Travel and Financial Information

Travel Funds: Many advisors and departments have funds available to help graduate students travel to conferences. You may not even be aware of them, but make sure you ask. We also have a substantial (but not unlimited) amount of money to help students travel to this conference. Please do not let travel expenses prevent you from coming until you have talked to us.

Note that the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) is located on our campus, and students at IMA Participating Institutions can often get money to travel to IMA-sponsored activities. Our conference is not sponsored by the IMA, but we're told that other schools are sometimes more willing to help students travel between IMA participating institutions anyway. Situations will vary, so check with your department. (If you'd like to plan ahead, there's an IMA summer program on n-Categories in June.)

Lodging: (Update) We originally planned on everybody staying in the Radisson Metrodome Hotel, but it is now full. The department has negotiated the same rate of $70 per night per room at a nearby Holiday Inn. This is a discounted rate, but still somewhat above "graduate student" standards, so we expect people may want to share a room with another participant. (Of course, you can certainly pay for a single room if you'd prefer.)

To get this rate, you should call the Holiday Inn Metrodome directly at 1-800-448-3663 and ask for the "School of Math" rate. You should be able to reserve a double-occupancy room for $70 per night, or a single-occupancy if you prefer and have the money. Let us know if you need help finding somebody to share a room with.

There is a shuttle service between the airport and the Holiday Inn, so you can avoid renting a car. The Holiday Inn's website (under "Services") suggests buying a one-way ticket on the Super Shuttle from the airport to the hotel for $13. Evidently the shuttle from the hotel back to the airport is free. (Check with the hotel for exact details.) More economically, depending on your arrival time, we may be able to arrange for somebody to pick you up personally at the airport.

There are hundreds of cheaper hotels in the area, but they are not as conveniently located. If lodging costs will be an issue, let us know; we can try to arrange for you to stay with another graduate student in our department.

Flying: Minneapolis / St. Paul is a main hub for Northwest Airlines. In practice, this means many people can fly here with a direct flight, although this convenience sometimes means a higher price. It's worth checking around with various web sites and/or travel agents.

Driving: The Twin Cities metropolitan area is located at the intersection of Interstates 94 and 35, about 275 miles from Madison, and roughly 400 miles from Chicago. If you are planning on driving, let us know so we can help arrange parking for you.

Weather: By late April, spring is in full swing and we generally don't have to worry about snow. Average high and low temperatures would be about 60 and 40 degrees, respectively. It would not be surprising if the nighttime temperature dipped into the 30s, or if the high reached 75. Here's a link for the current conditions and forecast.

General Information: You might be interested in the University's main page for visitors. If you'd like to see the campus and/or its surrounding communities, you can check out a few maps. The map for Vincent Hall includes the nearest parking garages, but these can be expensive. Even if there's a special event, which increases prices, your best best might be the Huron Boulevard Parking Complex.

The School of Mathematics is located in Vincent Hall on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota