SBGN-5

The fifth SBGN forum (SBGN5) was held on September 2 and 3, 2009, in Menlo Park, California, at SRI International. The workshop will take place in parallel of the 10th International Conference on Systems Biology (ICSB 2009).

The annual SBGN Forum meeting is an opportunity for the SBGN community to meet face-to-face and discuss SBGN development. The meeting included presentations of SBGN specifications, implementation of support, as well as focused discussions about SBGN issues and future development.

Agenda

Wednesday September 2

Thursday September 3

Minutes

• Entity Relationship domains

• Process Descriptions Issues Discussion

• Housekeeping Issues

Participants

Accommodation

A list of accommodation options is provided by ICSB 2009. SRI is not far from Stanford so these should be suitable. If you requested us to book you accommodation during registration then we will provide hotel details here when we have confirmed them.

Travel

As mentioned above, SBGN 5 will be held in in Menlo Park, California, at SRI International. The map below shows the location of SRI international.

You can also click here to view a static map with SRI, Sheraton Hotel, and Caltrain station labeled.

Most of the participants will stay at Sheraton Hotel Palo Alto. To get to the hotel from San Francisco Airport (SFO), you can take a taxi, which costs about US$85. You can also take train. Here is how. You first take the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) from SFO to Millbrae (see schedule). The ticket is $4.00. You first take the BART towards Pittsburg/Bay Point from SFO for one stop to San Bruno station, get off, and take the train in the opposite direction to Millbrae. You can use BART QuickPlanner to plan the trip. At Millbrae station, you switch to Caltrain (see Caltrain schedule). You need to walk over an overpass for the southbound train. Purchase the ticket to Palo Alto station from the ticket machine before getting on the train. The ticket costs $6.00. Take the southbound Caltrain towards San Jose, and get off at Palo Alto station, which is located in the Palo Alto Transit Center and is a couple of minutes walk to the hotel.

To get to SRI from the hotel, you go to the Transit Center (Palo Alto station), take the northbound Caltrain (towards San Francisco) for one stop, and get off at the Menlo Park station. Please note that the express trains do not stop at the Menlo Park station, so make sure to check the Caltrain schedule. You need to purchase the ticket from the machine before getting on the train. After getting off the train, you walk back to Ravenwood Ave., and turn left (northeast). SRI is at 333 Ravenswood Ave., which is about 10 minutes walk from the train station. Follow the sign and go directly to the main entrance in Building A. At the front desk, just mention that you are attending SBGN. Someone will be there to guide you to the conference room.

SRI main entrance in Building A

If you are coming from the ICSB main venue (Stanford Memorial Auditorium), you can take the free Stanford Marguerite Shuttle service (route map). Take Line A toward the Palo Alto Transit Center, and follow the direction above.

The weather in the San Francisco area during August and September is usually always very warm, with temperatures ranging from 75 °F – 100 ° (24 – 38 C). There is sometimes a chance of light rain, so make sure to bring a small umbrella and some light wet weather clothes.

If you are traveling from outside of the USA, be sure to bring an appropriate power plug converter for your laptop and all other electrical devices you're bringing. Electric current in the USA is 60 Hz, 120 V. The plug types are depicted below. For more detailed information on the types of plugs that are used, as well as electrical standards in various countries, please visit http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm .

Type A Plug

Type B Plug

Contact

If you have any queries then please contact the organisers at sbgn-meeting at lists.sourceforge.net.