Clays of the Big Sky - 46th Annual Meeting of the Clay Minerals Society

MAPS USA map [pdf 86kb] Montana map [pdf 110kb] Billings map [pdf 115kb] City Center and Hotel map [pdf 271kb]	Overview Clays of the Big Sky - The 46th Annual Meeting of the Clay Minerals Society will be held June 2009 in Billings, Montana, USA. The primary purpose of the Clay Minerals Society is to stimulate research and to disseminate information relating to all aspects of clay science and technology. Through its conferences and publications, the Society offers individuals a means of following the multi-directional growth of the clay sciences and of meeting fellow scientists with widely different backgrounds and interests. The membership of the Clay Minerals Society is a diverse group because the study of clay touches upon so many fields. Members include clay mineralogists, crystallographers, physicists, chemists, geochemists, soil scientists, agronomists, ceramic scientists, civil engineers, petroleum geologists and engineers, and industrial scientists in fields involving products ranging from catalysts to cat litter. The Society has about 700 members, half of whom represent countries outside the United States. Awards to be presented by the Society in Billings include the Marilyn and Sturges W. Bailey Award, the George W. Brindley Lecture, the Marion L. and Chrystie M. Jackson Mid-Career Clay Scientist Award, and the Pioneer in Clay Science Award. Awards will also be presented for student papers and posters. The meeting banquet is scheduled for Tuesday evening. Meeting Invitation [pdf 34k]
	Meeting and Hotel Reservations Click here for meeting registration. Click here to download a pdf registration form to mail or fax. Click here for hotel reservations.
	Technical Sessions and Symposia The meeting includes three days of technical sessions and symposia with oral sessions scheduled for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Poster presentations are scheduled for Monday afternoon. See Technical Sessions page for further details.
	Field Trip A full day field trip to the bentonite country of the Big Horn Basin in northwestern Wyoming is planned for the meeting. The trip will visit several clay deposits, mine sites and a bentonite production facility and will include in-field discussions of bentonite deposit geology, mining and reclamation, and commercialization. This field trip will take place on Friday and will be repeated on Saturday.
	Workshop A two day workshop on clay mineralization is planned in Yellowstone National Park. The workshop, which will take place on Wednesday and Thursday following conclusion of the technical sessions, will include field opportunities to see mineralogical features of the park as well as classroom discussions of aspects of the unique mineralogical environment of the park.
	Meeting Banquet The meeting banquet will be held the evening of Tuesday, June 9th following a wine and cheese reception. Student paper and poster awards and travel and research grants will be presented. Dr. John R. (Jack) Horner, Curator of Paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, reputed to be the person upon whom the principal character in the movie "Jurassic Park" was based, will be our key note speaker. Following recent tradition, dancing will follow the banquet "until the cows come home".
	Accompanying Persons Attendees are encouraged to bring companions to enjoy special regional sight-seeing and recreational activities. Companions are welcome to participate in the field trip and workshop, which will include visits to sites of geological, scenic and historical interest.