The 4^th International Conference on Power Systems Transients – IPST'2001 offers an international forum for the exchange of scientific and technical information related to the latest developments in the field of electromagnetic transients. This includes, but is not limited to, computer simulations, transient network analyser and other real time simulation studies, field measurements, application studies, etc.
IPST is a biennial event and the 2001 session will be hosted by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Information about the history of IPST conferences, are available at the IPST permanent home page: http://www.ipst.org/

The Conference will be held at the Hotel Gloria, Rua do Russel, 632, Rio de Janeiro, Telephone 55-21- 555-7272.
http://www.hotelgloriario.com.br/
Hotel Gloria is a very traditional European style Hotel and is situated on a priviledged location near the City Center, overlooking the Guanabara Bay and the Sugar Loaf.
Rio de Janeiro is a cosmopolitan center and delegates will be able to see that there is much more to it than beaches and Carnival. As former capital of Brazil, the city has many museums, interesting buildings, libraries and innumerable art galeries. The National Park 'Floresta da Tijuca' is one of the largest urban parks in the world and hiking along its many trails is an increasing popular activity. Prospective participants are requested to check for the links provided at the IPST'01 Home Page: http://www.dee.ufrj.br/ipst/ipst.html
The links have been added to assist delegates in planning for the trip to Rio and other parts of Brazil and will be constantly updated.

Rio de Janeiro is situated just north of the Tropic of Capricorn and being in the Southern Hemisphere June 21^st is the first day of the Winter. The climate is normally mild and dry, but showers may also occur. Daytime temperatures range from 18^oC to 28^oC and it is thus very pleasant. Delegates planning to participate in the visit to Itaipu and Iguassu Falls are however adivised to bring a warm overcoat as winter temperatures in that southern location can drop to 0^oC overnight.

Participants are advised to reserve rooms at the Conference Hotel Gloria. The special conference rates quoted below are for a limited number of rooms. Additionaly the official Conference Agency Blumar (http://www.blumar.com.br/) has blocked a number of rooms in hotels situated near the Hotel Gloria and in Copacabana. Public transport is available and a taxi ride from Copacabana to Hotel Gloria costs around US$ 5 to 8 depending on traffic conditions.

The above prices are quoted in Brazilian Reais per room per night and include a full buffet breakfast. A service charge of 5% is applied to the final bill, as well as tourism tax of US$ 1,00 per night. The rate of exchange is currently R$ 2,00 per US$ and is naturally subject to financial market fluctuations.

Hotel Reservations should be made through Blumar on the Reservation Form that will be available at:
http://www.blumar.com.br/events/ipst.
Reservations will be confirmed on line on a first come first served basis.

To register, please complete the Registration Form which will be available in the IPST'2001 Home Page, and mail or fax it to the address provided in the form.
In order to save time and money, please return the registration form and fee payment before May 15, 2001.

Registration Fees:

	Before 15th May	After 15th May
Participants	US$ 400,00	US$ 450,00
Accompanying	US$ 70,00	US$ 90,00
Full Time Research Students	US$ 180,00	US$ 200,00

The registration fee includes attendance to all technical sessions, the Conference Proceedings, four lunches and all coffee breaks during the conference. It also includes participation on social activities: welcome reception and half day excursion and conference dinner (see below).
The special fee for full-time research students includes attendance to all technical sessions, coffee breaks during the conference, as well as participation on social activities: welcome reception and half day excursion and conference dinner.
The fee for accompanying persons includes the welcome reception and the half-day excursion with conference dinner.
Please check at the Blumar Home Page for the alternative methods of payment.

