Proposal Submission Closes: October 31, 2025

The US HABs 2026 Program Committee invites the HABs community to contribute to shaping the program agenda by proposing and organizing sessions within their areas of expertise. This collaborative approach ensures diverse sessions on emerging topics and cutting-edge research in bloom dynamics, monitoring and management, prevention and mitigation strategies, emerging technologies, community engagement, and modeling and forecasting. The goal of the conference is to provide a platform for researchers, practitioners, industry leaders, and all attendees to delve deeper into emerging challenges, innovative approaches, and updates in HAB science, management, policy, and programs.

Session Details

US-HABs 2026 will feature sessions that are 90-minutes long. The format consists of a five-minute session introduction and overview by the moderator, followed by five consecutive 15-minute talks around a cohesive theme and ending with a 10-minute discussion period and Q&A.

Session Proposal Topics of Interest

We have prepared a broad list of session topics as a guide to help session proposal submitters, and eventually, abstract submitters, identify the applicable topic. Please do not feel limited as we wish to capture emerging topics and new ideas whenever possible. During the proposal submission process, you will be asked to identify the most applicable topic your session falls under. Sessions and presentations should have context and relevance to HAB issues impacting US state, territory, native and transboundary communities.

View the full list of Program Presentation Topics »

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

When developing your session theme and identifying colleagues to present in your session, keep these factors in mind:

• Proposals will be evaluated for relevance to the goals of the conference.
• Preference will be given to sessions that focus on emerging trends, are integrative and interdisciplinary, and are of interest to a broad audience.
• Additional criteria for evaluation include the potential for generating useful dialogue among attendees, originality, and potential to enrich the conference program.
• Sessions that incorporate presentations from students and early career researchers are strongly encouraged and will be given preference.

All presentations will be live and in-person. This will not be a hybrid conference. No exceptions.

Session organizers are expected to:

1. Serve as the primary contact for the session. We will communicate with one official representative per session, the session organizer.
2. Adhere to all published deadlines and proactively remind their speakers of key dates. Please visit our Key Dates and Deadlines page for the full list of deadlines.
3. Moderate the session. The Session Introduction is not considered a formal talk, so you do not need to submit an abstract for it.
4. Ensure speakers submit abstracts by May 8, 2026. After we verify all speakers have submitted abstracts, we will ask you to confirm the speaker order and provide an agenda grid for your session.
5. Confirm all session speakers are registered for the conference by August 7, 2026.

When confirming speakers, make sure they:

• Plan to attend the conference in person on the dates of October 25-29, 2026.
• Understand they must submit an abstract by May 8, 2026.
• Understand they are required to register and pay the full registration fee to attend the conference by August 8, 2026. (Registration fee details will be announced at a later date.)

Steps to Develop a Session Proposal:

1. Define the purpose, focus and overarching message of the proposed session, focusing on one of the conference themes listed on the Program Presentation Topics page.
2. Identify five colleagues who can commit to attend the conference if the session is approved. Speakers should represent a variety of affiliations, perspectives and expertise, as well as be demographically diverse if possible.
3. Use the official Session Proposal Template (.doc) to create a session proposal. Incomplete proposals will not be reviewed.
4. Submit your proposal via the online submission form by October 31, 2025. This deadline will not be extended.

Please Note: We reserve the right not to accept proposed sessions as space is limited, and to cancel a session if an organizer is not able to adhere to the prescribed deadlines.