1. Proposal for the 11th Annual North American School of Information Theory
Texas A&M University
Organizers: Jean-Francois Chamberland, Anoosheh Heidarzadeh (post-doc), Tie Liu , Krishna Narayanan, Alex Sprintson, all from TAMU,
Rich Baraniuk, Rice, Emina Soljanin (Rutgers)
Advisors: Henry Pfister (Duke), Aylin Yener (Penn State)

2. When Where: Plan May 21-23, 2018 Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Students and speakers housed in nearby hotel (Cavalry court)
10 min walk

3. Campus Map
Hotel
Lecture
Zachry
Building
Parking

4. Getting to College Station
Travel options
Fly directly to College Station (CLL) connecting in DFW/IAH
Fly to IAH/HOU, take ground shuttle ( $40
Fly to Austin – rent a car to drive to CLL
Driving distances/times
AUS to TAMU (90 miles, 1.5 hrs)
IAH to TAMU (90 miles, 1.5 hrs)
HOU to TAMU (110 miles, 2 hrs)
DFW to TAMU (200 miles, 3 hrs)
200 miles, 3 hrs
90 miles, 1.5 hrs
90 miles, 1.5 hrs

5. Three days: May 21-23 Five 2.5-hour lectures Three Poster Sessions
Tentative Schedule
Three days: May 21-23
Five 2.5-hour lectures
Three Poster Sessions
Lecture Topic Ideas:
Data science/Machine learning
Concentration inequalities
Non-traditional applications of coding
Security and privacy
More topics will be added

6. 1 out of 5 lectures will be a hands-on activity
Some Innovative Ideas
1 out of 5 lectures will be a hands-on activity
Consider flipped lecture style
Instructor makes videos ahead of time
Outreach activity led by grad students
Incentives for active participation

7. Cavalry Court Inn (~10 min walk) Cost Roughly $120/night per speaker
Housing Details
Hotel
Cavalry Court Inn (~10 min walk)
Cost
Roughly $120/night per speaker
$60 per student (double room occupancy)
$120 for single occupancy
Breakfast included

8. Rough cost estimate is $47K
Budget
Rough cost estimate is $47K
$200 registration fee may decrease with sponsorship
Funding
$20K expected from registration
$20K requested from ITSOC
> $6K-7K from local sources
Also seeking other sponsors

9. Budget Item Number Cost Total Student Housing 100 $200.00 $20000.00
Lunch & Coffee breaks
130
$75.00 $
Student banquet
120
$50.00 $
Student materials
$10.00 $
Lecturer lodging/Meals 5
$800.00 $
Lecturer travel
Lecturer dinner 15 $ $

10. First floor of Engineering Technolgies Building
Other Details
Facilities
First floor of Engineering Technolgies Building
Rooms for more than 100 people
Large indoor open area suitable for casual lunches, mixing, and poster sessions
Weather
In May, the average high & low temperatures are 86 & 67 F

11. Your feedback will be much appreciated
Thanks
Your feedback will be much appreciated
We motion that the IT Society support the NA School of IT with a grant of $20K
The motion has the unanimous support of the IT school committee

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