Program

The 2009 GECCO schedule appears to have been changed to Wednesday through Sunday, not Saturday through Wednesday, as has been the tradition. Is this true?

Yes, this year GECCO will be held WEDNESDAY to SUNDAY, not the traditional Saturday through Wednesday.

Will the workshops and tutorials continue to be on the first two days of the conference, which are now Wednesday and Thursday?

Yes, WORKSHOPS and TUTORIALS will be on the FIRST TWO DAYS of the
conference, Wednesday and Thursday.

Registration

Who is eligible for the student rate?

Full time students (post-grad, graduate, undergraduate, and high school) are eligible for the student rate. You will need to send your proof of full time student status to registration support, Jill Skuba,

What is proof of full time student status?

Proof of full time student status can be a scan of your student ID, or a letter or other document from your professor or university that states you are a full time student. A copy of your class schedule is not a valid form of proof.

Is there a discount on registration rates for GECCO presenters?

No. The only registration discount available is to ACM or SIGEVO members.

Is there a discount on registration rates for GECCO workshop organizers?

No. The only registration discount available is to ACM or SIGEVO members.

What is the registration requirement for workshop organizers?

ALL organizers must register for the GECCO-2009 conference. That means, if your name is advertised on the conference website as a workshop organizer, the conference expects that you will register and attend.

Is there a discount for group registration?

No. The only registration discount available is to ACM or SIGEVO members.

How do I register?

Register online at: http://www.regonline.com/gecco2009

or by Phone: 1-888-526-1242 (toll free within the U.S.), +1-303-530-4683 (from outside the U.S.)

What is the registration requirement for authors of accepted papers?

GECCO requires at least one author of each accepted paper (the presenting author) to complete a paid registration by the author registration deadline. GECCO requires at least one author to register and attend the conference, so that someone is at the conference to present the research.

My paper has more than one author - do all authors have to register?

No. All authors are not required to register. Only one author is required to register. However, anyone who attends the conference is required to pay a registration.

If an accepted paper has more than one author, and more than one of those authors will attend the conference, then each author who attends the conference must pay a registration. Only the presenting author must register by the deadline; the other authors do not have a deadline to register.

I am the presenting author for more than one accepted paper - do I have to register once for each paper I present?

No. If an author is the presenting author for more than one accepted paper, the presenting author pays only one registration.

My paper was accepted; what happens if I don't register?

If none of the authors of your paper have completed a paid registration by the author registration deadline, your paper will be removed from the proceedings.

I registered, but I can't attend the conference - may I have a refund?

No cancellations or refunds will be given, but a registered individual may transfer their registration to either their self for GECCO 2010, or to another person for GECCO 2009. In either case, the registered individual must make the request for the transfer to Registration Support prior to the start of the conference. A registration is for one person, and may not be shared among individuals.

GECCO Student Travel Grants

How are Student Travel Grant decisions made?

Applications open after paper review decisions are sent out. Once the application deadline passes, no more applications are accepted. The committee uses a program to make the decisions, which are based upon participation in GECCO - students with accepted full papers and student workshop papers have priority. The program also takes into consideration how many timezones someone is traveling.

What is proof of full time student status?

Proof of full time student status can be a scan of your student ID, or a letter or other document from your professor or university that states you are a full time student. A copy of your class schedule is not a valid form of proof.

What are "original receipts"?

Original receipts are the actual pieces of paper that you receive in exchange for paying for something like a hotel room or food.

I plan to arrive early/extend my stay in the conference city. When I send in my airline ticket receipt, does it matter what the arrival/return date is?

It doesn't matter when your arrival or return date is, as long as the conference dates are within your arrival and departure dates.

What receipts do I send in if I plan to use my airline ticket to claim my travel grant?

To use your airline ticket to claim your travel grant, send in the receipt showing the total amount of the ticket (for example, a printout of the email receipt) and your original boarding pass, that shows you left from your starting point, and boarded the plane for the trip described on your receipt.

What receipts, other than airline tickets, are acceptable to claim my travel grant?

Acceptable receipts include food, hotel, taxi, train, bus, car rental.

Does it matter what the dates are on my original receipts?

Receipts other than for your airline tickets must have a date that coincides with traveling to or from the conference, or on conference days.   For example, since GECCO 2009 will be held from July 8 -12, 2009, receipts other than for airline travel must be dated between July 7, 2009 and July 13, 2009.

Does my travel grant cover my conference registration fee?

No. Conference registration fees are not reimbursed by student travel grants.

Am I able to transfer my travel grant to another student?

No. GECCO student travel grants are not transferable.

My coauthor and I each received a travel grant. My coauthor can not come to the conference. Are we able to combine our grants into one for me?

No. GECCO student travel grants are not combinable.

My airline ticket receipt is not in US dollars. Am I able to still use my airline ticket to claim my travel grant?

Yes. There will be no problem with your airline receipt in a currency other than US dollars. We will convert the amount to US dollars for our records.

I missed the application deadline - am I able to still apply for a travel grant?

No. We are sorry, the travel grant program can not accept late applications.

Who funds GECCO travel grants?

The grant money comes from donations from ACM SIGEVO, private companies and corporations, so there is a limited amount of money each year.

Does a travel grant fully fund the budget I put on the application?

No. No student is fully funded.

Thank you for the grant, but it is not enough. Is there a way to increase my grant?

We appreciate that it is disappointing that the grant doesn't cover all travel expenses, but, given the constraints the Conference Chair and Business Committee work with, it is the best that we can do.

The grant money comes from donations from private companies and corporations, so there is a limited amount of money each year. The Conference Chair and Business Committee expend considerable effort each year to obtain these donations. The Committee allocates grants based on the kind of presentations made (accepted paper, poster, student workshop paper), as well as how far the applicant has to travel. No student is fully funded. Some students who apply receive no grant at all.

