The members of this committee should be chosen to represent a broad coverage of the technical areas addressed in the symposium and come from geographical areas where papers and registrants will be solicited.

2. Call for Papers:
The Call for Papers should highlight the goals of the symposium and define as closely as possible the type of papers that are desired. It should be issued far in advance of the symposium to allow time for potential authors to decide on whether they will participate and develop the requisite abstract; for selected authors to develop their papers; for reviewing, assembling, and printing of the manuscripts; and most importantly for the extra time required to make sure that the authors complete their manuscripts. Extra time should be allowed after the abstract due date so that there is still enough time to supplement and strengthen the program. This can also be envisioned as a publicity device to alert the membership of a subject matter they may be interested in.

The Call for Papers should be published wherever possible (Marine Technology, ASNE Journal, Naval Architect (RINA), or other technical magazines where appropriate to the symposium theme) and sent out with local Section notices. This type of distribution has less financial impact than separate mailing. Such publicity also serves to announce the subject and date(s) of the symposium to potential registrants.

Do not expect the Call for Papers to be your sole source of abstracts for a focused, high-quality program! A major function of the Technical Committee members will be to search out potential subjects appropriate to the symposium theme and the authors to write these. It will take some persuasion on the part of the committee members to get those abstracts submitted, but this is why it is important to have an active and experienced Technical Committee. Letters enclosing a Call for Papers should be sent to potential authors or organizations where authors can be chosen to write an appropriate paper. A telephone call is often required to set a commitment.

3. Committee Review of Abstracts and Program Development:
The set of abstracts received can be evaluated by the entire Technical Committee as well as by the Symposium Chairperson(s) to determine interest and quality. A simple consistent scoring system is useful to simplify the process for a large committee. Each member should evaluate each abstract and score it. The summary of these results is a good method to prioritize the abstracts. A straight cut-off, based on the system of scoring is not desirable. Some weaker abstracts may provide balance needed or complement certain areas of the program.

It is difficult to have a large committee assemble often. There should be one meeting to discuss the abstracts shortly after the date set for submittal has passed. Personal knowledge of the authors by a committee member can contribute much to a paper's evaluation. The meeting can also identify where the program is weak and potential authors, not yet identified can be discovered through group discussion.

Other possibilities for the symposium program could be panel discussions, skits, evening workshops, and various other program possibilities to round out the program and provide maximum interest in the subject areas of the symposium. A draft program should be developed with the understanding that additional abstracts and possibilities could be developed.

4. Author Notification and Progress Monitoring:
Authors of Abstracts that are deemed acceptable should be notified immediately that their abstracts are accepted and here are the criteria for submittal of draft and final format including dates for submittals. A contract person for the author to communicate with on any problems, questions or other items which concern the author. The contract person should maintain a dialog with the author to insure the paper arrives on time and in the form requested.

5. Review of Paper Drafts:
In addition to Committee members being responsible for regular contact with the author(s), several members should be assigned to each paper for review and development of comments. Copies should be sent as quickly as possible to the reviewers with firm dates for response.

The reviewers should ideally have expertise in the subject area of the paper, striving to provide editorial comments for more meaningful and easier to read papers. They should suggest missed areas of discussion inaccuracies, and potential co-authors if they could assist in improving the quality and content of the manuscript.

Generally, there will be time for a first draft and commentaries should be made then. This will be followed by a final camera-ready manuscript where changes other than grammar or spelling errors will be difficult to make. If language or other difficulties are recognized at an early stage an intermediate draft should be requested to allow time for more extensive editing. This may be particularly true where English is not the primary language of the author.

6. Panel Discussions:
Panel Discussions can add some excitement to symposium and help focus topics of importance. If done early in the program (on the first day, for example) and followed by a social hour, it can lead to better mixing of symposium participants.

The choice of a well-known and personable moderator can be an important ingredient to a successful panel. Some stimulating topics or controversial material should be included. Generally, panelists should be well known and willing to speak freely on the subject chosen for them. Very high level panelists are appropriate at times but may not be the best when high interaction with other panelists or the audience is desired.

Panelists should be given only five to ten minutes, at the most, for an opening statement. Those should be focused. Questions should be developed ahead of time by the moderator and provided to the panelists so they will give answers that are well thought out and effectively delivered. Short responses should be encouraged to allow more time for questions from the floor.

Some of the prepared questions can be used by the moderator to start discussion on a particular subject followed by a question and answer session from the floor before moving on to other areas of discussion.

With large audiences, questions for the panel can be solicited with the registration materials provided as the symposium participants sign in. These can be collected before the panel discussion or at the registration desk. Such an approach needs to be carefully orchestrated with the Registration Committee if the participants are to develop questions that will be useful.

The moderator should be instructed to solicit questions from and interaction with the audience. This is the aspect of most value for making an effective panel discussion.

7. Keynote and Luncheon Speakers:
A keynote speaker positioned at the commencement of the Symposium is a good way to begin the program. With a keynote speaker followed by some significant papers, the audience will be more likely attending at the beginning of activities. With the scheduling of lesser papers at the beginning of the Symposium, some registrants may not be as prompt to arrive and an excited focus of everyone on the purposes of the symposium may be more difficult to achieve.

The keynote speaker should attempt to concentrate on the issues' of interest at the Symposium and deliver some thought provoking ideas for consideration. He will also set the tone for the event. Therefore, the "keynoter" needs to be someone recognizable to the majority of the audience, either by reputation in the field or by position in a related field.

Choice of luncheon speakers should be deferred until the technical program is well planned. These speakers should be carefully selected for their impact on the entire program and it would be prudent to provide them with a copy of the technical program to develop their remarks. Generally, very high-level speakers can be obtained for a luncheon engagement. However, it would be prudent to have some last-minute alternatives in case the speaker can not attend due to delayed flights, change in plans, etc.

