[Biopython] Scipy 2013 Conference Announcement

[Matthew McCormick]

SciPy 2013, the twelfth annual Scientific Computing with Python conference, will
be held this June 24th-29th in Austin, Texas. SciPy is a community dedicated to
the advancement of scientific computing through open source Python software for
mathematics, science, and engineering. The annual SciPy Conference allows
participants from academic, commercial, and governmental organizations
to showcase
their latest projects, learn from skilled users and developers, and
collaborate on
code development.

The conference consists of two days of tutorials by followed by two days of
presentations, and concludes with two days of developer sprints on projects of
interest to attendees.



Specialized Tracks
------------------

This year we are happy to announce two specialized tracks that run in
parallel to
the general conference:

*Machine Learning*

In recent years, Python's machine learning libraries rapidly matured with a
flurry of new libraries and cutting-edge algorithm implement and development
occurring within Python.  As Python makes these algorithms more accessible,
machine learning algorithm application has spread across disciplines. Showcase
your favorite machine learning library or how it has been used as an effective
tool in your work!

*Reproducible Science*

Over recent years, the Open Science movement has stoked a renewed
acknowledgement
of the importance of reproducible research.  The goals of this movement include
improving the dissemination of progress, prevent fraud through
transparency, and
enable deeper/wider development and collaboration.  This track is to
discuss the tools
and methods used to achieve reproducible scientific computing.


Domain-specific Mini-symposia
-----------------------------

Introduced in 2012, mini-symposia are held to discuss scientific
computing applied to a specific scientific domain/industry during a
half afternoon after the general conference. Their goal is to promote
industry specific libraries and tools, and gather people with similar
interests for discussions.

Mini-symposia on the following topics will take place this year:

- Astronomy and astrophysics
- Bioinformatics
- Medical imaging
- Meteorology, climatology, and atmospheric and oceanic science


Tutorials
---------

Multiple interactive half-day tutorials will be taught by community experts.
The tutorials provide conceptual and practical coverage of tools that have
broad interest at both an introductory or advanced level. This year, a
third track will be added, which target specifically programmers with no
prior knowledge of scientific python.


Developer Sprints
-----------------

A hackathon environment is setup for attendees to work on the core SciPy
packages or their own personal projects.  The conference is an opportunity for
developers that are usually physically separated to come together and engage in
highly productive sessions. It is also an occasion for new community members to
introduce themselves and recieve tips from community experts. This year, some of
the sprints will be scheduled and announced ahead of the conference.


Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) Sessions
---------------------------------

Birds-of-a-Feather sessions are self-organized discussions that run parallel to
the main conference.  The BOFs sessions cover primary, tangential, or unrelated
topics in an interactive, discussion setting. This year, some of the BOF
sessions will be scheduled and announced ahead of the conference.


Important Dates
---------------

- March 20th:     Presentation abstracts, poster, tutorial submission
  deadline. Application for sponsorship deadline.
- April 15th:     Speakers selected
- April 22nd:     Sponsorship acceptance deadline
- May 1st:        Speaker schedule announced
- May 6th:        Early-bird registration ends
- June 24th-29th: 2 days of tutorials, 2 days of conference, 2 days of sprints


We look forward to a very exciting conference and hope to see you all
at the conference.

The SciPy2013 organization team:

* Andy Terrel, Co-chair
* Jonathan Rocher, Co-chair
* Katy Huff, Program Committee co-chair
* Matt McCormick, Program Committee co-chair
* Dharhas Pothina, Tutorial co-chair
* Francesc Alted, Tutorial co-chair
* Corran Webster, Sprint co-chair
* Peter Wang, Sprint co-chair
* Matthew Turk, BoF co-chair
* Jarrod Millman, Proceeding co-chair
* Stéfan van der Walt, Proceeding co-chair
* Anthony Scopatz, Communications co-chair
* Majken Tranby, Communications co-chair
* Jeff Daily, Financial Aid co-chair
* John Wiggins, Financial Aid co-chair
* Leah Jones, Operations chair
* Brett Murphy, Sponsor chair
* Bill Cowan, Financial chair