IPST'01 Technical Program will comprise the presentation of papers on a wide variety of topics pertaining to the field of Electromagnetic Transients including simulation methods and theory, model development and validation, application studies and so on. For the first time in IPST history, pre-conference short courses will be offered, please refer to the outline below.
The conference format includes plenary sessions in which papers of broad interest will be presented to all attendees, and parallel paper sessions emphasizing specialized topics. Sessions will include time for extended discussion between audience and authors.
The IPST'01 Technical Committee is co-chaired by Professors Bernd R. Oswald (University of Hannover, Germany) and Carlo Alberto Nucci (University of Bolonha, Italy). More than 200 abstracts have been submmitted to IPST'01. A list of accepted abstracts is available at the IPST'01 Home Page and a list of accepted papers will be made available as soon as the paper review procedure is complete: http://www.dee.ufrj.br/ipst/ipst.html

IPST'2001 is cooperating with the University of Wisconsin in offering two tutorial courses preceeding the conference. Each will be presented on Friday, June 22 and Saturday morning, June 23, at CEPEL Laboratories.
Transportation from the Conference Hotel will be provided. The tuition fees will include coffee breaks and Friday lunch. A Saturday after-class Feijoada, a very traditional meal of Brazil, will be available at an extra charge.
Principles of Insulation Coordination will be taught by Professor Hermann Dommel, University of British Columbia; Douglas L. Mader, Entergy Corporation; and Dr. Luis Marti, Ontario Hydro. Principal course topics include modeling and analysis of lightning overvoltages, statistical vs. deterministic analysis, corona attenuation and distortion, substation equipment and transformers, the insulation coordination process, performance criteria, models for cable studies, sheath voltages and currents in cross-bonded cables, sheath arrester selection, voltage profiles in overhead lines and underground cables, and case studies.
Power Electronic Models for FACTS Controllers will be taught by Dennis Woodford, Manitoba HVDC Research Centre; Professor Brian Johnson, University of Idaho; and Professor Willis Long, University of Wisconsin. The course includes access to web-based EMTP models and the text Understanding FACTS: Concepts and Technology of Flexible AC Transmission Systems, by Narain G. Hingorani and Laszlo Gyugyi. Principal topics include a brief review of FACTS controllers, followed by modeling, control loops, and performance features for the FACTS family of devices. These would include the static shunt compensator, the static series compensator, the unified power flow controller, the interline power flow controller, and interactions among FACTS controllers.

The tuition fees for the short-courses are:

The number of attendants for the two courses is limited and registration will be accepted on a first come first served basis. Please contact the Local Organization Committee by phone 55 21 260-5010 or 562-8025 or e-mail: sandoval@dee.ufrj.br, before registration to confirm the availability of places.. The ultimate deadline for registration is June 1^st, 2001.

To Register: Please use the Short Course Registration Form.

A welcome reception will be held on Sunday, June 24, from 6 to 8 pm, a special location, yet to be anounced, is being reserved for this purpose.
On Wednesday, June 27 the already traditional IPST afternoon excursion and dinner will take delegates and accompanying persons to the city of

Petrópolis

Post-Conference Technical Visit to Itaipu and Iguassu Falls.

Friday June 29, morning – Departure from Rio de Janeiro to Foz de Iguaçu.
Transfer to Hotel. Visit to Iguassu Falls in the afternoon, Brazilian side.

Saturday 30^th June – Technical visit to the plant and converter station.

Sunday 31^st June – Free for further visits in the morning. Transfer to airport in the afternoon for return flight to Rio.
For prices and flight time tables please check the Blumar Home Page (http://www.blumar.com.br/events/ipst). All inclusive packages are offered, as well as alternative packages for accomodation or air fare only are provided. Delegates are advised to check with their Travel Agents for the possibility of extending their tickets to Iguassu Falls. The Brazilian Airline Company VARIG has an AirPass that can only be purchased outside Brazil.

Several tourist programs will be made available for participants and accompanying persons through Blumar, the official agency of the conference. Rio Tourist Board – Riotur (http://www.rio.rj.gov.br/riotur) has organized a Tourist Bus that can be boarded en route and has stops nearby the main attractions. Delegates are invited to visit the home pages of IPST'01 for links to tourist attractions in Rio and elsewhere in Brazil, as well as the Blumar home page to plan their cultural activities and trips.