Call for special session proposals

Special session submission details

We are excited to announce the call for Special Session Proposals and Workshop Proposals for the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Society for Freshwater Science.

We invite you to propose Special Sessions related to the meeting theme “Gathering to Build Resilient Watersheds and Communities” or other emerging topics related to freshwater science. Special Sessions will complement contributed sessions, which cover major topics in freshwater sciences, including biogeochemistry; microbial, molecular, invertebrate, and fish ecology; hydrology and geomorphology; ecosystem dynamics and restoration; and climate change and biodiversity.

Please help us make this an innovative and productive scientific program by submitting a proposal for a Special Session. Feel free to contact Lindsey Albertson or Rachel Malison if you have questions about organizing a Special Session.

Proposals for Special Sessions will be reviewed by the Annual Meeting Program Committee and Subcommittee chairs responsible for special sessions; they may ask for changes and resubmission of proposals, if appropriate.

Results of the review will be sent to chairs of proposed sessions by the first week of November 2025. Accepted proposals will appear on the meeting website.

Special Session proposals should include the following information:

●      At least two co-organizers, but you may add up to four.

●      An informative session title.

●      A short (maximum 250-word) session description.

●      The desired format (oral presentations preferred, but other formats will be considered).

●      Up to five keywords.

●      Your best estimate of the number of presentations, based on your knowledge of the topic, and individuals likely to be interested in presenting. For a Special Session to go forward, a minimum of six oral presentations would be required (15 minutes each for a total of 1.5 hrs). Please also list likely speakers that you would invite or expect to submit an abstract for your special session.

We ask Special Session organizers to consider potential speakers’ career stage, gender, race, ethnicity, geography, and other types of diversity when building sessions. SFS is dedicated to promoting diversity among its members and welcomes and encourages participation from all, regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, physical or mental difference, religion, age, or national origin.

All Special Sessions will be open to contributed presentations in addition to those invited by organizers; we expect that Special Sessions may include a mix of invited and self-nominated participants.

By proposing a Special Session, you are expected to serve as session organizer, identify session moderators, and invite speakers and inform them of key dates for abstract submission and other program deadlines. The session organizer should consider opening or closing the session with an overview/summary presentation or inviting a speaker to do so.

Special Sessions should avoid overlap with regular, contributed sessions; they may represent areas of research that are of growing interest to SFS membership or that relate to the meeting theme. Note that sessions covering similar topics may be combined. All Special Session speakers must submit an abstract, register for the meeting, and pay registration fees when registration becomes available.

A list of regular session topics can be found below the FAQ’s.