Call for Abstracts

In-Person/Virtual Conference & Training | May 11-15, 2025  

Hosted by the Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado Parks & Wildlife

**Abstracts can be up to 3000 characters, ~450 words**

New: See example scientific and collaboration/planning abstracts below

The world of transportation is changing quickly, with new funding challenges and opportunities, abrupt changes in technology, and growing understanding of impacts on ecology. ICOET is the educational and sharing forum for practitioners and scientists in governmental, academic, nonprofit, and private sectors engaged in transportation ecology and related disciplines. ICOET workshops and trainings will help you stay up to date and share your knowledge. ICOET presentations highlight project planning and implementation activities, research findings, emerging issues, and best practices related to the interface between transportation, linear infrastructure systems, communities, aquatic, and terrestrial ecosystems. We formally invite you to join us and celebrate your recent endeavors in transportation and linear infrastructure ecology.

ICOET 2025 will be conducted in-person and virtually, which gives an exciting opportunity to bring together colleagues from around the world more than ever before. While in-person attendance offers unique opportunities for networking and informal knowledge-sharing, we also very much support our virtual participants as we embark on a hybrid ICOET conference model for the future. Thanks to our early sponsors (see https://icoet.net/Sponsors) for supporting everyone’s reduced registration costs. Thanks also to the Washington State Department of Transportation for setting up a Pooled Fund Study to support the conference: https://www.pooledfund.org/Details/Study/728. 

NEW Abstract Submission Deadline – September 20th, 2024

Professionals, academics, and students are encouraged to submit abstracts and proposals for the following: 1) Trainings – workshops, best practices, new technologies and policies; and 2) Individual Presentations -- Podium Talks, Lightning Presentations, and Posters; and 3) Organized Sessions, Symposia and Panels. Your abstract or proposal content should align with the ICOET 2025 theme and topic areas posted at https://icoet.net/2025/theme. 

Abstract and Proposal Preparation

The body of your abstract, must not exceed 3000 characters (~450 words, including spaces), excluding title, authors etc. All abstracts must be clearly written, in English, with your ideas well communicated. Your training or workshop abstract should describe how you will carry out the activities, suggested audience, and learning objectives. Your individual or organized session abstract should describe a current or recent project or investigation, planning activity, or emerging issue addressing both transportation and ecological concerns. The described presentation should offer applicable research findings or best practices that may advance the field of transportation ecology. Your submission should also be supportive of the conference theme. 

Abstract Review and Selection

All abstract submissions are evaluated and scored using several criteria by multiple peer reviewers. The ICOET Program Committee considers score rankings, reviewer comments, and the diversity of topics and presenters in its final selection of presentations to be included in the conference.

Workshop or Training Abstract Submission Form: 

https://airtable.com/appceLreLtGdP56ag/shroKpbx59hd6ZKtc 

1. Workshop or Training – Program space for 5 workshops, total, will be available for ICOET 2025. The Steering and Program Committees will also organize training courses and workshops. Creative ideas for 90-minute, interactive workshops/trainings are invited. Your proposed workshop or training should consider and describe how to involve both in-person and virtual participation. Your workshop abstract should be detailed in its description of instructional goals and methods. Other than A/V equipment, logistical details/requirements of any accepted workshops or trainings will be the responsibility of the individual or group proposing.

Individual Abstract Submission Form: 

https://airtable.com/appceLreLtGdP56ag/shrW7KpRlGJdnhoMH 

2. Podium – Individual podium presentations will be in-person, or pre-recorded, with live Q&A and simultaneously delivered to virtual audiences. Four 15-minute presentations will be organized in each session according to themes and followed by a live, 30-minute moderated Q&A with attendees and group discussion featuring all in-person or virtual presenters from the session. Podium sessions may be organized, and podium talks proposed as a group (see below). In this case, each podium abstract will still be reviewed.
3. Lightning – Short, lightning presentations may be delivered live (in-person or virtual) or pre-recorded. Pre-recorded, 5-minute talks should be posted on a commonly available platform for on-demand viewing during the conference dates. ICOET organizing staff with the University of California Davis will advise presenters on the production of their recordings to ensure format consistency. Talks will be grouped by theme, and groups of presenters will be scheduled in live sessions for the opportunity to answer questions from attendees in a moderated discussion. Pre-recorded presenters are encouraged to be creative in their approach – feel free to go beyond slides and narration to include innovative ways to relay your work (e.g., videos, story maps).
4. Posters –These should be suitable for posting to a single poster board and available during the conference dates. You should also plan to make an “e-copy” of your poster for virtual participants to see. If you are not able to participate in-person, we suggest you submit a lightning talk abstract. 

Organized Session or Panel Proposal Submission Form: https://airtable.com/appceLreLtGdP56ag/shr1HI00XEa9Ze7eg 

5. Organized Session/Symposium – Proposals are invited for complete, 90-minute Organized Sessions, composed of four presentations. Proposals are also invited for half-day (eight presentations) Organized Symposia. Presentations will be in-person, or pre-recorded, with live Q&A and simultaneously delivered to virtual audiences. Your session should be organized around a central theme with presentations and discussions aligned with the conference theme and relevant topic areas. Your session proposal should describe your central theme; its various issues and perspectives to be addressed; a list of presenter names, their respective titles, and organizations; a list of questions the presenters will address; and an outline of the session agenda. The Session organizer must be present in-person. All Organized Session/Symposium presenters must also submit their individual abstracts through the Individual Abstract Submission Form link above. Failure to do this will result in the session not being considered. 
6. Panels -- Panelists should represent multiple disciplines and varied professional perspectives on the theme. These 90-minute total sessions should consist of brief (approx. 5-minutes each), in-person or pre-recorded presentations by each panelist to orient the audience to the central theme and followed by a live (in-person or virtual), moderated panel discussion of approximately 45 minutes. Panelists will be asked to address questions from attendees submitted to the panel organizer from the audience. Panels are often popular to propose, with limited space for them in the agenda, which means that there is stiff competition among the proposals. The majority of panelists, including the organizer, must be present in-person. Proposed panels only need to submit a proposal through the Organized Session or Panel Proposal Submission Form link above; individual panelists do not need to submit an individual abstract

Submit your abstracts and proposals using the links above.

Please share this announcement with all interested people in your network. Plan now to attend ICOET 2025 and share your current research, quality applications, and best practices that can enhance both the project development process and the ecological sustainability of all transportation modes. We especially look forward to abstract submissions from newcomers to ICOET, therefore we will only accept up to three (3) presentations from any one presenter, excluding Poster submissions.

For more information about the Call for Abstracts, or ICOET 2025, please contact Fraser Shilling (fmshilling@ucdavis.edu), Lead Organizer of ICOET.

ICOET is organized by the Road Ecology Center, with the assistance and support of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation and the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis, USA. The conference is supported by many governmental agencies, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and corporate partners.
Learn more at https://icoet.net