CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Family-Friendly Special Sessions

2023 American Control Conference

May 31 – June 2, 2023, San Diego, CA, USA, https://acc2023.a2c2.org/

To facilitate the inclusion of attendees’ families in the conference activities, the Special Sessions Chair of the 2023 American Control Conference invites proposals for educational interactive special sessions designed for students in grades K-5.  Please note, however, that given the overlap of ACC with the typical academic school year, it is expected that children accompanying their parents to ACC are more likely to be in the preschool or pre-K age range.

The range of possible topics is very wide, with the only constraint that the topic is educational in nature and connected to the topics of the conference (control, automation, robotics, etc.). 

Who might be interested?

• Assistant professors who are either currently supported by an NSF CAREER (or preparing one for submission) whose education plan is aligned with this call for proposals.
• Any attendee who is interested in piloting ideas they may be considering for outreach activities.
• Any attendee who has developed outreach activities in the past that could be easily adopted for ACC.
• Graduate students who enjoy outreach and engagement.

Proposals should be 1-3 pages in length and include

• the names of all organizers
• the target age group(s): Preschool/Pre-K, K-2nd grade, 3rd-5th grade
• the proposed session format (formal or informal – see definitions below)
  • in the case of a formal session format, whether the organizers are willing to repeat the session multiple times, and if so, up to how many times
• a description of the proposed activity
• a list of required materials (if applicable), an associated budget, and whether (partial) reimbursement from ACC 2023 would be needed (see below).
• any physical requirements for the room (A/V, tables, chairs, power, etc.)

Please also consider the following when preparing your proposal:

• Session format:
  • formal: this format assumes that all attendees are present for a fixed amount of time (ranging from 30 minutes to 90 minutes)
  • informal: this format assumes that the session is open for a given length of time and attendees can walk-in to participate at any time during the window
• Timing of these sessions has not yet been decided, but it is expected that they would take place during the regular program.
• The expectations for such sessions would be that children are accompanied by a parent or guardian.
• ACC 2023 might be able to reimburse supplies (up to $500).

Finally, session attendees will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite session, and the session with the most votes will be recognized at the conference. If you have an idea, you are encouraged to discuss it with the Special Sessions Chair.  Please e-mail Neera Jain at neerajain@purdue.edu with “ACC 2023 – Family-Friendly Sessions” in the subject line. 

Session Proposal Submission Deadline: October 21, 2022