Editing OctConf 2017

We are happy to announce the upcoming Octave Conference 2017 to be held at [http://home.cern CERN], near Geneva, Switzerland, from March 20th until March 22nd. The Local Organising Committee is happy and proud that CERN will host this event for at least two reasons: Octave [2] is a fundamental tool of analysis and research for hundreds of CERN scientists; Octave and CERN share and promote the same values of openness, cooperation, diversity, quality and commitment.

The three-day event will be an opportunity for sharing experiences, planning the future of Octave and promoting its use among the scientific community and beyond. There will two open sessions on Monday and Tuesday showcasing Octave and some interesting and successful Octave stories.
To register officially, please use the CERN conference manager [https://indico.cern.ch/event/609833/ Indico].
In addition, *please* add your name to the Participants section of this page so we can plan appropriately.

We are working out the details of the programme, and the call for contributions and abstract is still open. You are all invited to submit an abstract and present your experience with Octave at the conference!

We are hopeful that the key members of the Octave development team will make it, both from oversea and from Europe. You can find more updated information on the programme in the [https://indico.cern.ch/event/609833 CERN's OctConf webpage] and in here.

== Dates ==

The conference will run for three days from Monday, March 20th through Wednesday, March 22nd.


== Location ==

=== Geneva, Switzerland ===
=== Venue ===
The upcoming Octconf 2017 will take place at [http://home.cern/ CERN] (European Center for Nuclear Research)

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. They use the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter – the fundamental particles. The particles are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives the physicists clues about how the particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature.
The instruments used at CERN are purpose-built particle accelerators and detectors. Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before the beams are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets. Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.

Founded in 1954, the CERN laboratory sits astride the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe's first joint ventures and now has 22 member states.

=== Social activities ===

Two social events have been foreseen, besides the coffee and the lunch breaks:
* A unique visit to [http://visit.cern/tours CERN]
* A [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fondue Fondue] dinner down-town Geneva

=== Travelling ===
The information below is taken from [http://visit.cern/exhibitions/how-get-cern CERN instructions].
Please check that link for further details.

[http://visit.cern/sites/visits.web.cern.ch/files/files/exhibitions/access-map.pdf How to get to CERN infographics]

    CERN Reception - Meyrin

    CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research
    385 route de Meyrin
    CH-1217 Meyrin - Geneva
    Switzerland

* GPS Coordinates
Latitude: 46.2314284

Longitude: 6.0539718


==== By train ====
Coming from the Geneva railway station at Cornavin

Tram - Take the number 18 tram to "CERN" which is the final stop at the CERN entrance.

Ticket costs 3 CHF full-fare / 2 CHF reduced-fare (Ticket "Tout Genève" on the ticket machine). 

See the [http://www.tpg.ch/ TPG] web site for full details.

==== By car ====

* From Switzerland

Follow signs for "Aéroport", "Lyon" and "Meyrin".

Once you are in Meyrin, follow signs for "St. Genis" (which is just beyond the border, in France). 

Before reaching St Genis, the CERN site is on your left on "Route de Meyrin", just before you reach the border.

* From France (département of Ain)

Follow signs for "Gex" or "St. Genis". 
When you reach the border, CERN is on your right immediately after passing through customs.

See [http://visit.cern/exhibitions/how-get-cern-car Parking] for parking information.

==== By plane ====
Coming from the Geneva International Airport at Cointrin

Taxi - approximately 35CHF.

Bus - First take a public transport ticket from the machine you will find at the exit to the baggage collection hall, just before customs control. Then:

Option 1: Take bus Y direction "CERN" and get off at the CERN stop opposite the large Globe and the CERN site.

Option 2: Take bus 23, 28 or 57 and get off at the stop "Blandonnet" and then catch the Tram number 18, final stop "CERN".

See the [http://www.tpg.ch/ TPG] web site for full details.

== Tips and tricks ==
A normal lunch at CERN costs about 15 CHF, inclusive of one coffee and one delicious dessert.

A bus ride from the airport to CERN is free of charge, if you take a ticket at the vending machine in the baggage claim area.  Should you miss that vending machine, a ticket will cost you 3.00 CHF. https://genevalunch.com/guides/travel/the-cheerful-traveler-geneva-airport-public-transport/


== Accommodation ==

The conference will take place in the CERN's main site (Meyrin). You can try your luck and search for an accommodation in one of the [http://smb-dep.web.cern.ch/en/CERN_Housing CERN Hostels].

Should the CERN hostels be full, or should you prefer to stay in Geneva, we advise you to consult your favourite on-line booking portal (www.booking.com, www.tripadvisor.com, www.trivago.com, www.expedia.com etc.) and to contact the hotel directly in order to identify the lowest tariff available for CERN users and collaborators (preferential tariffs may apply in some cases).

Hotels in the vicinity of "Gare Cornavin" (Geneva's main railway station), or along "Route de Meyrin", are particularly recommended. Tram number 18 links Gare Cornavin to CERN in 20' (see [http://www.tpg.ch/ timetable on the TPG's webpage]). 

Notice that, by staying in hotel, youth hostel or at a campsite, you are entitled to receive a personal and non transferable Geneva Transport Card for free, which will allow you to use the whole public transportation system of Geneva for the length of your stay for free. This includes buses, trams, trains, and yellow taxi-boats - Mouettes. Just ask for it upon arrival on the reception.

== Suggestions for Sessions ==

Approximately half of each day will be devoted to presentations.  The remainder will be used for informal discussions, code sprints, etc.

