IEEE VR 2004 /CALL FOR PARTICIPATION (due: 2003.9.1)

IEEE VR 2004
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

Saturday, MARCH 27, 2004 through Wednesday, MARCH 31, 2004

HOTEL INTERCONTINENTAL, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA

We invite you to participate in the IEEE Virtual Reality 2004
conference in Chicago, Illinois, March 27-31, 2004. VR 2004 is the
premier international conference and exhibition in virtual reality, and
provides a truly unique opportunity to interact with leading experts in
VR and closely related fields such as augmented reality, mixed reality
and 3D interaction. Test your own work and educate yourself through
exposure to the research of your peers from around the world. And of
course, there will be time to renew friendships, make new ones and
experience the cuisine, music, theater and architecture of Chicago.
Submit your work and learn more about the conference at its website:
www.vr2004.org

SUBMISSION DETAILS
All submission venues have the same deadlines, but different submission
formats. Detailed information on format can be found at the website
below, or by contacting the relevant co-chairs.

Important Dates:
Submissions due: September 1, 2003
Review decisions expected: November 7, 2003
Website Call For Participation: http://www.vr2004.org/cfp


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In conjunction with IEEE VR will be the 12th  Symposium on:

HAPTIC INTERFACES FOR VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT AND TELEOPERATOR SYSTEMS

The symposium will take place March 27-28, also at the Hotel
Intercontinental. For more details, see the following website:
www.hapticssymposium.org


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CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
Registration information and fee schedules for the conference,
tutorials and workshops will be available from our web site. Plan to
register early and take advantage of our reduced early registration
fees.

HOTEL AND LOCATION
VR 2004 will be held at the Hotel Intercontinental in downtown
Chicago's Magnificent Mile, the premier shopping venue in the
Midwestern US. An architectural landmark originally built in 1929, the
hotel today has benefited from a 250 million dollar renovation. The
conference room rate is $149 - a great rate for a gorgeous hotel!
Chicago is rich with culture. A short walk from the hotel, you'll find
world class restaurants and museums - and the nearby subway ("El") can
bring you to the Lyric Opera, Second City Improv, Steppenwolf Theater,
Frank Lloyd Wright house tours, and of course the Cubbies and the Sox.


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CALL FOR PAPERS
IEEE VR 2004 seeks original, high-quality research and applied papers
in all areas of virtual reality, as well as augmented reality, mixed
reality and 3D HCI. Research papers should describe results that
contribute to advancements in state-of-the-art software, hardware,
interaction, or systems development. Applied papers should address
prototype or fielded systems and include a concise description of the
application area, insight into the relevant system implementation
issues, and discuss the effectiveness of the system with respect to the
application area.

Papers must be in English, not exceed eight (8) pages in length and be
formatted using the IEEE Computer Society format described at
http://computer.org/cspress/instruct.htm. Include the author's name(s),
affiliations, addresses and electronic mail address. All papers must be
submitted electronically. Authors who do not have web access should
contact one of the program co-chairs listed below. Authors may submit
videos to aid the program committee in the review of their submissions.
Videos must be submitted following the instructions at the conference
website. Videos submitted with papers will be automatically considered
for possible inclusion in the video proceedings. For details, see the
regularly updated conference website call for papers or contact one of
the program co-chairs.

Program Co-Chairs:
Jim Chen: jchen@cs.gmu.edu
Martin Goebel: martin.goebel@imk.fraunhofer.de
Yasushi Ikei: ikei@tmit.ac.jp


CALL FOR PANELS
Lively discussions incorporating differing points of view help focus
attention on significant and/or controversial topics. Interested
parties are invited to submit proposals for interactive panel sessions
with the goal of addressing a specific VR or related topic from several
perspectives. Panel sessions should not be structured as a series of
individual stand-alone presentations but rather should address
debatable material that is presented in a lively manner so as to
involve all panel participants and engage the total audience.

Panel proposals should be submitted electronically and should include a
title for the panel session, a brief description of the overall issues
to be discussed (roughly 250 words each), and the names, contact
information and short (roughly 100 words) biographies for the organizer
and each panelist. Panelists should come from multiple organizations.
For information or to submit a proposal contact:

Panels Co-Chairs
Doug Bowman: bowman@cs.vt.edu
Steve Benford: sdb@cs.nott.ac.uk


CALL FOR TUTORIALS
Learning and sharing knowledge are at the heart of our success.
Interested parties are invited to submit proposals for full-day or half-
day tutorials to be presented during the two days immediately prior to
the VR 2004 conference. Proposed tutorials may address topics of
interest to the VR, mixed or augmented reality, or 3D HCI communities,
and may be at an introductory or advanced level.

