VSS is pleased to announce that the 17th Annual Visual Demos Evening at VSS will be held on Monday, May 20, 2019, from 6:00 – 10:00 pm at the TradeWinds Island Resorts, St. Pete Beach. Demo Night is a celebration of vision science featuring demonstrations of visual phenomena, both old and new. Join us for a Demo Night Beach BBQ from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, followed by demos inside the Island Ballroom from 7:00 – 10:00 pm.

The Demo Night committee is seeking submissions of particularly dramatic, provocative, educational, and entertaining demonstrations of visual phenomena. There is no requirement that the demos be novel. Submissions that highlight classic effects are welcome. We encourage submissions of large-scale demonstrations that transcend the bounds of the tabletop, such as immersive experiences and also ones that are “physical” and do not rely on computer graphics.

VSS and the TradeWinds Island Resorts can provide tables, electrical outlets, some wall space and/or screens for projections, and poster boards upon request. The organizers will help coordinate special needs (e.g., theatrical lighting) on a case-by-case basis. Each presenter will be responsible for bringing and setting up any other necessary equipment for their own demos, including data projectors and other displays.

If you have a demo that you would like to present for Demo Night, please fill out the submission form located on the VSS website no later than March 14, 2018.

This year’s Demo Night will be organized and curated by Gideon Caplovitz, University of Nevada, Reno; Karen Schloss, University of Wisconsin; Gennady Erlikhman, University of Nevada, Reno; and Benjamin Wolfe, MIT.

Each year, nominations are solicited for two 4-year positions on the Vision Sciences Society Board of Directors. The Board’s responsibilities include scheduling the Annual Meeting, implementing and monitoring VSS policies, budget oversight, and other organizational activities. The Board meets twice a year, during the Annual Meeting and in late January.

Any regular VSS member in good standing may be nominated, with the exception of individuals now on the Board or who have served on the board within the last four years.

For more information about the nomination procedure, selection of the slate of candidates, and a list of the current Board of Directors, click here.

VSS has negotiated special room rates for the TradeWinds Island Grand and Guy Harvey Outpost hotels. Discount rates are available from May 13 – 24, 2019.

The deadline to reserve a hotel room is April 13, 2019 or until the VSS room block is sold out.

In addition, VSS is pleased to offer a limited number of Government Rate rooms at the Guy Harvey. Click here for more information.

Be sure to make your reservations early–the hotels do sell out!

For detailed room information and a reservations link, go to Accommodations.

VSS is seeking unique and creative visual images to be used for the cover of the 2019 VSS printed program, signage, badges, and tote bags, as well as for the 2019 t-shirts.

There will be two separate graphic competitions:
• T-Shirt Design
• Program Cover

The content of the entries is open-ended, in that the images may relate to submitted scientific work, VSS in general, or St. Pete Beach and the surrounding area. The image may also be an alteration of the VSS Logo.

A $350 prize will be given to the winner of each competition.

In order to submit an image for consideration, you must be a current VSS member. Instructions on how to submit, image specifications, and graphics from previous years can be found here.

The deadline for submitting images is December 14, 2018.

Call for Abstracts

VSS is now accepting abstracts to be considered for poster and talk presentations at the VSS 2019 Meeting. Abstracts should be submitted through MyVSS. Each individual may submit only one abstract and must be the first author. The first author must be a current VSS member (for 2019) in good standing and must sign up for membership before submitting. VSS will arrange for alternate means of presentation in cases where unavoidable visa restrictions prevent the first author from attending the meeting.

For more information on the VSS 2019 abstract submission process, go to Abstract Submissions. To renew your membership, log into your account at MyVSS. Also, please take this opportunity to update your personal information in your profile (address, affiliation, etc.). If you are not a current VSS member, you may become a member by going to Membership. Accepted abstracts will be published in the meeting program and in the online Journal of Vision.

Submission Deadline: December 3, 2018

Decisions will be made by February 4, 2019. Please direct any questions to .

Call for Symposia

VSS is currently seeking proposals for symposia to be held during the 2019 VSS Annual Meeting. Four to six symposia will be scheduled, each lasting two hours.

VSS Symposia deal with contemporary research topics in vision research. Symposia can be organized by content area or by method, but talks within a symposium should focus on broader conceptual themes than a typical VSS presentation. There should be at least four but no more than five speakers within a symposium session, and each talk should be scheduled for between 20 and 30 minutes, including time for discussion. Discussion time can be scheduled after individual talks and/or at the end of the session.

The symposium organizer must be a 2019 VSS member, but invited speakers need not be members. All speakers are required to register for the meeting. Submitting a symposium proposal and/or speaking in a symposium does not prevent you from submitting an abstract for a talk or poster presentation at VSS. Complete submission instructions and how to submit a proposal can be found at Symposium Submissions. The quality of the speakers is important to a symposium, so scheduled speakers may not be substituted, even by coauthors. By submitting a symposium proposal, the organizers agree that all speakers will participate in the symposium and that speakers have not committed to participate in more than one symposium.

Symposia will be selected by the VSS Board of Directors on the basis of scientific merit, timeliness, theoretical innovation and/or breadth, methodological innovation and/or diversity, and overlap (less being better) with last year’s symposia and with the regular program. Symposia often benefit from a diversity of perspective and institutional affiliations. Proposals from young investigators are particularly encouraged.

For more information about submitting a symposium proposal, go to Symposium Submissions.

Proposal Deadline: November 9, 2018

Decisions will be made by November 27, 2018. Please direct any questions to .