COVID-19 Release of Liability and Assumption of Risk

In consideration of being permitted by the Vision Sciences Society (“VSS”) to attend VSS 2022 (“Meeting”) at the TradeWinds Island Resorts (“TradeWinds”), you agree to the terms and conditions stated in this COVID-19 Release of Liability and Assumption of Risk (“Release”).

I acknowledge and agree to the following:

  1. I am aware of the contagious nature of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”), and the risk that I may be exposed to, or contract COVID-19 by traveling to and from, and participating in, the Meeting and otherwise being at TradeWinds. I understand and acknowledge that such exposure or infection may result in illness, personal injury, psychological injury, pain, suffering, temporary or permanent disability, death, and/or financial loss. I understand VSS cannot guarantee I will not become infected with COVID-19 or other infectious disease while at TradeWinds or the Meeting, and that being at TradeWinds or the Meeting may increase my risk of contracting COVID-19. NOTWITHSTANDING THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19, I ACKNOWLEDGE I AM VOLUNTARILY APPEARING AT TRADEWINDS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE DANGER INVOLVED. I HEREBY ACCEPT AND ASSUME ALL RISKS OF ILLNESS, PERSONAL INJURY, PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURY, PAIN, SUFFERING, DISABILITY, DEATH, AND/OR FINANCIAL LOSS RELATED TO COVID-19, ARISING FROM MY BEING AT TRADEWINDS OR THE MEETING, WHETHER CAUSED BY THE ORDINARY NEGLIGENCE OF VSS OR OTHERWISE.
  2. I hereby expressly waive and release any and all claims, now known or hereafter known, against VSS, and its officers, directors, employees, volunteers, contractors, agents, affiliates, representatives, members, successors, and assigns (collectively, “Releasees”), on account of personal or psychological injury, illness, pain, suffering, disability, death, or financial loss arising out of or attributable to my being at TradeWinds or the Meeting and being exposed to or contracting COVID-19, whether arising out of the ordinary negligence of VSS or any Releasees or otherwise. I covenant not to make or bring any such claim against VSS or any other Releasee, and forever release and discharge VSS and all other Releasees from liability under such claims. This Release does not extend to claims for gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, or any other liabilities that Florida law does not permit to be released by agreement.
  3. I am familiar with federal, state, and local guidelines related to COVID-19, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) guidance on COVID-19. I agree to participate in and abide by all safety protocols implemented onsite by VSS and TradeWinds. This includes but is not limited to wearing masks in indoor public spaces, practicing social distancing, providing proof of either full vaccination or a negative PCR test result from within forty-eight hours prior to the Meeting’s first day (at my expense), as a condition of being permitted to attend the Meeting. I ACKNOWLEDGE IF I DO NOT PRESENT THE DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED BY VSS, OR, OTHERWISE, CANNOT OR DO NOT SATISFY THE SAFETY PROTOCOLS, I WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO ENTER TRADEWINDS OR ATTEND THE MEETING.
  4. I agree to not attend the Meeting if I am experiencing or exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms as outlined by the CDC.
  5. I agree not to attend the Meeting if I have had recent close contact with a person who tested positive, or if I experienced any symptoms associated with COVID-19 within the 10 days prior to the Meeting.
  6. I understand that while VSS desires for the Meeting to be safe, VSS does not have control over cleaning protocols, air filtration systems, etc. at TradeWinds.
  7. VSS reserves the right to modify the conditions upon which attendees are permitted to attend the Meeting consistent with applicable law and public health guidelines.
  8. This Release, along with the terms of the Meeting registration materials, constitute the entire agreement of VSS and me regarding the subject matter contained in this Release and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties, both written and oral, with respect to such subject matter. If any term or provision of this Release is invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, such invalidity, illegality, or unenforceability shall not affect any other term or provision of this Release or invalidate or render unenforceable such term or provision in any other jurisdiction. This Release is binding on and shall inure to the benefit of VSS and me and our respective successors and assigns. All matters arising out of or relating to this Release shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Florida without giving effect to any conflict of law rule.

VSS 2022 Attendee Waiver

By registering for VSS 2022, you agree to adhere to any and all COVID-19 protocols implemented by the Vision Sciences Society, the Tradewinds Island Resorts or any third-party organizations providing services at the annual meeting.

