TAS 2024 Annual Meeting

Onsite meeting registration
(must be completed at the registration desk)
Can not use the invoice me option, must pay at meeting.

Onsite purchases
(purchasing t-shirts or programs, while supplies last.)
Please confirm that t-shirts and/or programs are available prior to submitting any purchase.

Mobile app installation instructions

March 1-2, 2024
(we encourage people to arrive on Feb 29 to ensure they will be there for all the talks)

The final program has been posted.  Click here to download the PDF.

If you just need a schedule overview, parking permit, map to UTPB, or other information, please download the pre-meeting information PDF.

 TAS has gone mobile!

To download the meeting app, use the QR code below, or search for "Ex Ordo" under the iPhone app store/Android play store.
When prompted, use "tas2024" as the passphrase to download the specific program.

The app will allow you to personalize the schedule, get maps of the different sessions, connect with other attendees, and receive important updates and messages.

Web interface schedule (Ex Ordo)

While we recommend that people use the app if possible, we recognize some prefer to use a web interface.  Click this link to access the web interface for the schedule.

Directions to UTPB 

Social media

We are encouraging people to use "#TAS127" when posting to social media.  Please also follow our twitter account, Bluesky, and join/like our Facebook group!

Advance registration is closed!  If you want to attend, you must register at the meeting.
Click here for costs

Hotel information is posted here

Field Trip Details and Sign up
(ecology field trip, geology field trip)

Call for Abstracts

Abstract submission is CLOSED!

Abstract submission is through a new external portal and website - theTAS 2024 meeting site

You can still use this site to view, revise, or check the status of your abstract

Submission deadline has been extended to December 18, at midnight.

Please note

• The abstract submission site is separate from the TAS website.  You must create a separate login account to submit abstracts. Your TAS member login will not work on this site. If you created an account last year, that login may work.
  
• You do NOT need to be a member to submit an abstract, but you MUST be a member by the time you attend the meeting. If you are not a member, we encourage you to join on, or after, January 1, 2024, as membership runs through the calendar year.  If you join before January 1, 2024, you will need to renew your membership on January 1.
  
• This new site allows for people to submit an abstract on someone else's behalf. However, we encourage people to submit their own abstracts.
  
• General instructions for abstract submission are listed the site and can also be found here. A more concise list of instructions can be found here.
  

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Interested in submitting an abstract for the graduate student paper competition? 

Submissions closed.

Hotel Details

These hotels have set up a total of 150 rooms at a TAS rate, $79 per night (excludes taxes and fees).  Please click on a link below to book the room.  Note - you must use the link below to guarantee the rate of $79 per night. 

Fairfield Inn and Suites, 3933 John Ben Shepherd Parkway, 432-363-1900 

Holiday Inn, 5275 E 42nd Street, 432-332-4100

Holiday Inn Express, 1800 S. Hwy 385, 432-332-4100

Holiday Inn Express Odessa, 5321 John Ben Shepherd Parkway, 432-363-6800

Hampton Inn, 3923 John Ben Shepherd Parkway, 432-363-2900

The following hotel is where the banquet is being held.

Grande Hotel Fundome, 6201 E. Business 20, 432-362-2311
(the discount price for this hotel is still available, but rooms you must call to make the reservation)

 Meeting Registration Fees

(registration link is below)

Geology Field Trip

Field Trip 1: The geologic history and fossil content of the Lower Cretaceous strata exposed southwest of McCamey, Texas 

Field trip leader: Dr. Mohamed Zobaa, Assistant Professor of Geosciences, UT-Permian Basin [[email protected]]

When: Thursday, Feb 29, 2024 

Join us on an expedition to explore the geologic and paleogeographic history of 125 million years old rock formations. You will learn about the ocean that was covering the area at the time and the different creatures that lived in it. You will have a chance to collect and keep marine fossils in addition to seeing tracks of the reptiles that lived and walked on the coastal area. We will depart from the Mesa Building main parking lot, Thursday, Feb 29 at 9:00 am. Light breakfast donuts, snacks, and drinks will be provided around 8:30 am. We will return to UTPB by 3:00 pm. Spots are limited, contact Dr. Zobaa at [email protected] to sign up.

Field Trip 2: Ecology of an Urban Playa Lake

Field trip leader: Dr. David Hembry, Assistant Professor of Biology, UT-Permian Basin ([email protected])

When: Sunday March 3, 2024, 8-12noon 

 Join us to explore the I-20 Wildlife Preserve, a 100-acre riparian forest campus in Midland, Texas. The 86-acre urban playa lake is a highlight of wetlands, floodplain thickets, and prairie grasslands – providing abundant avian, wildlife, and aquatic habitat, I-20 Wildlife Preserve (i20wp.org) Dr. Hembry's lab has been working there on the untapped potential for using species interaction networks to understand the evolution of species interactions. Currently, they are studying seasonal dynamics in a plant-flower visitor network using a one-year dataset assembled by a team of 15 undergraduate researchers led by undergraduate researcher Evelyn Guerrero.  

The tour will start Sunday 3/3/2024 at 9am at the I-20 Wildlife Preserve, 2201 S. Midland Dr., Midland TX 79703. A van will depart from the UTPB Science and Technology building parking lot Sunday, 3 March at 8:00am. Breakfast burritos and drinks will be provided. We will return to UTPB by 12noon. Spots are limited, contact Dr. Hembry, [email protected] to sign up. 

Meeting App

(NOT AVAILABLE YET, WILL BE AVAILABLE PRIOR TO MEETING

We would like to strongly thank and express our gratitude for those individuals who have donated the TAS.  Without these donations, we would be unable to provide research awards or presentation awards to students, help fund student travel, or any number of other activities in which the Texas Academy of Science is involved.  Below are individuals who have donated for the current meeting. The individuals are listed in alphabetical order within their categories.

Bluebonnet
Timothy Campbell
Bob Kane
Troy Ladine
Travis LaDuc
Brian Laub
Gerry Mulvey
Christopher Vitek
Kathy Wood

Mockingbird
David Lemke
Sandra West Moody

Pecan Tree
Matthew Barnes
Garnett Kelsoe
Chris Ritzi

Lone Star
Peter Derrick Memorial Funds