Quantum Gravity in the Americas III
August 24-26, 2006

The first conference in this series was held in Mexico City in January, 2003 and the second was held at the Perimeter Institute, Canada in October 2004. The third conference will be hosted by the Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry and held in 320 Whitmore, Penn State (University Park Campus). As in the past, this conference will bring together researchers working on various approaches to Quantum Gravity, with particular emphasis on Loop Quantum Gravity and Spin Foams.

Conference Proceedings
Proceedings for the conference (slides and audio files) can be found here.

Registration
There is no registration fee. However, it is important that all participants register. The discussion format requires us to limit the total number of participants. Therefore early registration is highly recommended. Registration is now closed.

Campus Map showing the Conference Location
Conference Program and Information for Speakers

Scientific Advisory Committee Abhay Ashtekar (Chair), Martin Bojowald, Alejandro Corichi, Laurent Freidel, Jorge Pullin and Lee Smolin.

Local Organizing Committee Martin Bojowald (Chair), Abhay Ashtekar, Florian Conrady, Golam Hossain, Randi Neshteruk, Tomasz Pawlowski and Parampreet Singh.

Conference Description
The primary goal of this meeting is to critically review recent advances and set research directions for the near future. Therefore, this will be a Discussion Conference in which roughly half the total time will be devoted to discussions. The conference will be divided into six or so sessions, each with a Chair who has a good overview of the subject and a rapporteur who will be expected to present a balanced summary of recent advances. During the discussion period, participants will be encouraged to make short presentations. The topic, the duration and the order of these presentations will be determined in advance by the Chair. This Discussion format has been extremely successful in the past. Session titles and Chairs will be announced on the web-page by mid July. If you would like to make a short presentation, pl contact the appropriate Session Chair(s) immediately after that.

We anticipate approximately 50 participants, mostly from Canada, Mexico and the US. The conference will have no registration fee. Miscellaneous expenses such as those for break services will be borne by the Penn State Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry. The Institute will also provide partial support to a few researchers, especially from Central and South America. Applicants should send a CV and publication list (and, in case of younger researchers, two recommendation letters from senior scientists) to Randi Neshteruk ( , fax +1 (814) 863 9608) by July 28th. Decisions will be made the following week.

Hotel Information A block of 30 rooms is being held at Days Inn, Penn State for the nights of 23-26 August. PLEASE MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY ----AND IN ANY CASE BY JULY 23RD--- AS THEY ARE ON FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS. The hotel is within an easy walking distance from the Institute where the conference will take place:

Days Inn Penn State
240 South Pugh Street
State College, PA 16801
PHONE: (814) 238-8454
http://lioncountrylodging.com/daysinn/index.php
Toll free reservations can be made at 800-258-3297
or

The code for this event is IGPG/PSU Physics Department and reservations will need to be made no later than July 23. The flat rate (single or double occupancy) is $85 per night plus tax.

How to get to State College
The local airport is State College/University Park, Code SCE. For further details including airlines, rental car companies, taxis and driving instructions, see: http://igpg.gravity.psu.edu/visitors/How%20to%20Get%20to%20State%20College-Web.pdf