Annual Meeting Home | Resource Pages Home
Event Organizer Resource Page
Welcome to the event development page for the TRB Annual Meeting. Each year, more than 3,000 papers are accepted for presentation during the meeting, and another 1,500 invited presentations are offered. There are a number of options for where to slot individual papers and presentations. Remember, every paper accepted for presentation must go somewhere. The following guidelines should help you in determining the most appropriate event type for each paper or invited presentation.
Planning Schedule
- July 1st – Preliminary list of Annual Meeting events due.
- July 1st – Preliminary workshop information due.
- October 1st– Session details due.
For any type of event – please let your TRB staff officer know of any changes at any time. This helps us keep the Online Program and the mobile app up to date.
Workshops
A workshop offers a substantial period of time for presentations and questions and answers, as well as extended discussion between speakers and participants about the workshop topic. The exchange is typically outcome driven such that the conversation leads to some advancement around the subject matter.
Lectern Sessions
A lectern session offers participants the opportunity to hear formal, detailed presentations about individual studies or areas of research, with a few presenters typically organized around a common subject. Limited time is reserved for questions and answers.
Poster Sessions
A poster session offers greater opportunity for interaction between paper authors and meeting participants than is possible in a lectern presentation.
Committee Meetings
A committee meeting offers the opportunity for a presentation(s) that may not fit in a lectern session, but are of particular interest to committee members and friends, and may contribute to advancing discussion in an area of committee focus. Papers accepted for presentation may be included in a committee meeting rather than lectern or poster sessions. Authors will be informed accordingly, however, it is imperative for committee chairs to contact authors directly to discuss presentations and how they fit in with the overall committee meeting. Visual Aid files (PowerPoint or PDF) for committee meetings are not preloaded as with lectern sessions, and computers are not provided in committee rooms (projectors and screens are provided). So it is imperative to coordinate with speakers to ensure that a computer and any visual aid files are brought directly to the meeting room.