Call for Proposals
Session, town hall, and pre-conference workshop proposals are invited for topics across a broad range of scientific disciplines, as well as content that ties in with the AGU24 theme, “What’s Next for Science”- including topics such as diversity, inclusion and ethics; open and fair data; new technologies; engineering and design; and science communication.
Session, town hall, and pre-conference workshop proposals will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. ET on 24 April 2024. Abstract submissions will open in mid-June and will close on 31 July.
Scientific Sessions
The proposal guidelines are provided to help inform your submission. Detailed proposal requirements are included on the proposal submission site.
Please keep these items in mind.
- It is not possible to request an oral session. The program committee will assign final session formats and not all sessions will receive an oral component, but conveners may propose a poster-only session.
- Session proposals should concisely describe the session's scientific and topical relevance. Sessions can focus on scientific results, their applications, or the impact of Earth and space science on society. The program committee generally will not consider:
- Proposals that are celebratory or honorary in nature. Sessions cannot be in tribute to a specific person or contain the name of a scientist in the session title. Names can be used in the description when used in context with scientific results and focused on the person’s contribution to the field overall.
- Proposals that are primarily advertisements of commercial products and services, or that contain the name of a specific experiment in the title or description. Opportunities to exhibit or sponsor activities at AGU24 will be available soon.
- Primary conveners must be current 2024 AGU members.
- Primary conveners who are members of an affiliated society/organization and primary conveners who are non-geoscientists may request a membership waiver.
- All first authors, including invited authors, who submit an abstract to a session are subject to the AGU membership fee and abstract submission fee. The presenter must also pay the meeting registration fee.
- Conveners may submit multiple proposals, but we ask that you ensure the topics differ and span across sections.
- The program committee may ask that similar session proposals merge to avoid duplication in the meeting’s scientific program. They may also ask conveners to revise a session proposal description. Following the proposal deadline, the program committee will reach out to conveners to make these requests if needed.
- AGU expects that at least one session chair will be onsite in Washington, D.C. to chair in-person sessions. Session chairs do not need to be listed as conveners.
- Review key session submission policies
- Review AGU's Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics Policy.
- Review current submitted proposals to ensure your proposed content will not significantly overlap with other sessions.
- Review the details for each proposal type.
- Proofread your proposal.
- Conveners must be available in May and August to respond to any inquiries from the program committee.
- If you submit a proposal, you will be notified of acceptance or rejection in mid-June.
- After session submissions and after abstract submissions, the program committee reserves the right to:
- Reject or merge multiple proposals submitted by the same convener(s) on related topics or across sections.
- Move sessions and/or abstracts to another appropriate AGU section.
- Notify conveners if sessions on similar topics need to be merged or have their descriptions revised.
- Request that conveners revise the session title and/or description.
- Accepted sessions will be open to receive abstract submissions from mid-June through 31 July. This deadline is strictly enforced.
- Conveners are responsible for ensuring that the abstracts submitted to their session are topically appropriate and should work with the program committee to transfer abstracts to a better suited session or is not appropriate for the meeting.
- Promotional resources for session conveners will be available in mid-June.
- The final decision on your allocated session type (i.e., oral, poster, or eLightning session OR a combination of the three formats) and schedule will be made by the program committee.
- Oral session allocations are not guaranteed.
- Conveners will be informed of their session type allocations in late August.
- During the scheduling period, conveners who are AGU members can log into the abstract management site to:
- Begin thorough abstract reviews.
- Arrange the order of their abstracts within allocated sessions.
- Assign session chairs (do not have to be existing session conveners to each allocated session).
- Designate a liaison for the Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA) for your session. OSPA liaisons are responsible for recruiting volunteer reviewers and ensuring each OSPA presenter in your session has three evaluations. When designating your OSPA liaison, please confirm with your colleague that they can fulfill this role and please do not assign this role to a student.
- Conveners will be informed of their session’s scheduled date and time when the online meeting program is released in early October.
