SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT of an INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE on:

BINARY STAR EVOLUTION: MASS LOSS, ACCRETION, and MERGERS

in Celebration of Ron Webbink's 65th Birthday

on Mykonos, Greece -- June 22 - 25, 2010

The SOC has considered the set of early topic suggestions by many of you and has now set the scientific sessions for our conference:

- Type Ia Supernovae
- Cataclysmic Variables
- Low-Mass X-ray Binaries
- Millisecond Pulsars
- Evolution in Dense Star Clusters
- Gamma-Ray Bursts and Gravitational Wave Sources
- High-Mass X-ray Binaries and Ultra-luminous X-ray Sources
- Binaries Gone Bad: Contact Binaries, Common Envelopes, Blue Stragglers

The final scientific program will be a combination of a small number of invited talks and a larger number of contributed talks selected from the abstracts submitted in response to the call for submissions included in this announcement.

Persons interested in attending this conference should visit our conference registration page:

http://legacy.ciera.northwestern.edu/Ron-fest2010/register-me.php

and:

(1) Officially register as a participant.

(2) Pay the registration fee using a credit card. Early Registration deadline: $350 by March 22

(3) Submit your request for a contributed presentation (oral or poster). Requests must be submitted by Feb 24 for full consideration, it may not be possible to consider any late submissions

Note: Both deadlines above have been extended from the previous official announcement.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION and CANCELLATION POLICY

The deadline for early registration is March 22, 2010. The early-registration fee is equal to $350 ($425 for late registration). This fee will cover the conference room, all coffee breaks, the registration reception on the evening of June 21, the conference dinner, and the proceedings book to be published in the AIP Conference Series. Note: Due to restrictions imposed by our credit card processor, we must now charge our registration fee in USD instead of Euros as previously announced. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Following the payment of the registration fee, requests for cancellations of participation will be honored (minus a non-refundable $40 to cover transaction fees that will be charged to the conference organization), provided such requests are submitted by May 21, 2010. After May 21, no refunds can be issued, as the conference organization will then be liable for all participant costs.

Participants who may have to cancel their participation after official registration and abstract submission, but before having paid the registration fee, will not be liable for any cancellation cost.

CONFERENCE HOTEL and ACCOMMODATIONS

Mykonos is one of the most beautiful islands in Greece. It has preserved its unique architectural character, crystal clear waters, iconic bays and sandy beaches, despite its popularity. The end of June is one of the best times to visit Greece, before the high traffic of mid-July to August.

Our conference will be held at one of the best resort hotels on Mykonos, Greece:

Saint John hotel, http://www.saintjohn.gr/ -

It is located in the bay of Agios Ioannis, one of the best beaches on the island, and just across from the island of Delos. A set of rooms has been reserved at the hotel (see http://www.saintjohn.gr/mykonos-accommodation-rooms.php) for conference participants at rates much lower than their regular prices for the time of the conference.

Rates are per room (2 occupants) per night and include breakfast and all taxes: Garden View: 160 euros Executive Sea View: 195 euros Conference hotel reservation deadline: April 19, 2010

After this deadline, neither availability nor the room rates are guaranteed. Note that the conference room rates are available to conference participants from all dates before the conference through July 8, in case participants are interested in extending their stay. A hotel reservation form will become available before the early registration deadline (March 22). Also well before the deadline for room reservations we will set up a system through which participants interested in finding room-mates can pair up. In subsequent announcements we will also provide a list of nearby hotels with lower room rates.

Hotel Cancellation policy:

TRAVEL INFORMATION will be circulated well before the early registration deadline.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: Unfortunately there is no external support for the conference, and all expenses are covered by the registration fees. No financial assistance is available for participants.