yt workshop 2013

The workshop will be held in the Interdisciplinary Sciences Building (ISB) at UC Santa Cruz. ISB is accessible by city bus and is near a multilevel parking structure.

If possible, we suggest flying into San Jose International airport (SJC) rather than San Francisco International (SFO) or Oakland (OAK) as SJC is about 30 miles closer to Santa Cruz.

Getting from the airport to Santa Cruz can be tricky via public transportation, as detailed on this UCSC information page. If possible, it may be worthwhile to rent a car for your stay in Santa Cruz. The organizing committee will attempt to organize group shuttles or airport pickups if that is logistically possible.

We've reserved a block of 10 double-occupancy rooms at the Mission Inn. If you'd like to stay there, you'll need to call and reserve one of the rooms in our block. The reservation is under 'Nathan Goldbaum'. The room is $100.45 per night, including tax. We expect most attendees to double up so please try to find a roommate before reserving the room. If you'd prefer a single-occupancy room, feel free to contact the workshop organizers at workshop2013@yt-project.org.

The Mission Inn is about 1/2 mile from the nearest bus stop to campus at the intersection of Bay & Mission. This stop is served by Santa Cruz Metro routes 15, 16, and 19. The workshop venue is close to the Science Hill and Health Center bus stops on campus.

If you'd prefer to organize your own hotel room, UCSC has agreements with several area hotels to obtain discounted rates. A list of hotels is available on the UCSC business website. It's a bit of a walk from the Mission Inn to the nearest bus stop at the intersection of Bay Street and Mission so it may be worthwhile to look for a hotel that is a bit closer to downtown Santa Cruz and the bus station.

If you're driving to campus, you will need to buy parking permits. Visitor permits cost $6.00 a day and are available at the campus parking office, located inside Barn H (map). You may purchase all the parking permits you will need all at once on the first day. You'll need to show a photo ID and either a proof of registration or a rental agreement matching the name on your ID.

The most convenient parking location is the Core West parking structure on Science Hill (map). The second floor is reserved for hourly parking so you should avoid open spaces there.

More information on visitor parking is available on the parking office website.

The workshop will begin on Wednesday March 6 at 9:30 AM with a reception in the CfAO atrium. If you're staying at the Mission Inn, plan for a 20-30 minute trip by car and a 30-40 minute trip by bus.

We will have coffee and light refreshments available in the CfAO atrium on Wednesday and in ISB 102 on Thursday and Friday.

Much of the time at the workshop will be spent in small breakout groups. Each group will work on a single new feature, enhancement, or mini-project with the goal of completing the project or at least making significant progress before the end of the workshop.

Breakout group topics will be drawn from entries in our issue tracker and suggestions mentioned by participants during registration. We expect our participants to have a broad range in familiarity with yt, python, and scientific programming and will plan project topics accordingly.

While most of our time will be spent on campus at UC Santa Cruz, there will still be time for socializing in the evenings and the weekend following the workshop. The social hot-spot is downtown Santa Cruz along pacific avenue where there are a number of bars, restaurants, and shops. Going further afield, Santa Cruz is well known for its beaches and surf spots. The beach boardwalk is fun although it can be a bit crowded on the weekends. There are a number of state parks in the area, including Henry Cowell Redwoods, Wilder Ranch, Natural Bridges, and Big Basin.

Depending on overall level of interest, we are planning on organizing a trip to see the elephant seals during their mating season at Año nuevo state park, north of Santa Cruz along Highway 1 close to Half-moon bay. If you're interested in coming, please let us know on your registration form.