out is essentially the same list that appears on the Web so, rather than wait for the mail to arrive, you can download it after January 14 to begin to develop your schedule of papers).

We appreciate your assistance in adhering to the deadline dates outlined in this letter and we will be sure to make every effort to accommodate your requests in organizing your symposium. We have enclosed the Preliminary Scheduling Forms to be used for setting up your program of technical papers. These completed forms must be received at Society Headquarters by January 21, 2000. You may fax them to us at (609) 737-2743 or e-mail them to us at ecs@electrochem.org. Please refer to the list of instructions on the next page when completing the Preliminary Scheduling Forms. We recognize that there may be delays in the handling of the mail as well as holiday vacation schedules. Therefore, it is important that you contact us immediately if you foresee a problem submitting your Preliminary Scheduling Forms before January 21, 2000.

Throughout this proccess, we encourage you to communicate with your co-organizers to develop the preliminary schedule of papers and expected maximum attendance for your symposium. This schedule should then be forwarded to your Division or Group Chairman, with a copy mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to us at the Society Headquarters Office for receipt by January 21, 2000. We will attempt to satisfy as many of the Symposium Organizer's requests for specific days and room sizes as possible. However, in the event that your schedule is not received by January 21, 2000 or if there is a serious scheduling conflict, we will contact you directly if any changes need to be made to the schedule you submit (realistically, we do not have enough room to enable everyone to begin on Monday for example).

Please remember the following when completing your Preliminary Scheduling Forms:

1. The suggested length of papers is fifteen minutes for contributed papers, and thirty minutes for invited papers (we are trying to use fifteen-minute increments). This synchronization enables attendees to move efficiently between sessions and also provides an opportunity to visit the technical exhibit during the morning coffee breaks.
2. Symposia with fewer than six papers will not be scheduled; in this case, the accepted papers will be included in the most appropriate symposium or general session, and the authors will be notified by the Symposium Organizer(s).
3. On Monday, May 15, 2000, the Plenary Session and Society Lecture are scheduled from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM; therefore, no technical sessions may start before 10:00 AM on Monday.
4. On Wednesday, May 17, 2000, the Honors and Awards Session is scheduled from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM; therefore, no technical sessions may start before 10:00 AM on Wednesday.
5. In general, the day begins at 8:30 AM and the afternoon session begins at 2:00 PM and it continues until 5:00 PM or 6:00 PM. Leave 12:00 noon to 2:00 PM open for lunch every day. The maximum time allotted for breaks and intermissions is fifteen minutes. Try to schedule at least one intermission during each morning or afternoon session.
6. Poster sessions from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings should also be considered as a means to accommodate a large number of papers in a single evening poster session and also to stimulate discussion, interaction, and active participation.
7. In order to efficiently utilize the meeting space, Tuesday may NOT be the first day for the start of a symposium unless you are scheduling your symposium to begin immediately after a smaller, one-day symposium to avoid conflicts.
8. Please consider scheduling your symposium on a day(s) that will not conflict with other symposia on related topics. Therefore, you may have to confer with other Symposium Organizers before completing your Preliminary Scheduling Forms.
9. Complete one Preliminary Scheduling Form for each half-day session, poster session, or informal discussion. Provide the name of the two Co-Chairs, preferably members of the Society, and include their complete mailing addresses with zip codes and telephone numbers on the Preliminary Scheduling Forms in the spaces provided.
10. To stimulate the ever increasing quality of papers presented at Electrochemical Society symposia, papers which the organizers deem to be of insufficient originality, quality, or are not relevant to the purposes of the symposium may be rejected or transferred to a General Session. All authors must be notified of all changes by the appropriate Symposium Organizers. Copies of this correspondence must be provided to the Headquarters Office.

    The technical program will be finalized on Friday, January 28, 2000; therefore, no additions, deletions, or alterations will be accepted after this date. We anticipate the receipt of your completed scheduling forms before the January 21st deadline. Should you have any questions or require additional information, please contact me as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to working with you toward the success of the 197th Meeting.

    BER/cw
    Enclosures
    cc: Symposium Subcommittee