The 40th Mid-Continent Paleobotanical Colloquium (MPC)
April 21-23, 2023
Group photo
MPC 2023 2nd Circular with map in pdf
The venue for 2023 will be the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. MPC (Mid-Continent Paleobotanical Colloquium) is held each spring by different institutional hosts. We encourage a diverse set of students, faculty, and others interested in fossil plants to attend this relaxed and informal meeting. We encourage attendance from across the continent and beyond, and our presented research topics aspire to span a similar breadth. Presentations by students and postdocs will be prioritized.
Important Deadlines
March 31st 11:59 PST Student Travel Grant application due. We are offering 5 awards of $200 each. Submit your application here.
April 7th 11:59 PST Confirm your attendance at the conference and, if giving a presentation, submit abstracts. Confirm your attendance and submit abstracts here.
Program
A detailed map, including hotels and venue locations, will be provided soon.
Friday
Friday afternoon. Open house at Dickinson Hall: our Paleobotany Laboratory and Collection will be open for visitors all afternoon. Note that Dickinson Hall (1659 Museum Road, Gainesville, FL 32611)—the research building of the Florida Museum–is on the opposite side of campus from Powell Hall (3215 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611); please make sure you are going to the correct location!
3:00 pm. Natural History Departmental Seminar, Dickinson Hall Rm 371. Kelly Matsunaga
4:00-5:30 pm. Open house continues in the paleobotany lab (Dickinson Rm 210) and collection (Dickinson Room 237).
Friday evening.
6:30 pm. Barbeque dinner at Bivens lake (Bivens North Condo Clubhouse, 1 mile south of Dickinson Hall).
7:30 pm. Evening presentation at the clubhouse
8:30 pm. First round of van shuttles to hotels
Saturday
Saturday. Tentative schedule.
8:00-8:30 am. Coffee, donuts at Frazier Rogers Hall 1741 Museum Rd—the building immediately west of Dickinson Hall.
8:30 am. Welcome
8:45-10:00 am. Presentations
10-10:30 am. Coffee Break, Posters
11:00 am-12:15 pm. Oral Presentations.
12:15-1:30 pm. Lunch nearby
1:30-4:00 pm. Oral Presentations
4:00-5:00 pm. Poster presentations
6:00 pm. Evening venue opens.
6:30 pm. Banquet.
7:30 pm. Keynote lecture. Kelly Matsunaga.
Sunday
Sunday Morning. Local botanizing tours, with duration adjusted to accommodate varied airport departure times.
Sunday Afternoon. Florida Museum of Natural History exhibits [Powell Hall] opens at 1:00 pm.
Registration
Please complete the survey here to confirm your attendance at the conference and submit abstracts. Abstracts (200-word count limit) and registration will be due on April 7th.
Registration Fees: No charge for students and postdocs. $100 for professional participants. Fees will be collected in cash or check on arrival and receipts provided. Limited travel grants are offered to students; complete the survey here to apply for Student Travel Grants.
Assistance with transportation: When filling out the registration form, please make sure to indicate whether you need transportation around Gainesville. If you need assistance, we will contact you directly via email (using the email you provide in your registration) to arrange times for transport.
Lodging
(Click here for a map that shows MPC venues on UF campus and nearby lodging)
Several hotels are located on 13th Street within 15 minutes walking distance of our main venue (listed below). Car- and vanpooling will be arranged as needed. Free lodging (i.e., sofa and/or floor camping—bring your own sleeping bag) will be available for students on request.
Nearby hotels
EconoLodge University. …………………………………………………………………………………… $80 per night
Quality Inn University. ……………………………………………………………………………………… $115 per night
Home 2 Suites …………………………………………………………………………………………………….$160 per night
Reitz Union Hotel [closest to our venue]………………………………………………………$109 (standard) to 139 (deluxe) per night
Hotel Eleo [very new, fancy, close to our venue]………………………………………………….$200 per night
Holiday Inn University …………………………………………………………………………………………………………$102 per night
Flights
We recommend flying into Gainesville (GNV airport), which hosts flights in the Delta and American airlines systems. We will arrange ground transportation to and from the Gainesville (GNV) airport. Due to time constraints, we may be unable to assist with your transport from other airports.
Other airports in north central Florida include:
Jacksonville (JAX) is a larger hub 1.5 hr by car from Gainesville. Possibly more economical if rental car with multiple participants is an option for you. (Note that the minimum age to rent a car in Florida is 25). No bus service to Gainesville is available.
Orlando (MCO)–winter home of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck–is a larger hub (2.3 hr drive from Gainesville). A bus service offered by Red Coach runs from Orlando to the Gainesville UF campus but needs to be booked well in advance.s
Tampa (TPA), less busy than Orlando, also about 2.3 hr by car from Gainesville.
Presentations
Attendees will have the option to present an oral or poster presentation at the conference. All presenters must submit a title, a list of authors and affiliations, and an abstract (200-word count limit) for their presentation. Submit abstracts in the registration form, linked above.
Poster Dimensions. Our poster stands will accommodate posters 36 inches wide and up to 48 inches high.
Oral Presentations. Please use a Powerpoint compatible format and bring a memory stick with your presentation; let us know in advance if you prefer to project from your own laptop. The current plan is for each speaker to have 15 minutes including time for questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the conference be attended remotely? Speakers and poster presenters should plan to be in-person. Face masks remain optional currently, but may be required depending on conditions in April. We will do our best to set up for remote participants to attend via zoom (hybrid style) and post questions.
Can I receive a lift from Jacksonville/Orlando/Tampa? We cannot guarantee that. We will provide local rides between GNV and the Gainesville venues. Due to time constraints, we may be unable to assist with your transport from other airports.
Organizing committee: Julian Correa, Min Deng, Ashley Hamersma, Indah B. Huegele, Terry Lott, Steven Manchester, MacKenzie Smith, Hongshan Wang.