Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I am delighted to announce that the 4th Winter In-Person Organic Symposium (WIPOS 2024; http://wipos.org/) will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, over the 4-day period of December 16-19, 2024 (Monday through Thursday).
Please allow me to begin with a bit of recent history. The 1st Winter In-Person Organic Symposium (WIPOS 2021) emerged from the ashes of PACIFICHEM 2020/21 when it was switched to a virtual format in early October of 2021. WIPOS 2021 was organized in just 6 weeks and held between Dec. 16-18, 2021 in Honolulu. It was attended by a total of 40 chemists, including 31 speakers out of which five were from the pharmaceutical industry and 26 from academia. The participation in WIPOS 2021 was truly global, as we had attendees from Canada, France, Israel, Singapore, Sweden and the USA. The 2nd & 3rd Winter In-Person Organic Symposium (WIPOS 2022 & 2023) took place on Dec. 19-22, 2022 & Dec 18-21, 2023, respectively, with each featuring over 40 speakers and 90+ total participants representing over a dozen countries. Our plenary speakers were Professors David W. C. MacMillan & Scott J. Miller whose inspiring lectures kicked off a series of talks by young/emerging investigators. Given these past successes, WIPOS will be held annually at a suitable tropical/subtropical location.
WIPOS 2024 will be held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort in Honolulu, Hawaii. The symposium attendance will be limited to a total of 150 participants. There will be 42 speakers and also a continuous poster session associated with this symposium. One day will be dedicated to lectures from 11 young academic and industrial chemists (i.e. ≤10 years from starting their independent careers including several pre- tenure faculty members). The remaining three days will each feature 10 speakers/day from both academia and industry. Please encourage your colleagues, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to register for WIPOS 2024 and give poster presentations of their significant achievements.
The tentative schedule of WIPOS 2024 as well as the registration fees are shown below along with a link to the WIPOS 2024 registration website. All registration fees include a daily continental breakfast (7:30-8:30 AM) and buffet lunch (12:45-2:00 PM) as well as coffee and tea service throughout each day of the symposium. In addition, on Sunday December 15th 2024, there will be a Welcome Reception (4-7 PM) – accompanying family members and/or significant others are cordially invited to attend and enjoy wine, beer, soft drinks, juices and tasty bites. On Tuesday, December 17th 2024, there will be a gourmet multicourse symposium banquet dinner for all registered participants – Chef Chai, an internationally renowned celebrity chef will present his signature dishes.
DAY #1
Monday Dec 16, 2024 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
10 speakers
30 min slots each
(25 min talk + 5 min Q&A)
+ Poster Session
Included with registration:
- Welcome Reception (4-7 PM on Sunday)
- Continental Breakfast
- Buffet Lunch
- All-day Coffee & Tea
DAY #2
Tuesday Dec 17, 2024 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Young Investigators
12 speakers
25 min slots each
(20 min talk + 5 min Q&A)
+ Poster Session
Included with registration:
- Continental Breakfast
- Buffet Lunch
- All-day Coffee & Tea
- Multicourse Symposium Banquet Dinner
DAY #3
Wednesday Dec 18, 2024 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
10 speakers
30 min slots each
(25 min talk + 5 min Q&A)
+ Poster Session
Included with registration:
- Continental Breakfast
- Buffet Lunch
- All-day Coffee & Tea
DAY #4
Thursday Dec 19, 2024 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
10 speakers
30 min slots each
(25 min talk + 5 min Q&A)
+ Poster Session
Included with registration:
- Continental Breakfast
- Buffet Lunch
- All-day Coffee & Tea
Pharma/Biotech Industry/Government Labs:
$2,800/pers (incl. 4 breakfasts, 4x lunches, 1 dinner)
Academia (Faculty):
$1,800/pers (incl. 4 breakfasts, 4x lunches, 1 dinner)
Academia (Postdocs):
$1,250/pers (incl. 4 breakfasts, 4x lunches, 1 dinner)
Undergraduate & Graduate Students:
$850/pers (incl. 4 breakfasts, 4x lunches, 1 dinner)
Accompanying person/family member Meal Plan:
$850/pers (incl. 4 breakfasts, 4x lunches, 1 dinner)
WIPOS 2024 is a fully self-paid conference. This means that each attendee must cover the full cost for the expenses listed below.
- Registration Fee that includes:
- Daily continental breakfasts and gourmet lunch buffets with several choices;
- All day (7:30 AM to 3:30 PM) refreshments of coffee & tea;
- Welcome Reception (wine, beer, soft drinks, juices and tasty bites) – your family members and/or significant others are all invited to attend this reception on Sunday, December 15, 2024
- Symposium Banquet Dinner (alcoholic drinks during the symposium dinner are not included and must be paid by each person based on their individual selections and consumption);
- Air transportation to and from Hawaii and Covid-19 test/visa fees if applicable;
- Cost of vaccination and travel insurance;
- Hotel accommodation & taxes/fees and all forms of transportation and entertainment in Hawaii;
- All other meals, snacks and drinks that are not included in the registration fees listed above;
- Optional group activities (i.e., sunset boat tour @$30/pers.) that are organized by the conference;
- Optional purchase of a conference meal plan for family members and/or significant others ($850/person that includes all meals and refreshments).
The organizers of WIPOS 2024 do not pay honoraria to any of the speakers or poster presenters and do not offer special discounts to any attendee beyond the officially posted (i.e., see above) registration fee structure.
Registered participants of WIPOS 2024 receive a 17% discount on hotel rooms at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The discounted room reservation link will be in the confirmation email upon paying the registration fee. Major travel websites (e.g., Expedia, Kayak, Priceline) are currently showing December hotel room rates as low as
$163/night on and near Waikiki Beach in Honolulu (e.g., between Dec 13-20, 2024). Excellent hotel deals can be found especially up 6 months before the event. However, renting entire apartments & condos are significantly cheaper than booking hotels (e.g., $100-$200/night – this is especially cost-effective if 2-4 people decide to share such an apartment or condo). We recommend searching the available inventories using Expedia or VRBO.
Important Note About the Registration Fees: WIPOS 2024 is limited to a maximum of 150 attendees – registration is required to secure your attendance and it is on a first come, first served basis. This means that when we reach the 150-attendee limit, registration for WIPOS 2024 will be closed. The organizers must pay a large non-refundable deposit to the venue. Therefore, if your plans change and you need to cancel your registration, please do take a very careful note of our refund policy:- Before June 1st, 2024: You will receive a full refund, minus a $150 cancellation fee.
- Between June 1st- August 31st, 2024: You will receive a 50% refund.
- After September 1, 2024: Sadly, NO REFUNDS can be made.
- If you cannot attend the entire conference for any reason, we will NOT be able to pro-rate your registration fees.
László Kürti, Ph.D., Chair of the WIPOS 2023 Organizing Committee
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Rice University – BRC Rm 380; Kürti Lab, MS-602
6500 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005
Tel: 1-713-348-4353 (office); 1-215-622-3134 (cell/mobile)
Email: kurti.laszlo@rice.edu
Organizing Committee Members: Prof. Sarah Wengryniuk (Temple University), Professor Marvin Parasram (NYU) and Prof. Ilan Marek (Technion, Israel)