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This year's conference will be held in Madison, Wisconsin. Madison is a
beautiful city situated on an isthmus 
between two spectacular lakes. The population of the city is approximately
200,000 and Madison boasts excellent public transportation, superior public
schools, diverse cultural events, extremely low unemployment, and numerous
opportunities for recreation. Madison is an exceptionally safe city which
frequently earns recognition such as an "All American City" and
"Best Place To Live in America" (Money Magazine, 1996). Because
of its extensive bike trail system, within the city and extending to surrounding
areas, Madison is also ranked as one of the top ten bicycling cities in the
U.S. Students live in all parts of the city, although they are
concentrated near the campus; more than one half of all graduate students live
within one mile of the campus.
Photo Courtesy of www.wisc.edu
Mad City, as it is called by many residents, is the state capital and Capitol
Square at the center of the isthmus is just one mile down State Street from the
campus. The Capitol Square is the focal point for many events in the city
including summertime Wednesday evening "Concerts on the Square," a
weekly Saturday morning farmers'  market
of nationally recognized diversity, an annual "Art Fair On The
Square," and a "Paddle and Portage" canoe race from Lake Mendota
on the north side of the isthmus, across the Capitol Square to the shores of
Lake Monona. State Street is a pedestrian mall that stretches from the
capital square to the campus and contains numerous shops, bookstores, and
restaurants. To learn more about Madison's array of fine dining
opportunities, please visit http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~bart/Restaurants.html
Many parks and beaches are found within the city including the UW-Madison
arboretum, founded by Aldo Leopold, which is a large research area of
grassland, prairie and wetland that offers hiking in the summer, spring
and fall and excellent cross-country skiing in winter months. Tyrol Basin
and Devil's Head Ski areas in the Baraboo Hills north of Madison offer downhill
skiing and snow boarding in the winter. Madison is an easy 2 and 1/2 hour
commute to Chicago and is 80 miles west of Milwaukee, with excellent air and bus
links to each.
Photo Courtesy of www.visitmadison.com
The UW-Madison Campus sits on the southern shore of Lake Mendota and is
regarded as one of the most beautiful campuses in the world. The
intellectual intensity and excitement of the University are complemented by the
spectacular campus setting. An impressive array of architecturally diverse
buildings gives way to a park-like atmosphere along the lakeshore, where a
walking/jogging trail hugs the shoreline from the Memorial Union Terrace (the
site of the Ph.D. parties) to Picnic Point at the western extreme of
campus. Concert and performances series at the Elvehjem Art Museum, named
for the renowned biochemist Conrad Elvehjem, is acclaimed for its permanent and
visiting collections. Both indoor and outdoor recreational facilities
allow students to pursue a wide range of sports and activities. The
Hoofers Outing Club, housed next to Memorial Union on Lake Mendota, is a
favorite venue of both novice and experienced sailors and sail boarders.
Courtesy of www.bocklabs.wisc.edu
Photo Courtesy of www.mononaterrace.com
World-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Monona Terrace, the
site for this year's SIGMOD/PODS conference. IT was nearly 60 years ago
that Wright, a Wisconsin native, drew the original plans. Between 1938 and
1958 Wright redrafted his designs and signed off on them just seven weeks before
his death in 1959. After years of debate, construction finally began in
1992, and the center opened in 1997. For those of you intrigued by Frank
Lloyd Wright, his celebrated Unitarian Meeting House is just a few minuets from
the Monona Terrace, while Wright's home and studio, Taliesin, is located 45
minutes west of Madison in Spring Green.
To learn more about the Monona Terrace story, please visit: http://www.mononaterrace.com
or
http://www.cpid.com/mononaterrace
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