2019 Berkeley GOC Meeting Logistics

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GOC Meeting, Berkeley, October 7-10, 2019

Registration

  • Via Eventbrite--pay online with credit or debit card or Paypal
  • $130 registration fee covers coffee & snacks for the 2.5-day GOC meeting, as well as 2 lunches and the Consortium dinner on Oct 9 (not including alcoholic beverages)

Overall schedule

  • Monday, October 7: User Meeting (8:30am-5pm)
  • Tuesday-Thursday October 8-10: GOC Meeting (8:30am-5pm first 2 days, 9am-12:30pm third day)
  • Friday, October 11 (time TBA): SAB Meeting, UC Berkeley campus (Stanley Hall). (SAB dinner will be Thursday, Oct 10)

Consortium dinner

  • Wednesday, Oct 9
  • More details coming soon

User Meeting

  • Monday, October 7 at the same location as the main meeting (717 Potter St., Berkeley). More details soon.

SAB Meeting

  • Meeting: Friday, October 11 (time TBA) in Stanley Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. Logistics here.
  • SAB dinner: Thursday, October 10, 7pm: place TBD

Arriving

The closest airports are San Francisco (SFO) and Oakland (OAK). From either of those, you can take BART to Berkeley and get a taxi/Lyft/Uber from the Ashby BART station.

Hotels

These are listed in increasing order by price. The Four Points by Sheraton is the only one that's walking distance (1.4 miles) from the meeting location; the others are downtown, a short drive away. This map shows the relative locations of the hotels.

For travel to our building, we will arrange for attendees to have access to the LBNL Potter St. shuttle to our building from downtown Berkeley.

Downtown Berkeley Inn

  • Address: 2001 Bancroft Way, Berkeley (2.4 miles from the meeting location)
  • Phone: (510) 843-4043
  • Rate: LBNL rate is $129/night (normal rate $139/night).
  • How to book: Phone (don't book online) and ask for “LBL” or “Gene Ontology” room block.
    • 10 rooms reserved--we may be able to get more if needed.
    • Check in as early as Oct 6; check out as late as Oct 12.
    • Last day to get the group rate: September 6, 2019.
  • Description: Very basic, but adequate.
  • Advantages: Cheapest option. Fairly close to downtown Berkeley.

Four Points by Sheraton Bay Bridge

  • Address: 1603 Powell Street, Emeryville (1.4 miles from the meeting location),
  • Phone: 1-800-325-3535
  • Rate: $175/night (single or double) block rate for “Gene Ontology / GO meeting”.
  • How to book: Book using this link: https://www.marriott.com/events/start.mi?id=1563407776453&key=GRP or call 1-800-325-3535 and ask for the “Gene Ontology” room block.
    • 10 rooms reserved--we may be able to get more if needed.
    • Check in as early as Oct 6; check out as late as Oct 12.
    • Last day to get the group rate: September 6, 2019.
  • Description: A normal hotel. Has an outdoor pool and a fitness center.
  • Advantages: Closest hotel to meeting location.

The Graduate (formerly the Hotel Durant)

  • Address: 2600 Durant Ave, Berkeley (2.9 miles from the meeting location)
  • Phone: 510-845-8981
  • Rate: Average of $210/night for a room with one queen.
  • How to book: No special rates; you can book online
  • Description: No pool or fitness center. More distinctive than the similarly-priced Hotel Shattuck Plaza. A recent article about The Graduate noted, "Berkeley's quirky counterculture is represented by bong-shaped lamps in the guestrooms and a restroom urinal painted with the logo and colors of Stanford, Cal-Berkeley’s arch-rival." Known for having made a brief appearance in the movie of the same name.
  • Advantages: Near UC Campus and Telegraph Avenue, a colorful if slightly sketchy part of Berkeley.

Hotel Shattuck Plaza

  • Address: 2086 Allston Way, Berkeley (2.5 miles from the meeting location)
  • Phone: 866-466-9199
  • Rate: UC Berkeley rate: $215/night. Same price for double or single.
  • How to book: You will need to phone and ask for the UC Berkeley rate--not available online.
  • Description: A more upscale hotel than the previous three, it was completely remodeled a few years ago. Has a fitness center but no pool.
  • Advantages: Right in the heart of downtown Berkeley, near BART, Potter St. shuttle, and many world-class restaurants

Attendees

Please add yourself to the table if you plan to attend!

Name Organization GOC meeting (Oct 8-10)? GOC dinner (Oct 9)? User Meeting (Oct 7)? Hotel
Chris Mungall LBL Yes Yes Yes N/A
Nomi Harris LBL Yes Yes Yes N/A
Seth Carbon LBL Yes Yes Yes N/A
Peter D'Eustachio NYULMC / Reactome Yes Yes No Four Points
Paul Thomas USC Yes Yes Yes TBD
Ben Good LBL Yes Yes Yes TBD
Jim Balhoff RENCI Yes Yes No TBD

NOT attending (please indicate if you will attend remotely):

Remote attendees can join us via Zoom (Zoom link will be sent out before the meeting)

Getting around / To do / Local activities

The organizers have lived in the area for a very long time. If you have *any* questions, do not hesitate to reach out to us and let us make your stay in the Bay Area more more pleasant.

Getting around

The LBL Potter Street site is located near a highway in mixed business park and light industrial area.

Walking

Walking from the Emeryville hotel to the site is doable, but not necessarily a "pleasant" walk, through light industrial areas. It takes about half an hour.

Walking from downtown is not advised and would take about an hour.

By car (inc. "rideshare")

If you are driving to the GO meeting, parking should not be an issue--while there will be no on-site parking, there is usually plenty of on-street parking in the surrounding area if you can walk a little. If you intend on driving, contact Seth or Nomi for details.

The are usually plenty of Lyfts and Ubers in the area. The downtown area is about 10-12 minutes away.

By public transportation

LBL shuttle

There is a fairly frequent LBL shuttle that directly connects downtown Berkeley area and the Potter Street site:

https://commute.lbl.gov/resource/shuttle-buses/maps-routes-schedules/potter-st-jbei-route/

You will need to show an LBL guest pass to board this shuttle. As well, the shuttle is often a 15-person van, so large groups may need to split up at peak times.

If you are planning to use this shuttle, you will need to make sure that you have the appropriate LBL guest pass.

AC Transit

There is also a bus that departs from near downtown and the Durant hotel and has a stop quite near the Potter Street site:

http://www.actransit.org/maps/schedule_results.php?quick_line=36&Go=Go

Food and drinks

Overview

While downtown Berkeley and various neighborhoods have many options, the LBL Potter Street location is much more limited for cafes and restaurants (putting it politely). On the upside, there is a rather nice large supermarket an easy walk away that can support most needs. Ubereats and the like are always an option for people wanting more variety and many of the organizers will have vehicles and may be doing various errands about town anyways, if there is something in particular you want or need.

Seth will be happy to talk nearly endlessly about local restaurant, bar, and tea/cafe opportunities.

Exercise

For people interested in hitting the gym or swimming, the UC Berkeley recreational facilities are open to the general public with day passes:

https://recsports.berkeley.edu/day-passes/

The main rec facility and pool location is a short walk from downtown Berkeley. Several of the satellite pools have reduced day pass rates.

Departure

The GOC meeting will adjourn at 12:30pm on Thursday, October 10; lunch will not be provided (but there are places nearby to buy lunch). You should allow 1/2 hour to get to Oakland airport by car and 1 hour to get to SFO.