ISBA 2004, a world meeting of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis, will be held in Vina del Mar, Chile, from May 23 to May 28, 2004. The conference provides a venue for all scientists interested in Bayesian analysis to present their work and interact with colleagues from all over the world. ISBA world meeting organizers place a very high premium on attracting graduate students and junior researchers, and strongly encourage them to present their work and interact with international colleagues. Funding from NSF was requested to provide travel grants to graduate students from the United States and from some Latin American countries (except Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela).
In the last fifteen years or so there has been an explosion in the development and application of Bayesian ideas. Research in Bayesian statistics and Bayesian analysis is very active worldwide, and a large proportion of young researchers are now active members of the Bayesian community. International meetings such as the ISBA world meetings and the Valencia International meetings that focus on Bayesian ideas, have also increased in size, quality and importance over this period. Encouraging the participation of graduate students and researchers in this community has been an important goal of these conferences. For the first time, ISBA world meeting organizers have set aside a significant number of sessions at the conference for students. Graduate students worldwide were asked to submit complete proposals for sessions for the consideration of the program committee. A set of eighteen graduate student-organized sessions (selected from over forty proposals received) is now a part of the program. Funding from the National Science Foundation was solicited to provide travel grants to graduate students who organized sessions or who will be presenting their work at the conference, and to young researchers who also present their work.
