INVITATION:
You are cordially invited to participate in and attend the International Conference on Collaboration Technologies and Systems to be held May 21-25, 2012 in Denver, Colorado, USA. Participation is extended to researchers, designers, educators and interested parties in all CTS disciplines and specialties.

PURPOSE:
The Conference will include invited presentations by experts from academia, industry, and government as well as contributed paper presentations describing original work on the current state of research in collaboration technologies, collaboration systems, social networks, virtual worlds, services computing, and related issues. There will also be tutorial sessions, symposia, workshops, special sessions, demos, panels and forums, posters, doctoral colloquium, and exhibits. Conference sponsorships are welcomed.

SCOPE:
During the conference, attendees will see and interact with a broad spectrum of methodologies and technologies that relate to cooperation, coordination, communication, and collaboration at both the client and backend (cloud) levels. This year’s conference targets a wide array of papers, posters, workshops, panels, demonstrations, exhibits, presentations, and tutorials addressing a broad range of topics including sensors, people, clouds, robots and social networks, e-learning, e-business, e-health, emergency response, knowledge management, decision making and support, global grids, P2P, multi-agent systems, trust and cyber security, mobile clients, Web 2.0, virtual environments, ubiquitous collaboration, user interfaces and related human and socio-technical collaboration issues.

Topics include (but are not limited to):

Collaboration Systems Infrastructure, Tools and Technologies
• Frameworks and Methodologies for Collaboration
• Architectures and Design of Collaboration Systems
• Collaboration Enabling Technologies
• Enterprise and CE Heterogeneity / Interoperability
• Information Infrastructure for Collaboration
• Platforms for Collaboration
• Tangible User Interfaces for Collaboration
• Tabletop, Surface, and Multi-touch Interaction
• Intelligent & Autonomous Agents in Collaboration
• Multi Agent Systems in Collaboration
• Cluster-based Collaborative & Distributed Systems
• Grid-based Collaboration Environments
• Collaboration and Cloud Computing
• Service Oriented Architectures for Collaboration
• Collaborative Enterprise Security & Access Control
• Trusted and Reputation-based Collaboration
• Role-based, Privacy and IP Policies and Algorithms
• Management of Metadata for Collaboration
• Mobile and Wireless Collaboration Systems
• Web Infrastructure for Collaborative Applications
• Socio-Technical Information Spaces
• Electronic Artifacts and Notebooks
• Distributed Collaborative Trusted Sensor Systems
• Data Mining & Warehousing for Collaboration Technologies
• Soft Computing Solutions for Collaboration Systems
• Information Exchange and Fusion in CE
• Requirements Engineering in CE
• Executable Models of Architectures
• Modeling and Simulation of Collaboration

Human Systems and Collaboration
• Coordination and Cooperation Mechanisms
• Collaborative Human-Centered Systems
• Group Characteristics and Social Factors in CE
• Cognitive and Psychological Issues in Collaboration
• Cultural Aspects & Human Factors in Collaboration
• Affective, Emotive & Conative Aspects of Collaboration
• Human-machine Collaborative Interaction
• Interfaces for Collaborative Work
• Social Multimedia and Networks
• Social Software Based Collaboration
• Awareness in Collaboration Systems
• Visualization of Collaborative Processes & Applications

Collaboration Work and Processes
• Work and Collaborative Virtual Worlds
• Coordination, Cooperation and Collaboration
• Collaborative Conflict Management
• Ontologies and Ethnographic Approaches
• Virtual and Remote Project Coordination
• Distributed Shared Design and Development
• Distributed Team Management and Issues
• Designing Collaborative & Virtual Organizations
• Workflows in Collaborative Operations & Systems
• Contextual and Situation-based Collaboration
• Collective Intelligence and Crowdsourcing
• Work across boundaries: Disciplines, Spatial, Temporal, Social
• Empirical Investigations

Collaboration Applications, Domains, and Emerging Trends and Technologies
• Social Media Applications
• Shared Virtual Reality and Applications
• Collaborative Knowledge Management
• Collaborative Decision Making and Support
• Collaborative Prototyping Environments
• Collaboration Technologies in Industry and Businesses
• Collaborative Machines and Robots
• Collaborative Autonomous Systems & Vehicles
• Web- and Internet-enabled Collaboration
• Collaboration and Shared Planning and Logistics
• Gaming Applications and Game Engines
• Sustainability and Collaboration
• e- , Distance-, and Collaborative- Learning
• e-Business, e-Comm, e-Gov and Collaboration
• Collaborative Applications in Financial Systems
• Collaboration M&S for Exercise Support and Gaming
• Collaboration in Education and Sciences
• Tele- and Collaborative Medicine and Healthcare
• Distributed Systems Engineering Environments
• Collaboration in Emergency and Disaster Response
• Collaborative and Virtual Simulation Environments
• Collaborative Open Innovation
• Collaborative Simulation for Distributed Mission Acquisition
• Collaborative Environments for Simulation Based Training


SUBMISSION OF PAPERS:
Papers reporting original and unpublished research results on above and any other related CTS topics are solicited. Manuscripts submitted should not be under simultaneous consideration by any other conference or venues. Submission should include a completed online web based form (or a cover page) with authors' names, affiliations, addresses, fax and phone numbers, and email addresses of all authors. Please indicate clearly the corresponding author(s), although all authors are equally responsible for the paper and its content. Include up to 6 keywords from the above list and an abstract of no more than 400 words. Please submit an electronic copy of your full draft manuscript, not to exceed 8 pages in the IEEE format (single-spaced, double-column, including figures, tables, and references) posted on the CTS 2012 web site using the conference web site submission (Upload) link at http://cts2012.cisedu.info/. Additional pages will be charged additional fee. If accepted, the final camera-ready manuscript will follow the format posted, which will be made available to all authors.

