Announcement

The eleventh workshop will be held at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation ("MeSci" / Miraikan) in Tokyo, as a satellite workshop of ICSB 2006. (Please note the difference in cities. ICSB 2006 itself is in Yokohama, but all ICSB workshops are in Tokyo.)

Supported by:

• The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), USA (grant R13 GM072439).
• The New Energy Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan
• Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)

Agenda

The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a format for representing computational models in a way that can be used by different software systems to communicate and exchange those models. By supporting SBML as an input and output format, different software tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for errors in translation and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. SBML is by no means a perfect format, but it has proven useful and achieved widespread acceptance within the domain of modeling of biochemical reaction networks. The annual SBML Forum meeting is an opportunity for the SBML community to meet face-to-face and discuss developments in SBML as well as software systems for systems biology. SBML Forum Meetings include presentations by software developers, modelers and researchers on topics relevant to software for systems biology, as well as focused discussions about SBML itself.

Potential attendees are cautioned that these are working meetings that do not include tutorials about SBML. Interested persons are referred to the document online Documents and the sbml-discuss mailing list for answers to more basic questions about SBML.

Attendance

Please use the SBML Forum registration page to let us you know you are planning on attending the meeting. There is no registration fee.

We will provide free coffee, tea and cookies at breaks, as well as some printed materials. Meals, transportation and lodging are the responsibility of attendees. Although we are unable to provide travel support, we hope that attendees can obtain support from their institutions as part of their overall attendance at ICSB 2006.

There will be a block of time available during the meeting for people to give short presentations (5-10 minutes) to the audience on the following topics: SBML-enabled applications, the use of SBML to integrate different applications, proposals for SBML extensions, proposals for standards that complement SBML, announcements of software or standards or events of interest to SBML users and general experiences of using SBML "in the field." If you would like to make such a presentation, please use the registration form mentioned above to supply us with a title, presenter(s)'s name(s), institutional affiliation(s) and 75-word summary of the content.

Location

Note: the meeting venue is not the same as that of ICSB 2006, but it is the same location as other post-ICSB workshops will be held.

Workshop site

National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation "MeSci" (in Japanese "Miraikan") , Conference room 1 and 2 on floor 7. Please see the MeSci floor plan for details.

Hotel accommodations

We suggest the Hotel Villa Fontaine Shiodome, 1-9-2 Higashi Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-0021, tel: +81-(0)3 3569-2220 fax: +81-(0)3 3569-2111. We have used this hotel in the past; it is modern, inexpensive, located right next to a major subway hub and a shopping mall, and provides free breakfast and free in-room wired internet.

Transportation

To and from airports

Do not take a taxi from Narita airport! Narita Airport is 1.5 hours away from Tokyo and a taxi will cost you a small fortune. The following are better options:

• Bus (Airport Limousine Bus)
  • This will take you directly from the airport to the hotel. You get out at the Royal Park Shiodome Tower. The hotel is on the opposite side of the Shiodome subway station from the Villa Fontaine, so you will need to walk on a raised platform walkway across and over the subway lines and a traffic intersection.
  • Here is a Narita → Shiodome Area Scheduled Service Time Table for the Limousine Bus.

• Rail line to a subway station followed by subway to Shiodome station. The following are trains from the airport:
  • JR—East Japan Railway Company
  • Keisei-line Skyliner/Express
    • Narita Airport - (Keisei Skyliner) - Nippori - (JR Yamanote line) - Shinbashi
    • Narita Airport -(Keisei Express)- Oshigami - (Toei Airport Express) - Shinbashi - (Yurikamome) - Shiodome

From the hotel to the venue

We have written a page of detailed directions. We recommend that you print this page and bring it with you.

In summary, getting from the Hotel Villa Fontaine Shiodome involves taking the Yurikamome line subway from Shiodome station (cost: 370 Yen one way), for 15-20 minutes to the "Fune-no-Kagakukan" station. From there it is a 5-10 minute walk to MeSci.

From the hotel to subways & trains

• From JR Shinbashi Station: 6min walk
• From Yurikamome Shiodome station: 1min walk

To and from the meeting venue

• Miraikan Area Maps: http://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/e/guide/map_index.html

Air travel security

Restrictions on carry-on items have been increased dramatically. For current information on what is and is-not permitted on US and UK flights (for flights originating in other countries, please check the local restrictions):

• UK Department for Transport - measures implemented at UK airports and for UK-bound flights
• US Transportation Safety Administration - measures implemented at US airports and for US-bound flights

Other notes

Visa requirements: See http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/02.html#a

Electricity: If you are traveling from outside Japan, be sure and bring an appropriate power plug converter for your laptop -- or any other electrical devices you're bringing. It may be possible to buy converters at the shops around the hotel, but the supply is not guaranteed, nor is it assured they will have the right type for everyone. Japanese electrical current is 50 Hz, 100 V. See http://kropla.com/electric2.htm or http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/essential/electricity.html/ for information on power and plugs in Japan.

Time differences, money, customs, climate, consulates, embassies and more: http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/essential/

Contacts