VSS is now accepting abstracts to be considered for poster and talk presentations at the VSS 2018 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 2018) in good standing and must sign up for membership before submitting.

For more information on the VSS 2018 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 1, 2017

Decisions will be made by February 9, 2018. Please direct any questions to .

VSS is seeking unique and creative visual images to be used for the cover of the 2018 VSS printed program, signage, badges, and tote bags, as well as for the 2018 t-shirts. There will be two separate graphic competitions: T-Shirt Design Competition and Program Cover Competition.

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 at http://www.visionsciences.org/graphics-competition/ .

The deadline for submitting images is December 14, 2017.

The purpose of this message is to alert you to the Call for Symposia for the 2018 VSS meeting. Proposals will be accepted beginning October 2 until November 7.

VSS is seeking proposals for symposia to be held during the 2018 VSS Annual Meeting, which begins Friday, May 18, 2018. Four to six symposia will be scheduled, with two parallel programs in each two-hour time slot.

Symposia should deal with contemporary research topics in vision research. Symposia can be organized along the lines of content (e.g., neural bases of object recognition, attentional mechanisms, etc.) or methodology (e.g., classification images, TMS, etc.), but in every case talks within a symposium should focus on broader conceptual themes than a typical VSS presentation. The recommended format is for four or five individual talks. Discussion time can be scheduled according to the organizers’ discretion (e.g., after individual talks, concentrated at the end of a session, or a mixture of the two approaches), and both talk length and how discussion will be organized should be specified as part of the proposal. Other formats will be considered, but proposals for other formats should include a clear rationale. Symposia often benefit from a diversity of perspectives and institutional affiliations. Proposals from young investigators are encouraged.

The symposium organizer must be a current VSS member, but invited speakers are not required to be VSS 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.

Organizers must ensure that all speakers are committed to participating in the symposium before submitting a proposal, and organizers must also ensure that speakers have not agreed to participate in more than one symposium. If a symposium talk has more than one author, it must be presented by the first author. For each speaker, please provide up to three references to published articles relevant to the proposed talk.

Proposals will be evaluated by the VSS Board of Directors using a variety of criteria including scientific merit, timeliness, theoretical innovation and breadth, methodological innovation, lack of overlap with the regular program, and diversity of the speakers.

Congratulations to Laurie Wilcox, Centre for Vision Research at York University, Toronto and Mike Webster, University of Nevada, Reno. They have been elected by the VSS membership to serve on the VSS Board of Directors. Their four-year term will begin in June, 2017.

Laurie Wilcox

Mike Webster ​

Dear VSS 2017 Registrant,

Thank you for registering to attend VSS 2017. You can pick up your badge and meeting materials at the VSS Registration desk beginning at 4:00 pm on Thursday May 18th located in the Grand Palm Colonnade of the TradeWinds Island Grand.

In an effort to ensure the best experience possible for all of our attendees, we would like to know whether you require vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free meals. Although we always include these options at every event, your input will give us a better sense of quantities for ordering. Also, please let us know if you have medically necessary food restrictions. Please email us at at your earliest opportunity.

We look forward to seeing you in Florida!

PDFs of the VSS 2017 Program and Abstract Books are available for download.

New this Year: “Connect with Industry Reps Who Are Hiring”

VSS would like to help facilitate interactions between industry reps and VSS members seeking industry jobs in vision science. Representatives from Meta Co., Exponent, SR Research and Oculus will be on hand during the Saturday and Sunday morning coffee breaks to discuss open positions for vision scientists in their companies. The reps are happy to answer questions about working in industry as a vision scientist.
“Connect with Industry Reps Who are Hiring” will take place in Banyan/Citrus (Jacaranda Hall) on both Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21 from 9:45 – 10:30 am. There is no need to register in advance.

Coffee and refreshments will be available

 

2017 VSS PhD Student and Postdoc Workshops

VSS is pleased to offer the following PhD Student and Postdoc Workshops this year:

Reviewing and Responding to Review
Sunday, May 21, 2017, 1:00 – 2:00 pm, Sabal/Sawgrass (Jacaranda Hall)
Moderator: Jeremy Wolfe
Panelists: David H. Foster, Isabel Gauthier, Cathleen Moore, Jeremy Wolfe

Careers in Industry and Government
Sunday, May 21, 2017, 1:00 – 2:00 pm, Jasmine/Palm (Jacaranda Hall)
Moderator: David Brainard
Panelists: Kurt Debono, Kevin MacKenzie, Alex Smolyanskaya, Cheri Wiggs, David Brainard

To learn more about each workshop, please see Student Workshops.

 

Second Annual “Meet the Professors”

Students and postdocs are invited to the second annual “Meet the Professors” event, Monday afternoon from 4:45 to 6:00 pm, immediately preceding the VSS Dinner and Demo Night. This is an opportunity for a free-wheeling, open-ended discussion with members of the VSS Board and other professors. You might chat about science, the annual meeting, building a career, or whatever comes up.
Participants must pre-register by clicking the button below. This year, the event will consist of two 30-minute sessions separated by a 15-minute snack break. Please select a different professor for each session. Space is limited and is assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information about the event, please go to Meet the Professors.

Register for “Meet the Professors”

Access All Program Information from Your Mobile Device

The VSS 2017 program is available in two electronic formats.

SmartPhone App
Compatibility: iPhone 5 or greater, running the latest iOS
No internet required after installation
The SmartPhone app, once downloaded, requires no internet connection. The app offers a program schedule, attendee directory, presenter directory and the ability to bookmark sessions and presentations, take notes and flag your favorites.
Installation Instructions:
1. Download and install the MA eEvent app from the Apple App Store: Download the App
2. Activate the app using one of the two following options:
Option 1: Enter “vss2017” as the username and password.
Option 2: Use the “scan event QR code option” and the QR code below.
NOTE: If you already have the app installed from the 2016 meeting, you will need to “Reset Meeting ID” first, before activating for 2017. The “Reset Meeting ID” option can be found inside the MA eEvent app, on the left menu.

Mobile Web App
Compatibility: All devices
Requires Internet
The mobile web app is compatible with all devices and allows you to view/search the full meeting program. In addition, you may access additional features such as an attendee directory, speaker directory and additional meeting information.
Access the Mobile Web App at: http://visionsciences1.org/vss_public/mobile/index.php
Log in with your VSS user name and password.

Pre-Registration Closes in Two Days!
After this Wednesday, the increased onsite registration rates will apply.

Register Now and Save!

Congratulations to the 2017 ARVO/VSS Research Fellowship Recipient:
Kathryn Bonnen, University of Texas at Austin

Kathryn Bonnen will apply her training in the perception of 3-dimensional motion and sensorimotor control to investigate how individuals with amblyopia use vision to guide action in everyday tasks.

The purpose of the ARVO/VSS Research Fellowship is to encourage and foster new collaborations between clinical and basic vision researchers to better train young scientists in the area of translational research. These fellowships will provide research funds to support students who wish to acquire training in a cross-disciplinary lab to promote their ability to perform translational research and compete for research funding as their career matures. In concept, trainees working in a clinical environment but desiring a career in translational research would benefit from a mentored program in a more basic science lab and a trainee in a basic research environment would benefit from a mentored program in a lab conducting translational research in a clinical environment.

Each year one or two $5,000 ARVO/VSS Research Fellowships will be offered. The goal is to fund one fellowship for an ARVO member-in-training who would benefit from training with a VSS member and one for a VSS member-in-training who would benefit from training with an ARVO member.