Venue and location
  • Day 1 (Wednesday 10 December)
    Joint GDIS/GHP meeting will be in the Beckman Institute Auditorium
  • Day 2-4 (Thursday 11 – Saturday 13 December)
    GDIS meeting will remain in the Beckman Institute Auditorium
    GHP meeting will be in the Keck Institute for Space Studies

The venues are next to each other (a couple of minutes' walk apart). See map below of Caltech campus.

Maps
  • Campus map showing both meeting locations and parking... see map
  • Places to eat on campus... see map
Directions to/from Hilton hotel and meeting

Address of Hilton Hotel (where most attendees are staying):

168 South Los Robles Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101
Phone: 626-577-1000

  • Driving directions from LAX airport to Hilton Hotel, Pasadena... see map
  • Driving directions from Hilton Hotel, Pasadena to Caltech campus... see map
Internet at the meetings

High-speed internet will be available in each meeting venue. Log-in details will be provided at registration/in attendee welcome packs.

Pasadena area & local restaurants
  • Pasadena visitor's guide, which lists all restaurants in the area... see guide
  • A list of restaurants will be included in the attendee welcome packs. The official visitors' site for Pasadena can be found here.
Shuttle between Caltech and Hilton Hotel

A shuttle will be provided for those attendees staying at the Hilton Hotel. The cost of shuttle is $10 per day per attendee and includes a shuttle in the morning to Caltech and a shuttle in the evening from Caltech. Shuttle schedule can be found here.

Parking at Caltech

For those driving themselves to Caltech, we will have free parking passes (hang tags) for all attendees who are on the attendee lists provided. Attendees can pick up their parking passes when they register for their meeting. Alternatively they can pay directly for parking at the machines in the car parks and then get reimbursed from whoever is paying their travel expenses.

Coffee breaks

Unfortunately due to NASA funding restrictions/rules, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory is no longer able to pay for coffee or refreshments during breaks at meetings. Attendees will therefore be asked for donations to cover the cost of coffee at registration, which will hopefully enable coffee to be provided twice a day for each day of each meeting (per the agendas). Coffee donation requested: $15 per attendee staying for all 4 days of the meetings or $5/day attended. Cash required; exact change requested; please pay upon arrival when you register for the conference if you wish to have coffee.

The first day coffee will be covered by Dr Graeme Stephens. Depending on the level of donations, we will endeavor to order coffee for Days 2-4 of each meeting. If donations do not cover the cost of coffee then coffee will not be able to be purchased and attendees will have to find coffee themselves during breaks. Light snacks may or may not be provided depending on donation levels.

Hotel reservation

A block of rooms has been reserved for GDIS and GHP meeting attendees at the Hilton hotel in Pasadena from 9 to 13 December 2014, at the US government rate of $138/night plus tax. The address is:

168 South Los Robles Avenue
Pasadena, California
USA 91101

You can make a reservation by visiting the Hilton Hotel or else by phoning (626) 584-3208 or 800-HILTONS and giving the booking code GEWEX. This special room rate is available until November 8th or until the group block is sold out, whichever comes first.

Because the hotel charges the host institution for no-shows or rooms not filled to capacity, there is a select number of rooms available at the government rate, on a first-come, first-served basis. Please book as soon as you can if you wish to reserve one of these rooms.

Once the block of rooms is full, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (host of the event) will be happy to try to help you find a room in Pasadena. Under these circumstances, please contact Martha Farfan (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) with details of the lodging you need. Note that once all special-rate rooms are gone, lodging will depend on availability and may or may not be at the Hilton or at the government rate.