Geoscience Groups Slate October Meeting

More than 10,000 international scientists, professionals, educators, and students will gather Oct. 5-9 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston to discuss the latest research and trends in energy, water resources, climate change, agriculture, science education, earth sciences, and related disciplines.

This first-ever Joint Annual Meeting is a collaboration that showcases the sciences of the sponsoring organizations, the Geological Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America, and Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies. Also participating is the Gulf Coast Section of the Society for Sedimentary Geology and hosted by the Houston Geological Society.

The scientific program of research presentations, lectureships, and plenary sessions are built around 10 challenging issues set forth by the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) agenda. Celebrated from 2007-2009, IYPE is an initiative of the International Union of Geological Sciences and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, to raise awareness of the critical role of the geosciences. Visit www.yearofplanetearth.org for more information.

The joint plenary sessions are designed to engage attendees across all disciplines and include "The Impending Global Water Crisis: Geology, Soils, Agronomy, and International Security" and "Energy and the Global Market."

Beyond the joint programs, more than 5,500 technical oral and poster papers will shape this year's program. A host of daily lectures, symposia, sessions, workshops, and field trips are organized into topical and discipline areas specific to each society.

More than 400 booths will feature instruments, machinery, equipment, products, and services.

For information, go to http://www.acsmeetings.org.