Kepler & K2 Science Conference IV

Image Credit: NASA ARC/W. Stenzel

Welcome to the home page of the Kepler & K2 Science Conference IV! Over the past 8 years, high-precision photometry from the Kepler/K2 mission has enabled breakthrough discoveries in exoplanet science, asteroseismology, eclipsing binary stars, solar-system objects, and extragalactic science. To celebrate the legacy and latest science results of Kepler/K2 we invite the community to the 4th Kepler & K2 Science Conference, hosted at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA. We welcome contributions from any area of science related to the Kepler/K2 mission, as well as related future missions such as TESS. We are looking forward to celebrating the Kepler/K2 science and legacy with the community!

Check back here for updates or follow the conversation on Twitter (#KeplerSciCon).

Important Dates

Registration & Abstract Submission

The SOC and LOC are committed to enabling the broadest possible participation by members of the Kepler/K2 community. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your ability to attend please contact the SOC and LOC chairs (Eric Agol at agol@astro.washington.edu, Daniel Huber at huberd@hawaii.edu, and Mark Messersmith at mark.d.messersmith@nasa.gov).

Registration is now closed for general participants. Press can still register at this link. There is no registration fee. When registering, we ask that all participants read and agree with the code of conduct. Upon registering, participants can also volunteer to judge a poster competition and/or give a public lecture the week of the conference. Winners of the poster competition have the opportunity to give short talks about their results in a dedicated session in the second half of the conference. Poster judges will rank posters of conference participants who agreed to enter the competition. Additional details on the poster competition are forthcoming. Also, the opportunity to give a public lecture is open to people at all professional levels (graduate students, postdocs, etc.).

Abstract submission is now closed. Multiple abstract submissions are allowed. Note that Wednesday afternoon (June 21) has been reserved for breakout sessions to enable the community to discuss and work on Kepler/K2 related projects. We envision that these sessions will be more hands-on ("unconference" sessions) compared to traditional talks, ideally with broad interest to the community. Examples for breakout sessions could include panel discussions, hack activities, work meetings of larger collaborations, or tutorials to use data/software products related to Kepler/K2. To submit a proposal for a breakout session please select the appropriate abstract preference during registration.

Conference Agenda

Download the conference program in PDF format.

ExoPAG 16 Meeting

The ExoPAG 16 meeting will be held immediately prior to the conference on June 18, 2017. We encourage all attendees of the main conference to arrive a day early to sunny Mountain View, California to attend the ExoPAG meeting and learn the latest news regarding planned and future exoplanet exploration. The meeting is open to the entire scientific community and there is no registration fee. For further information, access the meeting website here.

Participant List

A list of registered participants can be found here.

Venue Information

The conference will be held in the NASA Ames Conference Center (Building 152), in Mountain View, California.

There is a small room off the auxiliary conference room that can be reserved for breakout meetings and/or nursing. The room will have a sign-up sheet so the desired time for meetings/nursing can be selected.

Directions to Venue

Access to NASA Ames requires a valid form of ID to be shown.

Anyone in a vehicle should use the Ellis Gate entrance off of Highway 101. The Moffett Field Gate is accessible to foot traffic and bicycles only. (It will look daunting, but pathways are there.) Please do not park at the Moffett Field Gate; it is a limited area at this time due to construction.

At either entrance, stop at the guard station, show your ID, and state you are attending the Kepler Science Conference in Building 152. There is no need to stop at the badging office.

Try to arrive early on the first day; Mondays can be clogged with traffic and the Ellis entrance is a major Silicon Valley hub (Juniper Networks, Google Tech Corners, Amazon Labs and NetApps to name a few, are located nearby).

A map showing the route to the conference venue from the Ellis gate can be found at this link.

Attendees can drive into Ames and park at lots near Building 152. There is no cost to park.

Presenter Information

We encourage all presenters to use color-blind friendly figures in their talk and poster presentations. Resources to produce color-blind friendly presentations include this website and this website.

Talks

The length for invited talks is 25 minutes + 5 minutes for questions, and contributed talks have 12 minutes + 3 minutes for questions.

Note that the projectors can handle both 16:9 and 4:3 format. Presenters should provide their presentations to the check-in desk located in the auditorium as soon as possible, but no later than during the break prior to the session in which the talk is being given.

Talks at the Kepler/K2 science conference will be streamed as well as recorded for future viewing. If you have any materials which aren’t appropriate for dissemination via streaming and/or a recorded talk — or have any other concerns about streaming/recording your presentation, please email Jessie Dotson at jessie.dotson@nasa.gov.

Posters

All posters must be approved by the SOC – no late or extra posters are allowed due to space limitations.

