The Experimental Biology Meeting has been changed so that programming is no longer performed by a central committee representing the Society, but the individual Sections that comprise it. In the past, all symposia and mini-symposia were decided by a vote of the APS Program Advisory Committee which is comprised of members from all sections and final approval by the APS Program Committee. Programming has been de-centralized so that now the individual sections create their own program. EB '99 was the first meeting programmed at the sectional level.
To allow each section the opportunity to develop a cohesive program that highlights topics of specific interest to the section by interrelating symposia, featured topics and the distinguished lectureship.
Programming works like this. Each section is allocated a certain number of slots for symposia and featured topics (formerly mini-symposia) for EB based on several factors (e.g. past section attendance, room availability, etc). E&M symposia and featured topics will be selected by a Section Program Committee (SPC). The SPC will consist of members that change annually and a chair who serves for a three year term. Changing the composition of the SPC every year will involve more of the E&M membership. By doing so we expect to add a steady inflow of new ideas from the standpoint of science and programming formats. The SPC chair is an elected member of the section steering committee and will add necessary experience and some continuity to the SPC. The SPC chair and an ad hoc program committee will design a program from suggestions and ideas from the membership. Obviously the participation of section members is key for sectional programming to work! The SPC chair from each section within APS form the Joint Program Committee (JPC). JPC schedules symposia/featured topics and prevents overlap in topics.