================================================================================ ================================================================================ COLING/ACL 2006 NEWSLETTER NO. 5 June 30, 2006 This is the official newsletter of COLING/ACL 2006 The 21st International Conference on Computational Linguistics and The 44th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics Sydney, Australia July 17-21, 2006 For complete details, visit the conference web site at: www.acl2006.org www.coling2006.org ================================================================================ ================================================================================ ================================================================================ :: Important Dates ================================================================================ REGISTRATION DATES: Deadline for late registration: June 30, 2006 (Fri) (Those who miss the late registration deadline will be able to register on-site) CONFERENCE DATES: Pre-conference workshops/conferences: July 15-16, 2006 (Sat-Sun) Tutorials: July 16, 2006 (Sun) Main conference: July 17-21, 2006 (Mon-Fri) Post-conference workshops/conferences: July 22-23, 2006 (Sat-Sun) ================================================================================ :: Table of Contents ================================================================================ 1. Registration Details 2. Sponsors 3. Invited Talks and Panels 4. Conference Program 5. Local Map of Sydney 6. Lunches during the Conference 7. Conference Dinner 8. Monorail Passes 9. Excursion 10. Extra Activities 11. Student Accommodation ================================================================================ :: 1. Registration Details ================================================================================ Registration closes at midnight USA West Coast time on June 30 (i.e. **TODAY**), after which the only registration option will be onsite during the conference (at a higher rate than for online registration). If you have yet to register, we strongly recommend you complete online registration ASAP at: http://www.acl2006.org/registration VERY IMPORTANT: if you are a presenter at a workshop, you MUST register to attend it, to ensure sufficient seats and coffee. Do NOT assume that because you are a listed speaker you are automatically registered - check your registration, and email the conference secretariat (acl@welldone.com.au) immediately (before the cutoff date of 30/6) if you need to add your attendance at a workshop or tutorial. Note that tutorial presenters have all been registered to attend at no charge, to ensure catering is correct. ================================================================================ :: 2. Sponsors ================================================================================ We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following COLING/ACL 2006 sponsors: - HCSNet (Platinum) - Macquarie University (Gold) - CSIRO (Gold) - Microsoft Research (Gold, incl. wireless) - Appen (Student Volunteers) - Google (Silver, incl. cocktail reception) - XRCE (Bronze) - AFNLP (Student Support Fund) - ELRA (Student Support Fund) - DSTO (Glass) - Australian Computer Society (Supporter) - NSF (student support for the Student Research Workshop) COLING/ACL 2006 is also supported by ALTA (Australasian Language Technology Association). For further details, see: http://www.acl2006.org/sponsorship ================================================================================ :: 3. Invited Talks and Panels ================================================================================ The COLING/ACL 2006 program will include two invited talks and a panel discussion. INVITED TALKS: - Language, gender and sexuality: Do bodies always matter? Sally McConnell-Ginet, Department of Linguistics, Cornell University Abstract and biosketch: http://www.acl2006.org/invited/McConnell-Ginet - Argmax Search in Natural Language Processing Daniel Marcu, Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California Abstract and biosketch: http://www.acl2006.org/invited/Marcu PANEL DISCUSSION: Challenges in NLP: Some New Perspectives from the East - Diversity and Universality: Are Asian languages special? - Some critical linguistic differences in Asia and implications for NLP. - Can the availability of detailed linguistic information (for example, morphology) help in ameliorating the scarcity of large annotated corpora? Panelists: - Jun'ichi Tsujii, Professor, University of Tokyo, Japan and Professor of Text Mining, University of Manchester and Director of National Center for Text Mining (NaCTeM), UK - Benjamin Tsou, Chair Professor of Linguistics and Asian Languages, Director, Language Information Sciences Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong. - Pushpak Bhattacharyya, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India Moderator: - Aravind Joshi, Henry Salvatori Professor of Computer and Cognitive Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA Further details and biosketches: http://www.acl2006.org/panel ================================================================================ :: 4. Conference Program ================================================================================ Thanks to work by Veselin Stoyanov and Yejin Choi at Cornell University, we now have an HTML version of the ACL-Coling conference program available at: http://www.acl2006.org/program/regularpapers which includes convenient links to each paper abstract from within the schedule guide. Also now available is an HTML version of the poster program, with thanks to Eric Breck, also at Cornell University: http://www.acl2006.org/program/posters/byauthor The details of the main conference session scheduling are also available as PDF files: http://www.acl2006.org/program/main For the final program of the workshops and co-located events, see the individual web pages, listed at: http://www.acl2006.org/program/workshops ================================================================================ :: 5. Local Map of Sydney ================================================================================ Menno van Zaanen and Simon Zwarts at Macquarie University have produced a Google Maps mashup that shows you all the key locations and accommodation. The map is available at: http://www.acl2006.org/map Three places of particular interest that may be your first point of call to the conference are: 1. University of Technology, Sydney (UTS): the location of the workshops and tutorials on the weekend of July 15-16, and also the place to collect your monorail pass early so you can use it on Sunday July 16. Registration will be open from 7:45am on Saturday July 15, and close at 3:00pm on Sunday July 16. Come to the UTS precinct, Quay Street Haymarket - enter at Building C. 2. Convention Centre, Parkside Ballroom Foyer (level 1): the location of the welcoming cocktails on the evening of Sunday 16 July, sponsored by Google. The cocktail reception will commence at 6:00pm and run until 8:00pm. It will also be possible to register here, from 7:00pm. Enter via the Harbourside main reception area, at the northern end of the convention centre (the main entrance if coming from the Novotel or via the monorail). 