Annual Meeting 2025 - Portsmouth, UK: Overview

The meeting will begin with an Early-Career Researcher workshop and social event during the afternoon and evening of Thursday 11th December.

Workshops will be held during the morning of Friday 12th December. The symposium on “Experimental Palaeontology” will take place during the afternoon on Friday 12th December, followed by an Icebreaker in the early evening. The main scientific sessions of oral and poster presentations will be held on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th December. The AGM will be in the late afternoon of Saturday 13th December, followed by the Annual Address from Prof. Jennifer McElwain (Trinity College Dublin) on “Exploring Earth's dynamic atmospheres and ecosystems”.

Unless specified otherwise, all conference events will be held across Richmond Building and Portland Building in the northern quarter of the University of Portsmouth campus. The Annual Dinner will be during the evening of Saturday 13th December, on board HMS Warrior in Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. A one-day post-conference field trip to the Isle of Wight will be held on Monday 15th December. Further details regarding all events are available through the dedicated sections.

Oral presentations will be held across parallel sessions and there will be a mixture of standard and lightning talks. There will be two one-hour dedicated poster sessions after lunch each day, and posters will remain on display for the duration of the meeting. All delegates should plan to attend in person; unfortunately, we do not have the facility to allow for virtual attendance at the meeting in Portsmouth.

Portsmouth is a compact, waterfront city, with good transport links and several hotels and areas for eating and drinking within walking distance of the conference venues. There are numerous areas close to the university campus that have cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars. Gunwharf Quays has many chain restaurants and bars, whilst Guildhall Walk has several pubs that do food. Further afield is Southsea, with the Palmerston Road and Albert Road areas. All the conference venues, main hotels and travel hubs are within an approximately 20-minute walk of each other. Portsmouth has traditionally been known as a naval city and, as well as being the home of the modern British Navy, it is also home to the historic Mary Rose, HMS Victory, and HMS Warrior. In more recent years, Portsmouth has welcomed a vibrant student population, and it has become a colourful city with a great selection of street art where every person can feel confident and safe to express themselves without prejudice. 

Getting to Portsmouth by train: There are two train stations in Portsmouth: Portsmouth and Southsea, and Portsmouth Harbour. All trains stop at Portsmouth and Southsea; and, depending on the line, some continue to Portsmouth Harbour. There are direct train links from London Waterloo, London Victoria, Cardiff, Bristol, and Southampton.

Getting to Portsmouth by air: Portsmouth can be reached easily from London Gatwick, London Heathrow, and Southampton airports. There is a direct train from London Gatwick to Portsmouth and from Southampton Airport Parkway to Portsmouth. A coach and rail service links London Heathrow and Portsmouth via Woking. 

There are five main hotels close to the conference venues: Premier Inn Portsmouth City Centre, Premier Inn Portsmouth Dockyard, Holiday Inn Express Portsmouth, Travelodge Portsmouth City Centre, and Ibis Portsmouth Centre. All are within a 10- to 15-minute walk of Portland and Richmond buildings where the main scientific sessions will be held. Within this radius there are also several smaller and independent hotels. Accommodation may be booked through the usual online resources, and delegates are strongly encouraged to book their accommodation as early as possible to avoid disappointment and to get the best rates.

A limited number of oral and poster presentation slots have been ring-fenced for delegates from low- and middle-income countries (as defined by the World Bank) who submit an abstract for consideration and are able to attend in person. Registration fees can be waived for researchers from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In this instance, please email the Executive Officer, Dr Jo Hellawell (executive@palass.org) for a code that you may enter during registration and then upload your abstract. Please note that registration fee waivers are only available to LMIC delegates, solely for the purpose of facilitating presentation of their research.

Grants of up to £200 are made to support student members (doctoral and earlier) travelling from outside Portsmouth to attend the Annual Meeting to present a talk or poster and who have no other recourse to funds. Payment of these awards is given as a disbursement at the Meeting, not as an advance payment. Please see the requirements and appropriate uses of funds on the Association website. To apply, email the Executive Officer, Dr Jo Hellawell (executive@palass.org), with the subject “Travel Grant Request” once your abstract has been accepted. Deadline is 14th November 2025.

The International Nannoplankton Association Foundation (INAF) are providing a fund to
support student members (doctoral and earlier) travelling from outside Portsmouth to attend
the Annual Meeting to present a talk or poster on nannoplankton research. Payment from
this fund will be given as a disbursement at the Meeting, not as an advance payment. To
apply, email the Executive Officer, Dr Jo Hellawell (executive@palass.org), with the subject “INAF Fund” once your abstract has been accepted. Deadline is 14th November 2025.

Bursaries of up to £250 are made to support attendance at the Annual Meeting by Association members with caring responsibilities. Applications will be assessed by the PalAss Diversity Group and awards will be made on a first-come first-served basis. Successful awards will be paid retrospectively on the submission of receipts. Please see the requirements and appropriate uses of funds on the Association website. Deadline is 14th November 2025.
 

Richmond Building has a dedicated room for breastfeeding on the 5th floor. For further details and to request access to the nursing facilities, please e-mail the meeting organisers annualmeeting2025@palass.org.

The University of Portsmouth is committed to providing accessible learning environments for all students, staff, and visitors. 

• The lecture theatres and classrooms associated with the conference are accessible to individuals with mobility requirements.
• Portland Building Room PO 0.41 and PO 0.28 include space at the back which can accommodate wheelchair users.
• Portland Building Room PO 1.74 is accessible via a lift and offers space for wheelchair access.
• Richmond Building LT1 has two entrances; we recommend using the ground floor entrance for both entry and exit to ensure full accessibility.
• Toilets are available on all floors and are accessible via lift or stairs if not located on the ground floor. Please note Portland Building does not have a designated male toilet on the ground floor. However, a unisex accessible (disabled) toilet is available for use.
• A quiet room will be available for use if required.

For specific information about the accessibility of HMS Warrior for the Annual Dinner, please see the dedicated section.