Guidelines for NESS students hosting a speaker

NOTE: If you have any questions about the hosting process, please ask Doris (doris at erc dot caltech dot edu) or the NESS official for the speaker series, currently Dirk Walther (walther at caltech dot edu). If you have questions or comments specifically pertaining to the content of this web page, contact the NESS website manager, currently Rob Peters (rjpeters at klab dot caltech dot edu).

Timeline

• Ca. 12-6 months ahead: contact speaker by email and clarify the date.
• Ask speaker to book the flight him/herself (reasonably priced, i.e. economy class, max. ~ $600, depending on location).
• As soon as dates are clear, notify Doris who then books a room at the Athenaeum.
• 2 weeks ahead: ask speaker to send an abstract of the talk, ask if he/she would like to meet any particular people at Caltech; if yes, write to those people.
• One week ahead: remind Doris to send out email and prepare posters advertising the talk and asking people if they would like to meet the speaker individually and/or for lunch on Monday. Specify to what group of people the talk might be of interest: ERC students & faculty (always), students and faculty in CNS, EE, CS, Biology, ME, ... Remind Doris to order refreshments for the Monday before the talk.
• Friday: remind Doris to re-send advertisement. Finalize the speaker’s schedule for Monday. Notify everybody who meets with the speaker (ca. 30-60 min slots) where the speaker is going to go next s.t. they can point him/her into the right direction. Make reservations at the Athenaeum (8200) for Monday's lunch.
• Saturday/Sunday: Often speakers will arrive on Saturday to avoid expensive airfares. In this case, make sure that they have company for lunch or/and dinner on Sunday; there are plenty of nice restaurants in and around Pasadena. The speaker should get a folder containing:
• His/her schedule for Monday
• A campus map (www.caltech.edu/map) with the relevant buildings marked (Athenaeum, BBB, Moore, evt. BI)
• Reimbursement forms
• Information on CNSE and NESS
• Information on Pasadena
Doris will usually compile this package as well as re-imbursement forms for the host. Make sure that the speaker knows how she/he can reach you.
• Monday: Make sure that the scheduled appointments during the day run smoothly.
• Noon: lunch at the Athenaeum with a number of interested people. The number of people joining in addition to you and the speaker should be limited to max. 8, because with more people no real conversation is possible.
• 3:30 pm: get the AV equipment bag from the BBB building manager (2^nd floor BBB); accompany the speaker to BBB 24 to set up audiovisual equipment and get refreshments (refreshments should be available from 3:45 at the latest)
• 4 pm: introduce the speaker to the audience, 4-5 pm talk.
• After talk, possibly more appointments for the speaker.
• Evening: go out for dinner with a few people (say, max. 5-6 total).
• Tuesday: If possible, the speaker should attend the Tuesday lunch meeting for further informal discussions with NESS students.

Reimbursements:

Both the speaker and the host will have to be reimbursed for expenses (travel expenses, meals etc.). There will be links to the appropriate forms on the web page. All expenses at the Athenaeum (lodging, lunch on Monday) are charged directly to the NESS Athenaeum account (which you can get from Doris). Expenses that are reimbursed include:

• Travel expenses (airfare and local transportation) – if justified this can include a rental car. For local speakers that come with their own cars, a mileage report needs to be submitted.
• Meals
• Lodging if it is not provided at the Athenaeum

Usually, the speaker should send his reimbursement forms with receipts once he/she is back home, because there will be expenses on the way back as well. Remind the speaker to keep all receipts (i.e. also super shuttle for instance)!

The hosting student needs to submit her/his own reimbursement forms for meals that she/he has paid for.