Hello everyone, GCC2016 events <https://gcc16.sched.org/> start in just over one week. Here’s some last-minute info you’ll need to make the most out of GCC2016: - Training preparation - Call for BoFs - Lightning talks - Submit a poster - Sponsors - GMOD 2016 GCC2016 is promising to be great one! Looking forward to seeing you in Bloomington, The GCC2016 Exec Carrie Ganote, Chris Hemmerich, Dave Clements, Marilyne Summo, and Robert Ping *Training preparation* Attending GCC2016 training? All sessions <https://gcc16.sched.org/overview/type/D.x+Training+-+All> list prerequisites, and any laptop or software requirements. Almost all sessions require a Wi-Fi enabled laptop with either Chrome, Firefox, or Safari installed. For the use <https://gcc16.sched.org/type/D.1+Training+-+Using> and general <https://gcc16.sched.org/type/D.2+Training+-+General> training sessions all you’ll need is that laptop. For some of the deploy and develop sessions <https://gcc16.sched.org/overview/type/D.3+Training+-+Deploy+%26+Develop> you’ll need to have additional software installed ahead of time. Most often this will be virtual machines or Docker images. We will provide specific details on what is required and where to get the machine images and any needed software in the coming week. We’ll also provide help with installation and setup at two training office hours sessions <https://gcc16.sched.org/type/A.+Help> on Saturday and Sunday evening. (And if you would like to help during those sessions, please let the exec committee know.) *Call for BoFs* We still have lots of space for birds-of-a-feather meetups (BoFs) <https://gcc16.sched.org/overview/type/E.6+Birds-of-a-feather>. These are informal meetups where attendees with a shared interest meet to discuss their interests and challenges. *If you have an idea for a BoF topic, post it here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aikQugTW_VlY5K0TQ3cI9E2NVIk443gkzK6EqP8gsr4/viewform>*. BoFs are a terrific way to find others and discuss common challenges. See the list of BoFs for what gatherings have already been established. *Lightning talks* Lightning talks are a dynamic part of every GCC and this year’s conference will feature more lightning talks than ever before. Lightning talks are short (7 minutes long) and can be about anything of interest to conference participants: prototype ideas, useful resources, open questions, interesting communities, novel approaches to challenges, and anything else you can think of. The call for lightning talks will go out once GCC2016 events have started. Please start thinking about what you would like to present! *Submit a poster* Have a poster presentation idea? There are still a few spaces left <http://bit.ly/gcc2016abssub> for additional posters <https://gcc16.sched.org/overview/type/E.2+Conference+-+Posters>. All accepted presentations are eligible for consideration for publication in *GigaScience's <http://gigascience.biomedcentral.com/>* Galaxy series <http://www.gigasciencejournal.com/series/Galaxy>. Published papers will receive a 15% discount on the article-processing fee <https://gigascience.biomedcentral.com/submission-guidelines/fees-and-funding> if you flag GCC2016 on submission. Submit your poster *now* <http://bit.ly/gcc2016abssub>. *Sponsors* Conference sponsors <https://gcc2016.iu.edu/sponsors/index.php> are key partners in the Galaxy community and are absolutely vital in making event registration affordable. We’ll highlight different sponsors in emails over the coming month. We’re also still looking for additional meeting sponsors <https://gcc2016.iu.edu/sponsors/index.php>, so please let us know of any organizations that may be a good fit. The rapid innovation in genome sequencing technology is generating data faster than costs declines in data storage, with petabyte-scale being the new norm in data intensive biomedical research. Chris Dagdigian of BioTeam has stated "corresponding advances need to be made with respect to data storage, and object storage is a transformative force-multiplier in the field of life sciences.” *SwiftStack <https://www.swiftstack.com/>* is happy to be a sponsor of GCC and to discuss how object storage can provide a cost structure that aligns with research while also allowing use of arbitrary tags and metadata to advance discoverability and leverage of data in research. *GMOD 2016*There is still space to register for the GMOD 2016 Community Meeting <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gmod-2016-community-meeting-tickets-22224544210> being held at Indiana University immediately after GCC2016. GMOD <http://gmod.org/> is a consortium of open-source software projects (including Galaxy) that address common challenges with organizing, visualizing, annotating, and analyzing biological data. Registration <https://gmod2016.eventbrite.com/> is $110 for both days, with the same housing options as for GCC2016. For those who would like to present a talk or poster at GMOD, the meeting registration form includes a section for submitting the presentation title and abstract. -- http://galaxyproject.org/ http://getgalaxy.org/ http://usegalaxy.org/ https://wiki.galaxyproject.org/