Message from the General Chair: S&P 2012

This is the 33rd Year of the Symposium - and the first time we have moved from our longstanding comfortable home at the Claremont Hotel. For the past few years the success of the conference and the growth of our community meant that more people wanted to attend than we could admit, and so it was with a heavy heart that the community voted to move to a new, larger venue. At that meeting the community voted to make two additional changes to the conference too - admit more papers (provided quality could be maintained) and obtain a more lenient copyright agreement. The Chair is happy to report that we met all three of these goals. So while I´m welcoming you to the 33rd year, I want to also welcome you to a new beginning. This year (and next year) we are in San Francisco at the Westin St. Francis, which supports significant growth. The conference lasts three full days, adding a half-day to support the additional papers that the program committee selected. This year features a panel session Wednesday afternoon that will look forward while looking back. The workshops that have followed the Symposium are now run independently, but we support connections by offering each a poster presentation on Monday evening, and by running to the end of the day on Wednesday.