CONFERENCE UPDATE
Recent Information and Announcements

May 11, 2006

Special Session on the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
The International Conference on Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management is holding its 8th annual meeting in New Orleans on May 15-19th at the Marriot Hotel in downtown New Orleans. As part of the conference, there will be a plenary session from 8:00 am to 12:30 on Thursday, May 18th entitled "In the Wake of Hotel Katrina: Four Perspectives on the Disaster." The session presenters will include:

Dr. Laura J. Steinberg of Tulane University’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. Dr. Steinberg will provide an overview of the hurricane’s effects on New Orleans and discuss lessons learned for the disaster management community.

Robert Verchick, Professor at the Loyola School of Law. Dr. Verchick will discuss legal aspects of the levee design and subsequent failures, with particular emphasis on the risk assessment performed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Dr. Linda Floyd, Clinical Psychologist. Dr.Floyd will discuss mental health issues associated with the aftermath of the hurricane and life in New Orleans in the current environment of uncertainty.

Dr. Ila Berman, Associate Dean of the Tulane University School of Architecture. Dr. Berman will present ideas for the re-design of New Orleans and will report on the neighborhood planning efforts.

Following individual presentations, the presenters will take part in what we expect to be a lively panel discussion.

Faculty who would like to attend this plenary session are invited to attend at the special admission rate of $50. Seats need not be reserved in advance; checks will be accepted at the door on Thursday morning.

April 26, 2006

Special Session on the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
I am pleased to announce that we are putting together a special session to address the impact of Katrina to the New Orleans area on Thursday morning, titled "In the Wake of Hurricane Katrina: Four Perspectives on the Disaster."

This session will provide an overview of the impacts of Katrina on New Orleans, and then will focus on understanding the risk issues underlying the levee design and construction, the plans for rebuilding New Orleans, and how current residents are dealing with the risks and uncertainties inherent in living in present-day New Orleans.

Extension to Hotel Room Block Reduced Room Rate
Because of the late date that I remembered to tell you about the block closing, and the spring vacations that occurred last week, the hotel has extended our block reservation date until the close of business Friday, US eastern time.  To register using our block go to our website and click the travel & accommodations tab.  Then click on 'Click Here To Make Reservation.'

If you want to stay over on Friday night, the 20th, wait until later in the day on Wednesday as we have to increase the room allocation for that date.

I'm looking forward to seeing you in New Orleans.

Best regards,

Andy Dykes
Registration Chair

April 20, 2006

PSAM 8 Books Canal Trip to Damaged Levees
We are pleased to confirm that we have booked the vessel John James Audubon for a trip see the levee breaks and the reconstruction efforts there.  During the trip, we will also have an opportunity to observe the damage to the city adjacent to the canal.  The trip will start immediately after the closing plenary session on Friday morning and conclude at 1 PM.  Lunch will be served.

Last Day for Group Hotel Rates
Your ability to book one of the PSAM 8 blocked of rooms at the Marriott New Orleans will close on April 24th at 4 PM EDT (10 PM GMT).  If you have not booked your room, please do so this week.

Please Register Online Now
If you have not done so already, please register on the PSAM 8 website.  This is important for the organizing committee, because we must commit to minimum attendance at our events.  Click the register tab and follow the directions.

For your information the following events are included in the registration fee:

• - Sunday Reception during Sunday Registration 5-7 PM
  - Tuesday Luncheon
  - Wednesday Evening "Gala" at the Musee' Conti Wax Museum
  - Continental Breakfast with closing session on Friday morning
  - Canal Trip to the damaged levees w/lunch aboard the John James Audubon

Registration for Authors Unable to Attend the Conference
If your paper is being published in our proceedings, but if you are unable to attend, you must register as a non-attendee and submit a payment of $250 USD for your share of the publication costs of the proceedings.  In return, you will receive a copy of the proceedings and a welcome packet, which will include our final agenda and mementoes of the conference. The option is currently being set up on our web site to pay this fee by credit card.

This option is also available to people who desire to support the conference and receive a copy of the proceedings and the welcome packet.

April 3, 2006

As you know, we are fast approaching the start of PSAM 8. The Organizing Committee is anxious to welcome each of you to the wonderful and unique city of New Orleans.

We hope that all of you will be able to take advantage of meeting with your colleagues in the risk community to discuss your work and ideas, as well as the latest developments in risk assessment and management.

The technical program has been posted on the web site and will be updated periodically.

Distinguished plenary session speakers include:

• Mr. David A.Throckmorton, Deputy Director of the NASA Stennis Space Center. Mr. Throckmorton presentation is entitled “In the Eye of the Storm – Hurricane Katrina – The NASA Experience”.

• Professor John W. Nielsen-Gammon (Texas A&M), Texas State Climatologist. Professor Nielsen-Gammon will discuss the evidence whether global warming is affecting the frequency or severity of hurricanes.

