GRAVTUM III, Amorgos 09
June 29 - July 4, 2009
Organizer
C. Chryssomalakos
Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, UNAM, Mexico
chryss@nucleares.unam.mx
Scope
The theme of the meeting loosely revolves around the interface of the quantum with the gravitational, but inspired digressions would certainly be welcome. The emphasis is on the exchange and thorough discussion of ideas, even half-baked ones, rather than on the presentation of polished results. The format is to be based mostly on a few "inspirational" blackboard talks (no projectors of any sort...), of longer than the usual duration (~ 90' -- 120'), followed by discussions, establishing all along new standards for informality.
Other conferences around that time of the year, that might be of interest to prospective participants, include Mathematical Relativity in Lisbon (Lisbon, June 18-19), Windows on the Universe (Blois, June 21-27) and the XII Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity (Paris, July 12-18).
Conference Site
The conference will take place in the village of Tholaria, near the port of Aeghiali (expect various spellings), on the island of Amorgos, in Greece --- the lectures will be at the Cultural Center of the village (see maps of Greece, Amorgos and Aeghiali region, and some photos of Amorgos). The excursion day (Wednesday, July 1) coincides with festivities in honor of the patron saint of the village's church - local food, music, etc, are bound to abound.
Amorgos is the easternmost of the Cyclades, and one of the most mountainous of all Greek islands --- it has been continuously inhabited since at least the Neolithic Age (~4000 BC). There are some nice beaches to swim in, a beautifully preserved Chora (capital), the famous Chozoviotissa's monastery, founded in 1088, and excellent hiking (see, eg, an english, and a belgian site), with magnificent vistas extending to nearby islands. Tholaria has just over a hundred permanent inhabitants, and preserves a lot of the island character that once permeated the Aegean. People here still cultivate the land, raise farm animals, and fish for a living, but they might well be the last generation to do so.
C. Chryssomalakos
Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, UNAM, Mexico
chryss@nucleares.unam.mx
Scope
The theme of the meeting loosely revolves around the interface of the quantum with the gravitational, but inspired digressions would certainly be welcome. The emphasis is on the exchange and thorough discussion of ideas, even half-baked ones, rather than on the presentation of polished results. The format is to be based mostly on a few "inspirational" blackboard talks (no projectors of any sort...), of longer than the usual duration (~ 90' -- 120'), followed by discussions, establishing all along new standards for informality.
Other conferences around that time of the year, that might be of interest to prospective participants, include Mathematical Relativity in Lisbon (Lisbon, June 18-19), Windows on the Universe (Blois, June 21-27) and the XII Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity (Paris, July 12-18).
Conference Site
The conference will take place in the village of Tholaria, near the port of Aeghiali (expect various spellings), on the island of Amorgos, in Greece --- the lectures will be at the Cultural Center of the village (see maps of Greece, Amorgos and Aeghiali region, and some photos of Amorgos). The excursion day (Wednesday, July 1) coincides with festivities in honor of the patron saint of the village's church - local food, music, etc, are bound to abound.
Amorgos is the easternmost of the Cyclades, and one of the most mountainous of all Greek islands --- it has been continuously inhabited since at least the Neolithic Age (~4000 BC). There are some nice beaches to swim in, a beautifully preserved Chora (capital), the famous Chozoviotissa's monastery, founded in 1088, and excellent hiking (see, eg, an english, and a belgian site), with magnificent vistas extending to nearby islands. Tholaria has just over a hundred permanent inhabitants, and preserves a lot of the island character that once permeated the Aegean. People here still cultivate the land, raise farm animals, and fish for a living, but they might well be the last generation to do so.
Registration
For purely logistic reasons, the number of participants is limited to about 25. If interested in participating, please contact the organizer, supplying your name and affiliation, number of accompanying persons, and, when available, your travel details. A registration fee of 50 euros is payable in cash at the conference - the amount covers the rent of the Cultural Center of Tholaria, where the talks are held, and will be used for much needed maintenance work. All costs related to attending the conference are to be covered by the participants - there is no external financial support for the event.
List of participants (under construction)
Theodosios Christodoulakis (U. of Athens)
Chryssomalis Chryssomalakos (ICN UNAM, Mexico City)
Elias Okon (Waterloo U.)*
Peter Schupp (Jacobs U.)*
Daniel Sudarsky (ICN UNAM, Mexico City)
Elias Vagenas (Academy of Athens)
*: to be confirmed
Program (under construction)
| Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 -- 11:30 |
Excursion |
15:55 -- 21:10
Return trip to Piraeus |
||||
| 11:30 -- 12:00 |
Coffee break | Coffee break | Coffee break | |||
| 12:00 -- 12:30 |
||||||
| 12:30
-- 13:30 |
||||||
| 13:30 -- 16:30 |
Lunch
break |
Lunch break | Lunch break | Lunch break | ||
| 16:30 -- 17:30 |
|
|||||
| 17:30 -- 18:00 |
Travel and Accommodation
General plan
A typical travel arrangement would be as follows:
- Arrival in Athens/Piraeus on Saturday, June 27.