Please propose session topics in the schedule below.  The actual time slot you pick is not important--we can re-arrange the schedule later--but we need to know what topics are of interest.

In addition, if you have a poster, rather than a full presentation, there is a separate sign-up sheet below.

=== Schedule ===
During the daytime: CERN offers many areas where people can socialize and/or discuss, informally. For instance, the CERN main restaurant is open until 23:00 (11:00 PM).

    <table class="tg" border="1" width="800" style="text-align: center">
      <tr>
        <th width="110">Time</th>
        <th width="220">Monday<br/>(General GNU Octave day)</th>
        <th width="220">Tuesday<br/>(GNU Octave Packages day)</th>
        <th width="250">Wednesday<br/>(Libre and Open Source Software day)</th>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>9:00-9:30</td>
        <td>Octave for N dimensions and microscope image processing (Carnë Draug / David Miguel Susano Pinto)</td>
        <td>GSoC project: Exponential Integrators<br/>(Chiara Segala)</td>
        <td rowspan="2">Unconference</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>9:30-10:00</td>
        <td>Open Slot</td>
        <td>SOCIS project: Improve iterative methods for sparse linear systems<br/>(Cristiano Dorigo)</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>10:00-10:15</td>
        <td><strong>Coffee</strong></td>
        <td><strong>Coffee</strong></td>
        <td><strong>Coffee</strong></td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>10:15-10:50</td>
        <td>Designing Particle Accelerators using Octave (A. Latina)</td>
        <td>Open Slot</td>
        <td rowspan="3">Unconference</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>10:50-11:25</td>
        <td>[https://www.gnu.org/software/octave/doc/interpreter/XREFpublish.html publish] your code with Octave (Kai T. Ohlhus)</td>
        <td>Open Slot</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>11:25-12:00</td>
        <td>GSoC project: ode15{i,s}<br/>(Francesco Faccio)</td>
        <td>The future of the Neural Network package<br/>(Francesco Faccio)</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>12:00-12:45</td>
        <td><strong>Discussion</strong></td>
        <td><strong>Discussion</strong></td>
        <td>8/16-bit simulation with GNU Octave (Andreas Stahel)</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td><br/>12:45-14:00<br/><br/></td>
        <td><strong>Lunch</strong></td>
        <td><strong>Lunch</strong></td>
        <td><strong>Lunch</strong></td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>14:00-14:35</td>
        <td rowspan="3">Open Slot (Plenary session: CERN main auditorium)<br/>Status of Octave - 1h<br/>(John W. Eaton) </td>
        <td rowspan="3">Open Slot (Plenary session: CERN main auditorium)</td>
        <td rowspan="3">Visit to CERN sites</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>14:35-15:10</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>15:10-15:45</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>15:45-16:00</td>
        <td><strong>Coffee</strong></td>
        <td><strong>Coffee</strong></td>
        <td><strong>Coffee</strong></td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td><br/><br/>16:00-18:00<br/><br/><br/></td>
        <td><strong>Code Sprint</strong></td>
        <td><strong>Code Sprint</strong></td>
        <td><strong>Organization of OctConf2018</strong></td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>18:00-19:00</td>
        <td rowspan="2">Fondue night (alternative 1)</td>
        <td rowspan="2">Fondue night (alternative 2)</td>
        <td rowspan="2">Closing and Farewell</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>19:00-20:00</td>
      </tr>
    </table>

=== Poster Session ===

If you have a poster demonstrating how you use Octave to address an application in your field please add your name and poster topic to the list below.  We will schedule an appropriately sized space based on the number of posters.

Confirmed Posters:

  <table class="tg" border="0" width="600" style="text-align: left">
    <tr>
      <th width="400">Title</th>
      <th width="200">Author</th>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Fast approximation of complicated simulators</td>
      <td>[[User:KaKiLa |JuanPi Carbajal]]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>VSDP: Verified SemiDefinite Programming</td>
      <td>[[User:Siko1056|Kai T. Ohlhus]]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td></td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td></td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>   
    <tr>
      <td></td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td></td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td></td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td></td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td></td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td></td>
      <td></td>
    </tr>

  </table>

== Participants ==
To register officially, please use the CERN conference manager [https://indico.cern.ch/event/609833/ Indico].

* [[User:KaKiLa|JuanPi Carbajal]]
* [[User:Francesco Faccio|Francesco Faccio]] (need funding for travel)
* [[User:jwe|John W. Eaton]] (need funding for travel)
* [[User:Doug|Douglas Stewart]]
* [[User:Siko1056|Kai T. Ohlhus]]
* [[User:Oheim|Oliver Heimlich]] (Tuesday–Wednesday)
* [[User:Carandraug|Carnë Draug]]
* [[User:Andy1978|Andreas Weber]] (likely to attend but have to wait for the final okay from employer)
* Valentin Ortega Clavero (likely to attend but have to wait for the final okay from employer)
* Andrea Latina
* Andreas Stahel
* [[User:CdF|Carlo de Falco]] (likely to attend, probably one day only)
* Cristiano Dorigo
* Michele Ginesi
* Chiara Segala
* [[User:pantxo|Pantxo Diribarne]] (likely to attend, probably one day only)
* Marco Caliari (arrival in Monday afternoon)
* Anna Ferrarini
* Elisa Frison
* Sara Stillavati

== Funding ==

== Previous OctConf ==
[[OctConf 2015]]

== Next OctConf ==
[[OctConf 2018]]

[[Category:OctConf]]
[[Category:2017]]