We have planned what promises to be a rather interesting gala Wednesday evening at the Musee Conte Wax Museum that will include live jazz, New Orleans style entertainers, and a buffet dinner.

Hurricane Katrina has never been far from any of our thoughts since last fall. We hope that PSAM 8 will be an opportunity for us, the leaders of the risk community, to reflect on how we can contribute in making our citizen safer from such natural hazards. In this vein, we have planned a special tour following the official conference closing session Friday morning. This tour will be conducted by ship on the canals of New Orleans. We will be able to view the repairs to the levees and see the damage to adjacent from the deck of the ship. The tour will be from 10 AM to 1 PM.

If you have not yet registered for the conference, please take the opportunity to visit the Registration Page. Payment can be by check, credit card or wire transfer.

There is also room for additional vendors/exhibitors (email David Johnson at djohnson@absconsulting.com).

March 7, 2006

PSAM 8 Registration Fee Refund Policy
Registrants who are unable to attend the conference may obtain a partial refund of their registration fee if they cancel prior to May 1st. As the conference committee has already committed to our publisher based on submitted papers, $250 of the registration will be retained to cover the costs of publishing and presentation support. Proceedings will be mailed to all people who have registered, but are unable to attend.

January 31, 2006

Mail the signed ASME Copyright Transfer Form to:

Idaho National Laboratory
ATTN: Harold Blackman (PSAM 8 Copyright Form)
P.O. Box 1625
Idaho Falls,ID 83415-2213

Refer to the Jan 23 news item, "Copyright Agreement Being Made Less Restrictive."

January 25, 2006

Professor Laura Steinberg, co-General Chair of the PSAM 8 is conducting research on the impact of Hurricane Katrina. She recently gave a talk at the Society for Risk Analysis, and we thought her slides would be of interest to PSAM 8 participants.

View Dr. Steinberg's Presentation

January 23, 2006

We Apologize for Our Communication Glitch
Based on comments we recently received, we just realized that we have been sending email updates only to those people who have registered as a user on our abstract sire AND are primary authors of PSAM 8 papers. Therefore this email is being sent to all those who have signed up as users on our site, and also to all PSAM 7 attendees.

If you are the primary author and are the only person getting these updates, please encourage your co-authors to register as a user on the website. Future updates will be sent to all registered users as well as being posted on our website.

Window for Paper Submission is Closing
The time available for us to finalize our sessions is approaching quickly. We need to get all papers by the end of this week. For any one who did not submit an abstract but now wants to submit a paper and can do it within the week, please contact Harold Blackman or Michael Stamatelatos directly.

Copyright Agreement Being Made Less Restrictive
The organizing committee has received a number of emails expressing concerns about restrictions on future publication of technical material contained in their papers published in the PSAM 8 Proceedings. As a result, Michael Stamatelatos contacted ASME Press and received the following response:

We are in the process of updating ASME's copyright form, and the new form will eventually appear on our website. We've realized that the information on the back of the form is too strictly worded and does not follow the guidelines of the "Fair Use" clause of the U.S. copyright law.

But please tell your authors that the explanatory information on the back of our copyright form is not actually part of the legal document, but is only there for information purposes. The form itself is just the front page that is actually signed by the authors.
Attached is the new wording I have proposed for the back of the form. Hope this solves the problem. Thanks, and best regards,

Mary Grace

Mary Grace Stefanchik
Manager, Books
ASME Press

The New Wording:
RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS: Once published, authors may wish to submit their papers for inclusion in non-ASME publications or to incorporate some or all of their elements in other works. As the legal copyright holder, ASME grants authors permission to reproduce their own individual papers, or parts thereof, in other, non-competing publications, without fee, provided they are in compliance with the “Fair Use” clause of U.S. Copyright Law. Proper citation of the original ASME publication is required.

PSAM 8 Registration to Open on January 27th Registration delayed - Check back Tuesday, January 31st
Registration will open for PSAM 8 via our website on January 27th. If you have not previously signed on as a user, you will be asked to do so on provide personal contact information. Otherwise you may sign on and verify your information before proceeding to the registration page.

Registration Fees
As IAPSAM is an organization of volunteers not associated with a large society, we rely on the registration fees paid by our authors and attendees to cover the expenses of the conference. The following registration fees apply:

Options for Payment

Corporate/Personal Checks
Checks should be made out to IAPSAM-PSAM 8 and mailed to the following address:

IAPSAM-PSAM8
c/o ABS Consulting, Attn: David Johnson
300 Commerce Dr., Suite 200
Irvine, CA 92602
USAIf you select this option, you will be asked to download an invoice for the registration fee. Please include a copy of the invoice with the check.

