We encourage students to participate in two competitions: a paper competition for graduate students and a poster competition for undergraduate students. The NESS organizing committee will select the winners based on the overall quality of the research and presentation. Prizes, sponsored by local industry, will be given out for both competitions.

Student papers should have the graduate student as the first author and should not have been published anywhere (submitted is fine.) The paper should be submitted in two versions, one blinded and another unblinded, as PDF files. Please send the two versions to nestat2012@gmail.com. Note that only registered students will have their papers considered for the competition.

Since there will be no facilities available for hanging the posters, all posters must be mounted on free-standing tri-fold display boards (36 inch high by 48 inch wide) available from office supply stores.

Both papers and posters are submitted in the same way as a contributed abstract at the Call for Abstracts. Students entering either competition get their conference registration fee waived (but not short course registration fees.) Please submit your abstract as early as possible, but no later than March 31 April 6, 2012 (EXTENDED).