3. Convention Centre, Bayside Foyer (level 1): the location of the registration desk for the duration of the main conference. Registration will be available from 7:30am on Monday July 17. Enter via the Harbourside main reception area, at the northern end of the convention centre (the main entrance if coming from the Novotel or via the monorail). The Convention Centre and UTS are marked green on the map. ================================================================================ :: 6. Lunches during the Conference ================================================================================ As part of your conference registration, we are offering the option of lunch boxes for those who wish to eat onsite or outside in the sunshine of Darling Harbour. While there are plenty of eateries in the Darling Harbour precinct there will likely be queues for the cheaper ones, and they are certainly not as convenient as a lunch box -- short queues, and plenty of places to network and enjoy lunch while you use the wireless facilities available in our conference area! Here's what you will get in a (sample) lunch box: Marina Lunchbox Salmon miso, green tea noodles and coriander salad Spinach tortillo wrap with lettuce, tomato, avocado and smoked turkey Butter lettuce hearts, egg dressing and semi dried tomato Seasonal fresh fruit Tetrapak fruit juice - delicious! If you want a vegetarian lunch box, be sure to indicate this in the special dietary requirements on your registration form. ================================================================================ :: 7. Conference Dinner ================================================================================ Where else can the Scots and the French co-exist, co-operate and co-host such an event? Our conference dinner will celebrate the efforts and inclinations of our two local chairs in particular, and is not to be missed. The dinner will take place on Thursday July 20 at the Star City Ballroom, against a fabulous backdrop of city lights - and you can party on afterwards at the Casino and nightclubs below. ================================================================================ :: 8. Monorail Passes ================================================================================ Another option on the registration form is the 7-day monorail pass, which is a must if you are staying at any of the conference hotels in the precinct, or moving between the Workshops / Tutorial venue (UTS) and the main Conference (Convention Centre). A monorail runs every 10 minutes, and the pass allows you to jump on and off as often as you wish for the 7 days of Sunday July 16 through Saturday July 22. A single day monorail ticket costs $9.00, compared to $25.00 for our 7-day pass - exceptional value even if you are only planning to use it for 3 days! It will also get you to and from the Conference Dinner, the starting point of the Wednesday Excursion, and the UTS precinct. A map of the monorail route can be found at: http://www.metromonorail.com.au/StationLocatorFlash.asp On-site, the monorail pass will cost you $30 - still a great saving. ================================================================================ :: 9. Excursion ================================================================================ According to the COLING custom, Wednesday July 19 is a conference-free day for delegates to really enjoy the beauty of Sydney. We'll collect you in ferries at Darling Harbour, transport you to the famous Taronga Park Zoo for a tour particularly of our Australian native animals, and morning tea; then to Manly, a wonderful seaside beach suburb, where you can browse, shop, take lunch, even swim, and take a coach to North Head, the entrance to Sydney Harbour, with a spectacular view back to the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House; late afternoon the ferries will take a leisurely cruise back to Darling Harbour, with drinks and canapes to finish a wonderful day. All this is included in your registration, so we expect everyone to enjoy this networking and sightseeing opportunity -- and bring your partners, families and friends. Tickets need to be booked for any additional guests. ================================================================================ :: 10. Extra Activities ================================================================================ You can STILL BOOK any of the extra activities, even if you've registered for the conference or workshops. Either go back to the online registration and work your way through and select just these extras, or take the registration form available on the web and complete the details and fax it to us with your credit card details. Note on the form or in the comments that you've already registered for other activities. We'll send you confirmation of your update. A reminder also of the two partner excursions: (1) July 17, 2006 (Mon): Departs 2.00pm, returns 5.30pm Sydney Highlights Tour (2) July 21, 2006 (Fri): departs 8.15am, returns 5.45pm Blue Mountains Day Tour, incl 2 course hot lunch For full details: http://www.acl2006.org/social/partner ================================================================================ :: 11. Student Accommodation ================================================================================ There are plenty of cheap options around the Darling Harbour area, as listed on the bottom of: www.acl2006.org/accommodation/listings/ You can book directly with any of the listed options. ================================================================================ ================================================================================ Contact details for the various COLING/ACL organisers can be found at: http://www.acl2006.org/contact ================================================================================ ================================================================================