- Session conveners may not be the first author or presenting author on an invited abstract in the session they are convening, but:
- Conveners can submit contributed abstracts to be presented as a poster in their own session.
- Conveners may be invited authors in other sessions.
- EXCEPTION: Student and early career conveners are exempt from this rule and may be scheduled as oral presentations in their own sessions.
- Over 65% of abstracts will be scheduled in poster sessions. Not all accepted sessions will receive an oral allocation from the program committee and conveners should not promise an oral presentation to invited authors.
- If your proposal is accepted, conveners may invite up to two authors to submit abstracts to your session once abstract submissions open in June. Union sessions do not have an invited author limit, however a maximum of eight authors is recommended.
- Detailed policies and instructions for inviting authors will be posted in June.
- AGU’s main objectives for allowing invited authors include:
- Raising the profile of a session.
- Enticing authors who would not otherwise submit an abstract to a session.
- Enhancing diversity or interdisciplinary perspectives
- Featuring early-career scientists.
To find and invite authors with varied knowledge and experiences, we recommend utilizing your community networks and the resources below. These lists are merely starting points since they are not comprehensive resources and only include scientists who agree to have their names included.
- Diverse Sources
- 500 Women Scientists
- 500 Queer Scientists
- Women's Media Center She Source
- PLZ Diversify Your Panel
- Black Creators/Scientists/Educators/SciCommers
- Geosciences of Color
- Databases of Diverse Speakers in STEM
- The Water Researchers of Color (WaterPOC)
Invited authors must pay all fees associated with attending the meeting, including membership fees, abstract submission fees and online or in-person meeting registration.
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Town Halls
Proposed by the AGU community (including AGU staff) and open to all meeting participants, these one-hour sessions are designed for:
- Collecting feedback or raising awareness about particular initiatives, programs or special projects.
- Delivering updates and gathering input about government agency initiatives, academic programs, special projects and other focused interest groups for the broader AGU community.
- Roundtable or panel discussion formats.
Proposals are due by 24 April (23:59 EDT/03:59 +1 GMT).
- Proposals that are primarily advertisements of commercial products and services, or that contain the name of a specific experiment in the title or description. (For opportunities to exhibit or sponsor activities at AGU24, please see the Exhibit page.)
- Proposals that duplicate scientific session formats or are in place of ancillary event requests.
- Primary contacts/submitters must be current 2024 AGU members. Submitters who are members of an affiliated society/organization and submitters who are non-geoscientists may request a membership waiver.
- Submitters may submit more than one proposal, but we ask that you ensure the topics are different.
- AGU expects that at least one moderator will be on-site in Washington, D.C. to chair in-person sessions.
- The program committee may ask that similar proposals merge to avoid duplication in the meeting’s scientific program. They may also ask submitters to revise a proposal description. Following the proposal deadline, the program committee will reach out to primary contacts/submitters to make these requests if needed.
- Reject or merge multiple proposals submitted by the same submitter(s) or groups on related topics or across sections.
- Move proposal to another AGU program.
- Request that conveners revise the proposal title and/or description.
- The program committee will notify primary contacts/submitters if town hall proposals need to be merged or have their descriptions revised.
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Pre-Conference Workshops
Proposed by the AGU community, these workshops (formerly scientific workshops) are designed to give participants opportunities to develop relevant skills and knowledge and how they can apply those skills and knowledge in their own contexts. All pre-conference workshop proposals need to include a description, intended learning outcomes, and a plan for active participant engagement and learning.
These are separately ticketed events held outside the regular conference schedule. A limited number of workshops will be accepted.
Pre-conference workshops:
- May be proposed by anyone in the AGU community, including AGU staff.
- Provide an in-depth opportunity for participants to actively develop and practice applicable knowledge and skills.
- Align with one of the AGU Workshop Learning Focus Topics (see below).
- Are either full-day (up to 7 hours with breaks) sessions (Long) or half-day (up to 3.5 hours with breaks) sessions (Short).
- Will include clearly defined learning outcomes, target audience, and active learning opportunities.
- Facilitated by 1 or more people.