Proposals for tutorials should be submitted electronically and should
include a title for the tutorial, proposed length, a brief description
of the topics to be addressed (roughly 250 words), the intended
audience and the names, contact information and a short biography
(roughly 100 words each) for the proposed instructors. For information
or to submit a proposal contact:

Tutorials Co-Chairs
Simon Julier: julier@ait.nrl.navy.mil
Rob Jacob: jacob@eecs.tufts.edu


CALL FOR WORKSHOPS
We are planning full day workshops to bring together researchers,
developers, managers, and users for a lively discussion of issues and
an informal exchange of ideas and information. Workshops may target a
specific application or a topic of general interest. We invite
individuals or teams interested in presenting such a workshop to submit
proposals.

Workshop proposals should be submitted electronically and should
include a title, a brief description of topics (approximately 250
words) and the names, contact information and bios (roughly 100 words)
biography for the workshop organizers. The proposal should also
identify the intended audience, its size, and all technical
requirements, including space, audio/visual, computer, communication
needs, etc.  For more information or to submit a proposal, contact:

Workshop Co-Chairs:
G. Drew Kessler:  dkessler@eecs.lehigh.edu
Mark Mine:  mark.mine@disney.com


CALL FOR VIDEOS
We invite participants to submit videos showing the results of VR-
related research or applications, including efforts from 3D HCI and
mixed or augmented reality communities. Videos describing work in a
submitted paper are welcome. Selected videos will be included in the
Video Proceedings.

Videos must be narrated in English, should stand on their own and not
exceed 5 minutes in length. Each video must be accompanied with a one-
page description including the title, a 200 word abstract, references,
acknowledgements, and contact information with author names,
affiliations and an email address for the lead author. For details on
submission, contact:

Video Co-Chairs:
Robert Lindeman:  gogo@gwu.edu
Ron Azuma:  azuma@hrl.com


CALL FOR RESEARCH DEMOS
We seek research demos from any lab or research group (including
industry). Demos should interest the broad VR community and be
presentable in a conference setting. For more information contact:

Research Demo Co-Chairs:
Michael Papka:  papka@mcs.anl.gov
Andrew Johnson:  aej@evl.uic.edu


EXHIBITOR INVITATION
IEEE VR provides a unique opportunity for your organization to reach
the world's foremost VR researchers and application builders. We invite
government, academic and commercial organizations to showcase VR
hardware, software, integrated systems, peripherals, innovations,
literature or anything else of interest to our conference participants.
Regular refreshments will be offered in the exhibit hall and the
conference reception will be held there, ensuring a good audience for
exhibitors. Posters and research demos will also be located by
exhibitors, Additional sponsorship and marketing opportunities will
also be available.

Exhibits Co-Chairs:
Jarrell Pair, jarrell@acm.org
Skip Rizzo, arizzo@usc.edu


CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
We are looking for dedicated and enthusiastic student volunteers to
help "make it all happen". Volunteers may commit to ten or twenty hours
of volunteer effort and will receive conference registration,
proceedings, snacks, t-shirt and other items of appreciation based on
level of commitment. For more information visit our website or
contact:

Volunteers Co-Chairs:
Maria Schultheis:  mschultheis@kmrrec.org
Rob Lindeman:  gogo@gwu.edu


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CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

General:
Benjamin Watson (Northwestern University)
Skip Rizzo (U of Southern California)

Programs:
Jim X. Chen (George Mason U)
Martin Goebel (Fraunhofer Inst.)
Yasushi Ikei (Tokyo Metro. Inst. Tech)

Panels:
Steve Benford (U of Nottingham)
Doug Bowman (Virginia Tech)

Tutorials:
Rob Jacob (Tufts U)
Simon Julier (Naval Research Lab)

Workshops:
G. Drew Kessler (Lehigh U)
Mark Mine (Disney)

Research:
Michael Papka (Argonne Nat. Labs)

Demos:
Andrew Johnson (U of Illinois Chicago)

Videos:
Rob Lindeman (George Washington U)
Ron Azuma (HRL Labs)

Local Arrangements:
Kristine Weiand (IEEE Computer Society)
Caryn Tomasiewicz (Northwestern University)

Student Volunteers:
Maria Schultheis (Kessler Medical)
Rob Lindeman (George Washington U)

Exhibits:
Jarrell Pair (U of Southern California)
Skip Rizzo (U of Southern California)

Publicity:
Jerry Isdale (HRL Labs)
Mark Billinghurst (U of Washington)

Publications:
Mark Livingston (Naval Research Lab)
Andrew Johnson (U of Illinois Chicago)

International Liaisons:
Yoshifumi Kitamura (Osaka U)
Dieter Schmalstieg (Viena U Tech)

Special Events:
Doug Roberts (Northwestern University)

Finance:
Sophia Gabay (Northwestern University)

Web:
Conrad Albrecht-Buehler (Northwestern University)


STEERING COMMITTEE
Grigore Burdea (Rutgers U), Larry Hodges (UNC Charlotte), Bowen Loftin
(Old Dominion/VMASC), Robert Moorhead (Mississippi State U), William
Ribarsky (Georgia Tech), Larry Rosenblum (Naval Research Lab), Sharon
Stansfield (Ithaca College), and Susumu Tachi (U of Tokyo).