Posters should be no larger than 42'' x 42'' (106 cm x 106 cm). Poster numbers will be placed in the upper corner of each poster board. This number corresponds to the number assigned to each poster as given in the conference agenda.

All posters will be up for the entire duration of the meeting. Posters can be mounted starting at 8:00 AM PST on Monday, June 19th and should be taken down by 4:00 PM PST Friday, June 23rd.

Each author is responsible for mounting his/her material prior to the opening of the poster session and for removing it at the end of the meeting. We will leave six pins at each poster site with a box of pins located beneath the easels throughout the room in order for you to mount your poster.

If you are not planning on taking your poster with you at the end of the conference, please put it in a blue recycling bin in the corner of the room prior to your departure. The Kepler/K2 mission will not assume responsibility for materials left behind.

Poster Competition

Registration for the poster competition for graduate students and postdocs will open at the registration desk on Monday morning. Each participant should mark their poster with a sticker which will be provided at the registration desk. Competition winners will be notified on Wednesday evening and will present a 5 min talk (+2 min for questions) in Session 2 on Friday.

Travel Information

The nearest airport is the San Jose International Airport (SJC). The nearest alternative to SJC is San Francisco International Airport (SFO). While a bit further, flying into Oakland International Airport (OAK) is also another option. We recommend hiring a rental car or using the Uber or Lyft apps for transportation from the airport.

Civil servants traveling to the conference should note the information below:

• Gov Civil Service NCTS #28596-17
• Conference Name: Kepler & K2 SciConIV: Kepler Science Conference 4, Legacy & SciCon

Lodging Options

We have received reports of some registrants receiving phone calls from hotels in the Bay Area (including, e.g. a person claiming to be from the County Inn). The caller was attempting to pressure the registrant into making hotel reservations as room rates were supposedly going up soon. We (the conference LOC) have no arrangements with any hotels in regards to this information, and we greatly apologize for any inconvenience. If you do receive a call like this, please be aware that this is a scam and do not give them any further information.

The conference center provides a list of local hotels. Some hotel options are below along with the distances from the hotel to the conference center:

• Ramada Mountain Watch recording, 55 Fairchild Drive, Mountain View, CA 94043 (650-967-6856) (~1.4 miles)
• Quality Inn & Suites, 5 Fairchild Drive, Mountain View, CA 94043 (650-934-0155) (~1.4 miles)
• Hampton Inn & Suites, 390 Moffett Boulevard, Mountain View, CA 94043 (650-988-0300) (~1.7 miles)
• Oakwood, 555 W Middlefield Road, Mountain View, CA (877-715-7696) (~1.7 miles) (note: these are extended stay apartments and prefer to have people staying at least five nights)
• County Inn, 850 Leong Drive, Mountain View, CA 94043 (650-961-1131) (~1.2 miles)

The NASA Lodge is currently undergoing renovation and is no longer taking reservations. All available rooms have been booked. We recommend people check out other hotels in the area, including those listed above.

If you are interested in shared housing, please contact us so we can connect you with others interested as well.

Remote Attendance

If you are a researcher/scientist unable to attend the conference in-person, you can sign in to this Adobe Connect URL to experience it virtually: https://ac.arc.nasa.gov/kepler/. The link will be live starting on Monday, June 19th at 9:00 AM PST.

Code of Conduct

We expect all attendees to agree with and abide by our code of conduct. Upon registration, attendees will be asked to click a box to confirm that they agree with this code. If you have concerns, suggestions, or would like to report a violation, please contact Mark D. Messersmith at 650-793-5722 or Jessie Dotson at 650-701-7040.

Organizing Committees

Scientific Organizing Committee

• Eric Agol, University of Washington (co-Chair)
• Daniel Huber, University of Hawaii (co-Chair)
• Natalie Batalha, NASA Ames Research Center (Kepler Project Scientist)
• Jessie Dotson, NASA Ames Research Center (K2 Project Scientist)
• Thomas Barclay, NASA Ames Research Center (Former Director, Kepler/K2 Guest Observer Office)
• Jessie Christiansen, NASA Exoplanet Science Institute
• JJ Hermes, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Marc Pinsonneault, The Ohio State University
• Erin Ryan, SETI Institute
• Karl Stapelfeldt, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Rachel Street, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network
• Brad Tucker, Australian National University

Local Organizing Committee

• Mark Messersmith, NASA Ames Research Center (Chair)
• Knicole Colón, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Ellen O'Leary, NASA Exoplanet Science Institute
• Wendy Stenzel, NASA Ames Research Center
• Geert Barentsen, NASA Ames Research Center

Contact

Any questions should be sent to ARC-KeplerSciCon@mail.nasa.gov.

Sponsors