Themes

The theme of the 2026 Conference is “Building on a strong foundation: deepening knowledge and finding collaborative solutions”. Though the event is focused on U.S. waters, with a particular focus on the East Coast, we welcome presentations from other geographies as well. 

The Scientific Advisory Committee is particularly interested in hosting symposia, meetings, and presentations on the following topics:
 

• Understanding wildlife and wildlife habitat: populations and distributions 

• Lessons learned from offshore wind energy projects to inform future decision making  

• Lessons learned from other industries to inform offshore wind energy development and decision making 

• Biotic-abiotic interactions and ecosystem approaches to understanding offshore wind effects 

• Correlation vs. causation: determining causes of ecosystem change in a changing climate 

• Offshore wind development effects and species/ecosystem responses 

• Offshore wind development effects and fisheries: social/economic responses 

• The interface of offshore wind science and policy 

• Collaborative processes to improve development and conservation outcomes 

• Technology development and integration: methods for monitoring and mitigation 
   

Note: the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) for this year’s conference is tentatively planning to host symposia focused on: 1) identifying approaches and tools to more effectively exchange knowledge and information, 2) coordination of monitoring across wind energy projects, and 3) lessons learned from regional research projects around the globe. This does not exclude additional symposia or individual abstracts from being proposed on similar topics, however. If you have a presentation topic that you would like to be considered for inclusion in a SAC-organized session, please reach out to kate.williams@briwildlife.org. 
 

Abstract Types 

We are concurrently accepting abstracts for side meetings, symposia, oral presentations, and posters.

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Symposia are special conference sessions of 60 or 90 minutes that are organized around a specific theme with a maximum of five speakers. Session organizers will be responsible for identifying and inviting speakers to participate in their symposium, though not all speaker slots have to be filled when the proposal is submitted. We encourage the inclusion of panel discussions among speakers to draw out common themes and ideas, and/or interactive audience participation.  
 

Oral Presentations are individual presentations that occur as part of the main conference sessions. Oral presentations should last no longer than 12 minutes and allow three minutes for questions. Any oral presentations that are not accepted may be considered for posters.  

 

Posters allow in-person conference presenters and attendees to discuss research one-on-one. A dedicated poster session will be held the evenings of June 9th and/or 10th. 

 

Side meetings are offshore wind and wildlife-related meetings, workshops, and trainings that can range from 2-6 hours in length. They can be open to all conference participants or limited to specific groups. Side meetings typically have separate registration processes from the main conference, and are encouraged to include active and collaborative participation from attendees. The side meetings from recent State of the Science conferences have included the annual meeting of an international working group, an external advisory board meeting for an ongoing research project, and several workshops and trainings on specific topics. Side meetings will take place on Monday, June 8th (the day before the main conference begins). Meeting sessions should be a maximum of six hours long (e.g., three hours in the morning and three in the afternoon, to allow for breaks/lunch periods in between), but shorter side meeting proposals are also welcome.  
 

In-Person vs. Virtual Attendance 

Symposium presenters and presenters of individual oral presentations are strongly encouraged to attend the conference in person. Likelihood of in-person attendance will be a factor in determining abstract acceptance, though we will accommodate virtual presentations on a case-by-case basis. Posters must have an in-person presenter (whether the lead author or a coauthor). Likewise, each symposium must have at least one in-person moderator. 
 

Submission Instructions 

Please provide the following information for submissions, depending on abstract type:  

 

Symposia

• Title (limited to 150 characters) 

• Organizers(s) name(s), affiliation(s), and email address(es) 

• List of potential and confirmed speakers, if applicable, including names, affiliations, and email addresses (note: individual symposium speakers will not be required to submit separate abstracts for their symposium talks) 

• Session length (suggested max length 90 minutes) 

• Keywords (up to 5) 

• Abstract of less than 3,000 characters, including (where applicable): 

• Rationale/goals and intended outcome for the session 

• Titles and brief descriptions for each planned presentation 

• Plans for session components (e.g., introduction, panel discussion, presentations, online surveys, etc.) Note: interactive activities are encouraged, including panel discussion among speakers as well as interactions between speakers and the audience. 
   

Oral Presentations  

• Category (oral, poster) 

• Theme– Select which topic area the submission best fits into 

• Title (limited to 150 characters) 

• Name, affiliation, and email address of presenting author   

• Name(s), affiliation(s), and email address(es) of additional authors (up to 7) 

• Indicate if the presenting author is planning to attend the conference virtually or in person 

• Keywords (up to 5) 

• Abstract of less than 3,000 characters, including (where applicable): 

• Research motivations and objectives 

• Methodology 

• Summary of results 

• Implications of findings 
   

Poster Presentations  

• Category (oral, poster) 

• Theme– Select which topic area the submission best fits into 

• Title (limited to 150 characters) 

• Name, affiliation, and email address of presenting author   

• Name(s), affiliation(s), and email address(es) of additional authors (up to 7) 

• Keywords (up to 5) 

• Abstract of less than 3,000 characters, including (where applicable): 

• Research motivations and objectives 

• Methodology 

• Summary of results 

• Implications of findings 
   

Side Meetings 

Proposals for side meetings will be assessed on a rolling basis. To help ensure that your proposal is considered, we encourage submissions at the earliest possible date. 

• Title (limited to 150 characters) 

• Organizers(s) name(s), affiliation(s), and email address(es) 

• List of invited speakers, if applicable, including names, affiliations, and email addresses  

• List of invited attendees or groups (if not open) 

• Session length (suggested max length 4 hours) 

• Suggested minimum and maximum people expected to attend (for purpose of selection of a room within the venue) 

• Abstract of less than 3,000 characters, including (where applicable): 

• Rationale/goals and intended outcome for the meeting.  

• How does this meeting connect to the broader State of the Science theme and audience? 

• Titles and brief descriptions for each planned presentation, if applicable 

• Plans for other session components (e.g., introduction, trainings, panel discussion, full group discussion, breakout group discussions etc.) 

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The Scientific Advisory Committee will evaluate all abstracts and notify the authors of accepted abstracts in early 2026. If you have any questions, please email workshop organizers Kate Williams and Eleanor Eckel. We look forward to your submission.