I acknowledge and agree to the following:

  • I agree to participate in and abide by all safety protocols implemented onsite by the Vision Sciences Society. This includes but is not limited to wearing masks in indoor public spaces, practicing social distancing, providing proof of a vaccination and/or negative PCR test results (at attendee expense).
  • I agree to not attend the meeting if I am experiencing or exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms as outlined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  • I agree not to attend if I have recently had close contact with a person who has tested positive.
  • I understand that while VSS will make every effort to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission onsite, VSS does not have control over cleaning protocols, air filtration systems, etc. at the Tradewinds Island Resorts.
  • I acknowledge that there is risk involved in travel, and it is possible that I will come in contact with people in airports and around the hotel property who could potentially carry the virus.
  • VSS reserves the right to modify the conditions upon which attendees are permitted at VSS 2022 consistent with applicable law and public health guidelines.

2020 Symposia

2020 Symposia

No Symposia were presented at the V-VSS 2020 meeting.

2020-2021 Student-Postdoc Advisory Committee

The Vision Sciences Society announces the 2020-2021 inaugural members of The Student-Postdoc Advisory Committee (SPC)!

The Student-Postdoc Advisory Committee will advise the VSS Board and membership about how events, workshops, meeting structure, and activities can best target the needs of trainee members and attendees. They will be reaching out to trainees to solicit opinions and ideas, as well as organizing special events.

Each year VSS will solicit nominations for new members of the Student-Postdoc Advisory Committee to replace three members who will be rolling off the Committee.

Stacey Aston

Durham University

Stacey Aston is a postdoctoral researcher in Durham University’s Psychology Department. In her research, she studies visual and multi-sensory information integration for human perception and decision making. Stacey joined SPC to have a positive impact on the VSS experience for student and postdoc members. She is sure that the newly formed SPC committee will be a valuable asset to the VSS team as they work to enrich the VSS program with many more development and networking opportunities.

Kathryn Bonnen (Chair)

New York University

Kathryn (Kate) Bonnen is a Simons Society postdoctoral fellow at New York University (NYU). She earned her bachelor’s degrees in computer science and psychology at Michigan State University and received a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to NYU, she was an ARVO/VSS scholar and visiting researcher in the Optometry School at the University California Berkeley. Her research focuses on motion perception, behavioral modelling, binocular processing, and sensorimotor control.

Matthew Boring (Record Keeper)

University of Pittsburgh

Matthew Boring is a fourth year PhD student from the University of Pittsburgh. He studies in Dr. Avniel Ghuman’s Laboratory of Cognitive Neurodynamics to understand how visual representations of objects evolve in the ventral stream and how these representations influence visual attention. Within the Student Postdoc Advisory Committee, Matthew is excited to improve VSS for trainees by establishing channels of communication between students, postdocs, and VSS organizing committees. By better understanding the desires and concerns of trainee members, it will be easier to develop programs that improve the value of VSS to them.

Cristina Ceja

Northwestern University

Cristina Ceja is a graduate student at Northwestern University pursuing a PhD in Psychology. She is interested in exploring the limits of our visual system in perceiving, processing, and updating visual representations. Currently, she studies how the visual system binds features to objects, and the role of visual attention in this binding process. As a member of the Student-Postdoc Advisory Committee (SPC), she looks forward to building on her existing outreach efforts and committee work dedicated to engaging and advocating for trainees.

Björn Jörges

York University

Björn finished his PhD at University of Barcelona and is currently doing a PostDoc at York University, Toronto, in a project funded by the Canadian Space Agency. His research is focused on the role of vestibular cues for visual perception and how we perceive moving objects while we ourselves are moving through the environment. He is furthermore convinced that open and diverse science is better science.

J. Brendan Ritchie (VSS Liaison)

National Institute of Mental Health

J. Brendan Ritchie, Ph.D, is a post-doctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Brain and Cognition at the National Institute of Mental Health (USA), where he is conducting research on the neural basis of visual categorization and category learning. Previously he was a post-doctoral fellow at KU Leuven (Belgium), a research associate at Macquarie University (Australia), and a graduate student at the University of Maryland (USA), where he obtained his doctoral degree. Brendan is excited to be a part of SPC, and wants to help make VSS more responsive to the interests of early career researchers in vision science.

Vision Sciences Society