Wire Transactions
For those not using credit cards, you may wire funds by contacting us at PSAM8@absconsulting.com.

Credit Cards
If you cannot pay by check or wire, IAPSAM-PSAM8 accepts all major credit cards. For your convenience, a link is provided directly from the registration page.

Hurricane Disaster Lessons
In recognition of the unique situation in New Orleans, the organizing committee is coordinating with involved in recovering from the hurricanes of 2005 and examining the lessons learned from the experience with the objective of organizing plenary sessions and round tables that address some key issues that have surfaced. Information regarding our plans will be posted on the PSAM 8 website in the coming weeks.

December 22, 2005

Co-General Chair, Dr. Laura J. Steinberg
We are pleased to announce the Dr. Laura J. Steinberg, of Tulane University , has agreed to be Co-General Chair of the PSAM 8 Conference. She is currently a visiting scholar at the Department of Homeland Security and is conducting research associated with the impacts of this year’s hurricanes. We expect the program to be greatly enhanced through her close contact with the on going recovery operations.

Registrations to Open January 6th
See the registration page for more details.

New Orleans Marriott Accepting US Government Rates
See the travel & accommodations page for more details.

Mailing Address for Copyright Transfer Forms
We now have an address for you to mail your Copyright Transfer Forms:

Idaho National Laboratory
ATTN: Harold Blackman (PSAM 8 Copyright Form)
P.O. Box 1625
Idaho Falls, ID 83415-2213

November 10, 2005

Original PSAM 8 Conference Venue and Dates Confirmed
The organizing committee is pleased to announce that PSAM 8 will be conducted at the New Orleans Marriott, May 14-19, 2006 . Two members of our organizing committee have personally visited New Orleans, and one has stayed at the New Orleans Marriott. Their reports regarding conditions at conference site and the surrounding area are quite positive. They will be working in New Orleans over the next few months and will be posting their observations here.

The organizing committee is viewing our commitment to the New Orleans area as an opportunity to learn from the natural catastrophes and to come away with a better perspective on how risk-based methods can assist in both preparing for and responding to such events. In light of this, we are keeping the abstract submission link open, and we encourage you to let your colleagues know about the conference. In addition, please feel free express you thoughts and ideas for making the conference more meaningful to PSAM8@absconsulting.com.

October 25, 2005

Paper Acceptance
Paper acceptances were sent to all primary authors who submitted papers through the web site on October 11. We have recently heard that some of you did not receive a confirmation. The email was sent from email address Kristie Berezay <BEREK@inel.gov> and should have the title of your paper in the subject, and you may not recognized the sender. If you do not yet have conformation of acceptance, please send an email to: PSAM8@absconsulting.com.

Email Addresses
On October 21st we sent a the message shown below to all primary authors in our database. If you did not receive an email, please send an email to: PSAM8@absconsulting.com, and we will make sure that you are added to our broadcast list.

October 21, 2005

Good news – the conference will definitely be held on our original dates of May 14-19, 2006 . The IAPSAM Board of Directors are still evaluating the New Orleans Marriott and surrounding area for suitability to host the conference, and we have found an excellent alternate venue at the Seattle Renaissance Hotel, located in downtown Seattle at exactly the same room costs as that we have at the New Orleans Marriott. The link below provides more information regarding this venue.

www.renaissancehotels.com/seasm

www.emarketing360.com/renaissance/seasm

In addition, we continue our talks with the New Orleans Marriott. The link below contains the latest information on the status of Marriott hotels in New Orleans , including ours.

http://marriott.com/news/detail.mi?marrArticle=105631

The recovery of New Orleans itself has been the subject of much news, which we continue to evaluate. The link below probably provides one of the most upbeat views of recovery.

http://www.nola.com/

As Marriott International has been gracious enough to waive our room-day commitments at either hotel we choose, and we have the right of first refusal at the Seattle Renaissance through at least November 1 st, the Board of Directors has chosen to delay our decision until then, to allow members of the Organizing Committee visit New Orleans and provide first hand information.

September 30, 2005

Many individuals have expressed concern regarding how the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita have impacted our plans to hold PSAM 8 in New Orleans next May.

First, let me emphasize that PSAM 8 will be held, and, with your continued support, it will be a success.

We have reviewed over 450 abstracts representing an interesting spectrum of methods development and applications. Authors will be notified soon and given guidelines on the format for the final papers.

We are currently having discussions with the New Orleans Marriott and Marriott National Group Sales to assure that they will be ready to host us, or provide an alternate site at a suitable location.

Please revisit this Web site periodically for further updates.

We are able to accept a limited number of additional abstracts. If you or your colleagues wish to make a submittal, please do so via the link on this Web site.

Please send any comments to psam8@absconsulting.com.

Thank you for your support.

David Johnson
General Chair
PSAM 8