Toomas's Photo Website My Photos Sanibel 1996

Pictures from the 36th Sanibel Symposium
February 24 - March 2 1996

Text and Photos by Toomas Tamm

The Symposium, one of the largest annual gatherings of quantum theorists all over the world, has been held in a traditional location for the last several years: the Ponce de Leon Conference Center in St. Augustine, Florida.

About half of the time is filled with plenary sessions, devoted to a variety of topics ranging from deep discussions on the frontiers of theory, up to practical matters of implementation of the theory in the form of effective computer programs.

All the speakers of the plenary sessions have been invited by the organizers. This guarantees a high quality of presentations, along with a wide variety of topics and speakers. An unwritten rule sais that no one can speak on the Symposium more frequently than once in three years.

The other major component of the Symposiums is the poster sessions. Since all the speakers are invited, the only way for the participants to present their results is by a poster. Almost all the 300-400 attendants try to come out with their latest results. This makes choosing, and finding the most interesting posters (out of 30-40 per session) quite difficult.

To make the choices easier, each poster session starts with a series of 2-minute "advertisements" from the authors of the posters. A great variety of accents, presentation styles, and levels of presentation skills can be observed during these short but informative sessions.

Poster sessions are a major place for exchange of ideas, and heated discussions are not uncommon.

Presentations by computer hardware and software companies fill some of the afternoons. There are specialists present, who have a lot to discuss about the latest developments in these fields.

Life is not all about science, and this is proven by the social gatherings in the evenings, where the participants can relax together with their families. Live music, informative programs about the history of St. Augustine (the oldest continuously inhabited city in the USA), and plenty of food make these events a pleasant part of the conference.

It should not be forgotten that the whole event takes place in the springtime in Florida. Having lived here for two years, I can assure that spring is the best time to visit this place and have a look at its natural inhabitants.

Last modified: 24 January 1997