- Morning of Sunday, June 28 dedicated to sightseeing,
etc.
Late lunch, return to the hotel, and on to the port of Piraeus,
by taxi or metro. Departure for the port of Katapola
(Amorgos) at
17:30, arrival in the early
morning of Monday, June 29 --- a long trip (~9h), crossing a good part
of
the Aegean.
- Monday, June 29 -- Friday, July 3: GRAVTUM III.
- Saturday, July 4, 15:55: departure from Katapola to Piraeus, arrival at 21:10.
- Sunday, July 5: flight out of Athens.
Accommodation in Amorgos
The "Conference Hotel" in Tholaria is the family-run
Vigla Hotel
+30 22850 73288
+30 22850 73004
+30 22850 73005
+30 22850 73332 (fax)
info@viglamorgos.gr
http://www.viglamorgos.gr
Prices: 40/55 euros per night single (breakfast/halfboard)
60/90 euros per night double (breakfast/halfboard)
Our hosts will be Stefanos and Irene Giannakopoulos, who are extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the island. To make a reservation, please send to the hotel, by e-mail or fax, your name, period of stay, number of persons, bed type, your choice of meal plan, and a credit card number (plus expiration date). Two nights will be charged to the card, nonrefundably, at the moment the reservation is made --- do mention the ``GRAVTUM III Conference'' to get the above rates.
There are several other options for accommodation, both in Tholaria and nearby Aeghiali, including the somewhat upscale hotel Aegialis, halfway between the two villages.
Accommodation in Athens/Piraeus
Accommodation in Piraeus, for the nights before and after the conference, can be at the
Lilia Hotel
131 Zeas Str. Passalimani, Piraeus
+30 210 4179108
+30 210 4179346
+30 210 4119720
+30 210 4114311 (fax)
Reservations: info@liliahotel.gr
http://www.liliahotel.gr
Prices: 58/78 euros per night (single/double, breakfast included)
Getting to Lilia Hotel from the Athens airport is relatively straightforward (see Piraeus map and directions). Other options, especially in the central (but overpriced) Syntagma Square region of Athens can be easily googled --- you get from there to the port by taxi (~6 euros) or a twenty minute ride in the metro. Information on some additional hotels, as well as boat tickets, appears below in Practicalities section.
Practicalities
Health and safety
While Greece, and Amorgos in particular, are safe places to be, the relative remoteness of the island prevents quick access to full medical care in case of emergency. This might be a factor that pregnant women, parents with babies, and people with particular medical conditions might want to take into account.
Hotel Booking
It is now time to reserve a hotel room in both Amorgos and Athens/Piraeus. If staying at the Lilia Hotel in Piraeus, the prices are as above (please mention the GRAVTUM III conference). Other options, close to Sintagma square, are the Achilleas Hotel and Plaka Hotel.
Boat ticket booking
Boat tickets to Amorgos can be bought online at the site http://www.bluestarferries.com/ENGLISH/defaultmain.htm. The page requires Internet Explorer 5.5 or later. The cost is 30/34/42 euros each way, according to the class chosen (business class is recommended for the long outgoing trip). There are three steps in the process that you will most probably figure out as you go along --- if in doubt, consult the brief directions that follow:
STEP 1: Fill out the ``Date'', ``From'', ``To'' fields (=June 28, Piraeus, Katapola), and click on ``Itineraries''. In the popup list choose the appropriate entry, and after the list disappears, fill in the ``Class'' and ``Adults'' etc fields. Ignore the second row of similar fields right below. Repeat with the return trip, from Katapola to Piraeus. Click on ``Check reservation'' (pressing simultaneously on the Control key of your keyboard if popup windows are blocked on your computer).
STEP 2: Fill in name etc, and check the ``I have read ...'' box. Click on ``Continue''.
STEP 3: Check that all data are correct and fill in the email and phone number fields - feel free to supply my phone number, 6937681205. Click on ``Credit Card Validation''. Fill in the credit card fields and click on ``Send''.
You will receive an eight-digit reservation code, and an access code. If you prefer it, you can send me the reservation code and I can pick up the ticket for you from the agency in Piraeus the day before departure (Sunday, June 28 departures only!). Otherwise, you can pick up the ticket yourself before departure, from the Blue Star Ferries agency, marked on the Piraeus map linked to above (allow an extra fifteen minutes).