- Require a separate registration for all workshop attendees.
- Be scheduled in-person only in Washington, D.C. (no hybrid option) on the Sunday prior to the start of meeting.
Learning Focus Topics:
- Each workshop proposal should emphasize one of the following topics:
- Practical Skills for Science: Focuses on teaching practical skills (i.e. research, grant writing, finding funding, interdisciplinary research skills, etc.) that advance participants’ research and career capacities. Can be for either discipline specific audiences or broader audiences.
- Technical Skills for Science: Focuses on specific technical skills (software, coding, hardware, or other tools to advance science). Can be for either discipline specific audiences or broader audiences.
Pre-conference workshop proposals are due on 24 April (23:59 EDT/03:59 +1 GMT).
- Note: These workshops should teach specific skills and competencies and should not be used to sell a particular product. AGU expects that all facilitators will be on-site in Washington, D.C. for in-person sessions.
- Submitters must be current 2024 AGU members. Submitters who are members of an affiliated society/organization and primary submitters who are non-geoscientists may request a membership waiver.
- Submitters may submit multiple proposals, but we ask that you ensure the topics are different.
- There is no proposal fee for submitting a workshop.
- Please note that all pre-conference workshops are ticketed events. All workshop attendees must first register and pay to attend AGU24 and then register and pay for each individual workshop they would like to attend. Workshop attendee registration rates will be posted in the coming months.
- The program committee may ask that similar workshop proposals merge to avoid duplication in the meeting’s scientific program. They may also ask submitters to revise a proposal description. Following the proposal deadline, the program committee will contact submitters to make these requests if needed.
- Reject or merge multiple proposals submitted by the same convener(s) on related topics.
- Move proposals to another AGU program.
- Merge proposals on similar topics.
- Request that conveners revise the proposal title and/or description.
- The program committee will notify conveners if workshop proposals need to be merged or have their descriptions revised.
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Proposal Best Practices
AGU encourages proposals that incorporate:
- When we think about improving inclusive science practices, it includes not only race, geographic region, ethnicity and gender but also opinion, age and scientific discipline.
- Include a diverse group of conveners, session chairs and invited authors.
To find conveners and invited authors with varied knowledge and experiences, we recommend utilizing your community networks and the resources below. These lists are merely starting points since they are not comprehensive resources and only include scientists who agree to have their names included.
- Broaden participation across a range of scientific disciplines.
- Strengthen the next generation of scientists.
It’s the story of our journey; we create what’s next. What’s next for our community. What’s next for discoveries. What’s next for our planet. What’s Next for Science.
Relate your proposal to AGU24’s theme of What’s Next for Science specifically:
- Making Earth and space data and scientific advancement more accessible, interoperable, and impactful.
- Expanding scientific collaborations across disciplines and geographic barriers in the Earth and space sciences and beyond.
- How Earth and space scientists can be leaders in the preservation, sharing, and attribution of datasets and software ensuring proper credit and driving innovation.
Conveners are encouraged to submit proposals that are collaborative.
- Consider a session that could be cross-listed, co-organized and/or co-sponsored with another organization.
- Use our flowchart to decide if a collaborative session makes sense for your proposal.
Timeline
Mar |
mid |
Session proposals open.
|
Apr |
24 |
Session proposals close at 23:59 p.m. ET/03:59 +1 GMT.
|
May |
mid |
Program committee conducts session reviews and merges.
Conveners should be available to discuss session merges. |
Jun |
mid |
Session proposal acceptance notification letters are sent.
Abstract submission site opens. Invited author tool opens. Town hall and workshop proposal acceptance letters sent. |
Jul |
31 |
Abstract submissions close at 23:59 p.m. ET/03:59 +1 GMT.
|
Aug |
mid |
Program committee allocates and schedules sessions and finalizes session formats.
Meeting registration and housing opens for attendees. |
late |
Conveners review and schedule abstracts in allocated sessions.
|
|
Oct |
early |
Authors are notified of the acceptance, format and schedule of their abstracts.
Student volunteer applications open. |