Electronic submissions to main Conference track will be accepted only in PDF format, uploaded to the web site above. Consistent with standard practice, each submitted paper will receive a minimum of three reviews. Papers will be selected based on their originality, timeliness, significance, relevance, and clarity of presentation and language. Initial selection will be based on full papers. Submission implies the firm willingness and availability of at least one of the authors to register and present the paper, if accepted. All accepted papers in the Conference are required to be presented and will be included in the conference proceedings. It is our intent to have the proceedings formally published and be available at the time of the conference.

For information or questions about Conference’s paper submission, please contact the organizers.

IMPORTANT DATES:
Paper Submission Deadline ----------------------- January 31, 2012
Notification of Acceptance ------------------------ February 21, 2012
Registration & Camera-Ready Manuscripts Due --------- March 01, 2012
Conference Dates ------------------------------------- May 21 – 25, 2012


TRACKS, SYMPOSIA, WORKSHOPS AND SPECIAL SESSIONS:
Tracks, Symposia, Workshops and Special Sessions on CTS related topics are welcomed. A track/symposium/workshop/special session proposal should include a title, topics covered, organizers full contact information and affiliation, submission instructions, review process, important dates, total number of expected accepted papers, track program committee, and any other information for the authors. It is required that the organizer will attend and chair the track/symposium/workshop/special session organized. Proposals for tracks, symposia, workshops and special sessions should be submitted by November 21, 2011 as a Word file email attachment. Please refer to Tracks, Symposia, Workshops and Special Sessions page for more information. If you have any questions, please contact the Tracks, Symposia, Workshops and Special Sessions Co-Chairs.

TUTORIALS:
The conference will offer tutorials (typically 2 to 4 hours) on the state-of-the-art topics in CTS. Each tutorial proposal should provide a title, topics to be covered, targeted audience, prerequisites, and a brief biography and qualifications of the instructor(s). All proposals should be submitted to Tutorials Chairs by January 25, 2012. Please refer to the Tutorials page for more information. If you have any questions, please contact the Tutorials Co-Chairs.

PANELS AND FORUMS:
Panel sessions and forums will examine innovative, promising, or controversial CTS issues and trends today. They will also address CTS challenges and future prospects. Audience participation will be welcomed. See Panels page for more information. Proposals are welcomed and should be submitted by January 25, 2012. If you have ideas or questions concerning Conference’s panels and forums, please contact the Panels Co-Chairs.

DEMONSTRATIONS:
Demos and experiential showcases of interactive collaborative environments and tools are highly encouraged. These may include any of the themes outlined in the Conference’s topics. See Demos page for further information. Proposals for demos are welcomed and should be submitted by January 25, 2012. If you have any questions, please contact the Demos Co-Chairs.

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION COLLOQUIUM:
The CTS Doctoral Colloquium is intended to bring together PhD students working on CTS related topics, to provide them a friendly forum and an opportunity to present, discuss and illustrate their ongoing research in a constructively critical and informal atmosphere, to obtain valuable feedback from conference attendees, particularly senior researchers and experts in the field. Doctoral students who have not defended their thesis before CTS 2012 are invited to participate in the CTS Doctoral Colloquium. Students at various stages of their PhD program are encouraged to submit their work, either as full papers or as extended abstracts. Students presenting their work at CTS 2012 may apply for Student Travel Grant as posted on the CTS 2012 web site. Refer to the DDC page for more information. Proposals for DDC are welcomed and should be submitted by January 25, 2012. If you have any questions, please contact the DDC Co-Chairs.

POSTERS:
Posters addressing preliminary results, innovative ideas, work in progress, late-breaking results, collaboration tools, platforms and products, and other work not suitable for a formal paper and best presented in an interactive setting are solicited. Posters will be held in a special session where presenters will demonstrate their work directly to Conference attendees, and will remain in place during the remainder of the Conference. See Posters page for more information. Proposals for posters are welcomed and should be submitted by January 25, 2012. If you have any questions, please contact the Posters Co-Chairs.

EXHIBITS:
Exhibit booths will be available to display your newest products and technologies. Make plans now to take advantage of this prime advertising opportunity. Proposals are welcomed and should be submitted by January 30, 2012. Please refer to the Exhibits page for more information. If you have any questions, please contact the Exhibits Co-Chairs.

SPONSORSHIP AND INDUSTRY LIAISONS:
The CTS 2012 Conference seeks interested Industry Partners who would be willing to sponsor conference events or social activities (e.g., speaker sponsorship, student attendance, registration handout packets, exhibit reception, special break snacks, etc.). If an industry representative is interested in becoming a CTS 2012 Industry Partner or would like to propose an event or activity at the conference, please contact the Industry Liaisons & Sponsorships Co-Chairs. Please refer to the Sponsorships page for more information.


For information or questions about Conference's paper submission, tutorials, posters, workshops, special sessions, exhibits, demos, panels and forums organization, doctoral consortium, and any other information about the conference location, registration, paper formatting, etc., please consult the Conference web site at URLs:

http://cts2012.cisedu.info/ or http://cisedu.us/rp/cts12

or contact one of the Conference’s organizers or General Co-Chairs:
Geoffrey C. Fox at gcf@indiana.edu and Waleed W. Smari at Smari@arys.org.