The luncheon speakers, while often suggested and scheduled by the Technical Committee, should be invited personally by the symposium's Chairperson(s) with the assistance of other members of the Steering Committee to assure that the sneaker shows and is met with proper dignity and timing. Certain protocols are required if these speakers are well-known politicians, for example. Suggested topics should be noted in the request letter and there should be a good description of the symposium program.

8. Finalizing the Technical Program:
The goal for finalizing the program, including the keynote and luncheon speakers, is the date on which the pre-registration materials must be sent to the printer. These materials will form the nucleus of the publicity program for the symposium in the months just before the Symposium is held. Having a luncheon speaker or paper "to be announced" will draw very few people. Such an approach also casts a negative impression on those reading the Symposium announcement.

The makeup and finalization of the program should be done with care. A two-day meeting scheduled on a Monday or Tuesday should be arranged differently than for a Thursday and Friday. The audience will be more likely to stay to the end of a Monday-Tuesday symposium, whereas a Thursday-Friday symposium concludes on one of the busiest travel days of the week, making it more difficult to hold an audience. The technical program can also be closely related to the social one. The only way to develop a really successful program is to be aware of all possible considerations, making a few alternatives, visualizing the program as a participant, and enlisting a "crystal ball" to predict what could happen at various stages of the program.

A reception on the first day of the symposium can have tremendous benefit. It serves as a mixer that can transform the second day into a technical and social event that can be valued throughout a lifetime. It can also be a financial dud if it is poorly attended.

Evening sessions or workshops are not a regular event in our Society, but could add a mixing ingredient and technically meaningful magic to a program. These sessions normally can consist of a group of scheduled evening sessions, each having a distinct, advertised topic area. People interested in a topic will meet at an appropriate time and discuss it. A pre-appointed leader of the discussion should be prepared with several alternatives that the discussion group could focus on. People will meet each other more informally and in smaller groups allowing for further interaction than during the normal paper sessions. A verbal report or the group activity to the entire attendance might also be appropriate.

Papers starting the second day can often be poorly attended. Strong popular subject matter is suggested to stimulate the draw.

When parallel sessions are involved, care must be taken to create those that will minimize the number of persons that will want to switch from one tract to another. Times for breaks should be coordinated diligently. Generally, papers of equal interest should be placed against each other, also to minimize switching. If a paper is significant and clearly of interest to both tracts, then consideration should be given to not scheduling anything concurrently.

The success of the overall program depends upon much thought, planning, and consideration of the individuals attending as well as some intangibles.

9. Assuring Lively Discussions and Other Moderator Considerations:
Generally, a presentation by the author(s) should not take more than 45 minutes. This will include the introduction of the author(s) and leave some time for discussion. The latter could be a problem, if the paper is of high interest to symposium registrants.

In general, at least one discussion should be developed ahead of the meeting by a reviewer who is knowledgeable in the technical area of the paper and who has had the opportunity to thoroughly read the paper. To assure there is at least one discussion, three or more copies of the paper need to be sent out to potential discussers identified by the author(s) and the Technical Committee Chairperson through interaction with the Committee. This is best accomplished by the member of the committee who was chosen to monitor the progress of the paper and/or the session's moderator.

Questions and discussion from the floor are a necessity to make the session a vibrant, meaningful event for those present. If several written/prepared discussions are received, those presenting them should be directed to sit close to the podium and to read excerpts if time is a factor. The moderator should also prepare some provocative questions to try and stimulate some discussion from the floor.

The moderator's function is like a manager charged with setting up a proper forum and getting a quality job done on time. One effective way to ensure success of a session is to have both a moderator and an assisting moderator present. One of the two can be chosen from the Technical Committee (preferably the individual chosen to monitor the paper's progress) and another from the Symposium Steering Committee for his knowledge of the program.

Each moderator should be provided with an event sheet showing times and activities so that the program will not be slowed. This is particularly important with the problem of coordinating parallel sessions where registrants may desire to switch from one session to the other.

10. Keeping the Program on Time:
The key to keeping a program on time is to select conscientious and effective moderators who have a good set of instructions (verbal and written) to give to the presenters. The major difficulty encountered in past symposia and technical meetings of the Society is the author presentations. Many presenters figure that they must give an impromptu style, personable presentation to be effective. Often, however, they will fail to practice sufficiently and can take from two to three times as long as specified! Knowledge of a particular author's approach from previous experiences can help in instructing them properly. A very clear statement that the moderator will cut them off after an allotted time can be effective.

Sometimes it will be apparent that some papers will have extensive discussions, while others may have few. Some adjustment in time needs to be made although it may be difficult to know what will take place at the podium or on the floor. If necessary, additional discussions can be deferred until all the papers of the session have been presented or possibly to evening work-group sessions as mentioned in a previous section. Another approach, where a session has papers that are very close in subject area, is to hold the presentations of each paper without a break (mini-panel discussion style) followed by a group discussion of all the papers.

11. Post-Symposium Activities:
The activity of the Technical Committee does not conclude with the Symposium. After the sessions have concluded, the chairperson and his committee (or specially designated ones) will have to collate the discussions and monitor the authors’ responses. The Technical Committee Chairperson must set a date for authors’ responses, which ideally should be within 60 to 90 days after the event. It will take some persistence on the part of the Chairperson to gather the discussions and the authors' responses, plus any other write-ups, speeches, panel discussions, or summary session transcriptions to make sure that the second volume of the symposium or a single volume including the papers as well are to be published within 6 months of the Symposium. At this stage there needs to be coordination with the Publications Committee for typesetting and printing of the Proceedings of the Symposium.