Progress in Echinoderm Palaeobiology Proceedings book available online!

Dear participants,

here you have the link to download the pdf version of the Progress in Echinoderm Palaeobiology 2015 Proceedings book.

Thank you very much for your attendance and the great time we spend together.

Hope to see you soon,
Jorge

PRESENTATION

 Figure 1. Moncayo Natural Park (Iberian Chains, Spain), which contains Cambrian outcrops with spectacular echinoderm fossils. 

This conference will celebrate the career of our colleague and friend Dr. Andrew Smith, a world-renowned specialist in echinoderms who retired in late 2012.

Andrew spent the majority of his career at the Natural History Museum of London (1982–2012), where he carried out remarkable research on a diverse range of topics, including echinoid taxonomy, Phanerozoic marine diversity and primitive echinoderms.

The conference will be focused on Palaeozoic echinoderm communities, a major area of interest for Andrew. Contributed presentations will review the current state of knowledge for a range of groups, highlighting recent advances, but more importantly identifying topics of uncertainty and possible future research paths. Andrew will provide a plenary talk about the earliest steps of echinoderm evolution. 

In addition, there will be short workshops on Spanish fossil material and new analytical techniques for studying early echinoderms (e.g. tomography, computer modelling and 3-D printing). Finally, there will be a field trip to visit several important Palaeozoic outcrops in northern Spain, which have yielded a wide variety of fossil echinoderms. 

The presentations and workshops will take place in Zaragoza, a welcoming city, which has been influenced by four cultures (Iberian, Roman, Arabic and Christian) that have marked its character in diverse ways. 

The field trip will take place close to Zaragoza (Iberian Chains) and in the north western part of Spain, between the cities of León and Oviedo (Cantabrian Mountains). Details of the field trip will be provided in the second circular, but we propose to visit Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian outcrops.

Figure 2. A selection of Palaeozoic echinoderms from outcrops that will be visited during the field trip.

Last Information

Dear participants,

 This is our last email providing important information before the start of the PEP15 meeting. The book for the meeting that will include papers and field trip is now in press so it will be ready for the meeting. We want to thank the tremendous effort you did finishing papers and reviews in time. You will receive a copy of the book with the rest of your documentation at the registration of the meeting.

 We have booked a nice pub for the celebration of the ice breaker (see attached map) which name is “Café Universal”. It is located close to the campus and the complete address is “Paseo Fernando el Católico nº32”. Ice breaker is free for participants and companions and will start at 17:30 on Sunday 14th June up to 20:30.  If you plan to attend the ice breaker we would appreciate very much your confirmation.

 Scientific sessions and workshops will be all in the Department of Earth Sciences (Edificio de Geológicas in Spanish) in the Plaza San Francisco Campus. The building will be open at 8:00 in the morning on Monday 15th.

 Gala dinner will be on Tuesday 16th at 20:30 in a really nice Renascence Palace from the XV century;  El Montal It is expected to cost 50-55 euros; and you should register for the dinner as soon as you receive your documentation during the reception.

 Field trip will start on 17th and you will receive more information about the meeting point while the meeting. Just remind you that the last night of the field trip on Sunday 21th we will sleep in Zaragoza at Hotel Romareda; this is cover by your field trip inscription so you don´t need to book any hotel for such night.

 Please, do not hesitate to contact me if you need more information,

 Best wishes and have a pleasant trip to Spain,

 On behalf of the organizing committee

Yours sincerely,

 Samuel Zamora

PAYMENTS

Final payment of the registration fees should be done before 1st April. Payments are only accepted by bank transfer to:

Bank address:

Sabadell Atlántico Oficina 0578

C/ Camino de las Torres, 18

50002 Zaragoza

Spain

Name of Account: Sociedad de Amigos del Museo Paleontologico de la Universidad de Zaragoza (SAMPUZ)

Name of the bank: Sabadell Atlantico

IBAN: ES11 0081 0578 0100 0116 3220

BIC/swift: BSABESBBXXX