SRA-ERASG 7-8-2004 conference call notes

Attendance:
	Gary Drendel
	Bruce Hope
	Igor Linkov [past-chair]
	Ron Marnicio
	Evelina C. Morales
	Randy Ryti [chair]

Topics discussed:

1) Annual meeting
Randy, Igor, and Charlie Menzie attended the program committee meeting in Alexandria VA on June 21st. The ecological risk assessment technical program will include sessions over the first two days of the meeting. There was also a short course proposed on Ecological Risk Assessment methods for Arid Environments; the short courses are scheduled for Sunday. Thus, it looks like there will be ecological risk-related activities scheduled on three of the four days planned for the annual meeting. Randy will pursue trying to get CE credits for short course offered at the annual meeting. Our specialty group will have a joint social mixer with the Risk Communication specialty group on Dec 7th. We also plan to have brief business meeting on the morning of Dec 7th. We discussed ways to better advertise the short course by sending information to the SoCal and perhaps NorCal SETAC chapters, the Desert Southwest SETAC chapter, and ecological and wildlife society professional organizations.

2) Student travel award paper submittal
Randy has requested that the three abstracts submitted for this award send an extended abstract. Randy and Igor will review the extended abstracts and select one for the award.

3) Nomination for chair-elect
Nominations are needed in advance of the annual meeting. Randy will send an e-mail to the members of the specialty group requesting nominations.

4) Corporate sponsors
We will solicit sponsors for the specialty group to cover some of the annual meeting expenses, student travel awards, or fee waivers. Randy will contact Neptune and Co and M-C, Igor will contact ACS, and Ron will contact Tetratech.

5) Suggestions to increase involvement in the annual meeting
- Establish a fund for invited speakers; ask that SRA provide a couple of fee waivers for invited speakers per specialty group
- Try to have sessions with corporate sponsors [SETAC has done this previously with mining firms and copper]
- Randy will draft a letter to SRA with these suggestions
- We will have a SRA breakfast meeting at SETAC and put up the SRA Ecological Risk Assessment specialty group poster at SETAC

6) Other announcements
- There is a NATO/SRA sponsored workshop in Oct 2004 - follow this URL [http://www.iseu.by/eng/conf/nato2004/default.html] for more information
- Igor is starting a Decision Analysis specialty group

END