How can I help the GECCO student travel grant fund?

The grant money comes from donations from private companies and corporations. If you know of a company who might want to support the grants, contact the Conference Chair.

I was awarded a travel grant - how do I receive the check?

To receive your check, submit an expense report, with original receipts, by Friday August 21, 2009 to:

     ACM / GECCO Student Travel Grants
     Attention: Stephanie Smith
     2 Penn Plaza, Suite 701
     New York, New York 10121
     USA

Please note it can take 3-6 weeks for you to receive your check from ACM headquarters.

What is an expense report? Is there a special form?

An expense report is a listing of each receipt you submit: the receipt date, description, amount, and a grand total. There is no special form.

Is it possible to claim a portion of an expense, up to the grant limit? For example, my hotel bill takes me over the grant limit, but could I claim back as much of the hotel bill as the grant will cover?

Yes, you may submit receipts that total more than your grant amount. You will be reimbursed for as much of the receipts as the grant covers. You will not receive a check for more than your grant amount.

Some of my meals were shared. How do I submit the receipt for my meal?

Mark the receipts to highlight your own food.

How do I submit one receipt to two funding sources? I have a GECCO student travel grant and also funding from another source. My flight ticket cost more than the travel grant, so I am required to submit that receipt to my other funding source too.

Submit a printout of your airline ticket receipt, along with a copy of your boarding pass for your journey TO the conference, and a statement that you have more than one funding source. GECCO staff will be able to verify that you attended the conference, and will approve your grant check.

Papers

What is the difference between accepted as paper and accepted as poster?

Papers accepted as a paper will be published as full, 8-page papers, and will be scheduled for individual oral presentation during the conference. Papers accepted as a poster will be published as a 2-page abstract, are not scheduled for individual presentation, but are presented informally during the evening Poster Session. Both full papers and posters are published in the GECCO Proceedings.

My paper was accepted as a poster - is the 2-page length of the abstract mandatory or may I use more space.

Accepted posters have a mandatory 2-page limit.

My paper was accepted as a poster - is it mandatory to include the introductory sections on the ACM template (Abstract, Categories, General Terms, Keywords)?

Yes, if your paper was accepted as a poster, it is mandatory to include the introductory sections on the ACM template (Abstract, Categories, General Terms, Keywords).

For the final, camera ready files for my accepted paper or poster, may I choose the fonts and font sizes, or do I have to follow other directives?

All final files submitted to Sheridan to be included in the proceedings and companion material MUST use and follow the provided ACM template, including fonts, font sizes, page size (US LETTER), page margins, and all other template specifications.

What are the choices for terms in the ACM mandatory section "ACM Categories & Subject Descriptors"?

The ACM Computing Classification Scheme is available at: http://www.acm.org/class/1998/.

What are the choices for terms in the ACM mandatory section "General Terms"?

This section is limited to the following 16 terms and MUST be chosen properly on the submission page and appear on the first page of your paper: Algorithms, Design, Documentation, Economics, Experimentation, Human Factors, Languages, Legal Aspects, Management, Measurement, Performance, Reliability, Security, Standardization, Theory, Verification.

What are the choices for terms in the "Keywords" section?

This section is your choice of the terms by which you would like your paper to be indexed.

How do I know whether to fill out a copyright form or a permission to publish form?

The Sheridan system will automatically generate the correct form for the paper you submit. The following accepted papers receive the following forms:
-Full paper (8 pages): copyright form
-Poster (2 pages): permission to publish form
-Student workshop paper (6 pages): permission to publish form
-Workshop paper (8 pages): copyright form
-Late Breaking Papers (6 pages): permission to publish form

My paper was accepted - now what happens?

Once your paper is accepted, whether a full paper accepted under the double-blind review, a poster, a workshop or student workshop paper, or late breaking paper, you will prepare and submit final files to Sheridan Printing Company.
Sheridan, our ACM publisher, will send detailed instructions about submitting final files and completing the appropriate copyright or permission to publish form to your CONTACT AUTHOR.
After you submit your final files to Sheridan, your CONTACT AUTHOR should monitor email for messages from Sheridan: either that the files were approved, or that the files require format corrections.

Proceedings

How do I buy proceedings?

You will find that information on this Proceedings page.

Are GECCO Proceedings available online?

The GECCO Proceedings beginning in 2005 are available online at the ACM Digital Library. If you are a SIGEVO member or an ACM member, you may access the GECCO Proceedings in the Digital Library.

Where will the proceedings be indexed?

ACM will submit the conference Proceedings to ISI for indexing. All other ACM SIGEVO conference proceedings are indexed by ISI, so it is the expectation that GECCO Proceedings will also be, as the GECCO Proceedings also meet the criteria for indexing by ISI.

The printed index product from ISI is called ISTP, and the on-line version is now called the Proceedings Citation Index (PCI). The PCI is included in the Web of Science product. ACM Proceedings are also completely indexed in SCOPUS.

ACM Proceedings are also included in ACM's Guided to Computing Literature, an on-line bibliographic database that indexes ACM's own publications and those of other major publishers in computer science. It is also a citation index with author profiles showing citation statistics as well as download usage for all the full text articles in the ACM Digital Library.

Because ACM's conference proceedings are published as volumes, not journals, they cannot be included in SCI (or SCIE), because those are JOURNAL indices, so conference proceedings published as volumes are not eligible for indexing there. That is no reflection on the quality of the conference proceedings.

HELP

To propose a tutorial, contact Martin V. Butz at . Please include "GECCO" in your subject line.

To propose a workshop, contact Anna I. Esparcia at . Please include "GECCO" in your subject line.

For matters of science and program content, contact Conference Chair Franz Rothlauf at

For general help and administrative matters contact Support at