STC June 2005 Chapter Meeting

There are lots of companies in the Bay Area with a medical or scientific focus. They're often in the headlines. Ever wondered what roles technical writers play at them, and whether they might be a good fit for you?

Join us in June to hear from our panel of technical writers who have worked in a number of different medical and scientific companies around the Bay Area. They'll tell you a bit about their work, how it's similar and different from writing about computer hardware and software, whether expertise in the domain is required, how to find work in their area, and more. Bring your questions--there will be time for Q&A at the end.

Panel:

Panelists: Martha Silverspring, Susan Becker, Wren Withers, Mark Evans, Sharon Tellyer

Moderator: Linda Urban

Martha Silverspring works at Varian Medical Systems in Palo Alto, and writes about how to use radiation therapy equipment.

Susan Becker is working by contract at SLAC (the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center), where she writes procedures for testing the hardware and electronics of GLAST, the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 2007.

Wren Withers has worked as a writer at a medical device company, at a chemical company that manufactured DNA and peptides for biotech use, and for 7 years at Chiron Corp. (She currently manages a team of 9 writers at Siebel Systems.)

Mark Evans is the documentation manager for Velocity11. He also writes and does all of the print and online help development. Velocity11, located in Menlo Park, designs and manufactures robotics equipment used for automated sample preparation and drug screening by big pharmaceuticals companies.

Sharon Tellyer works at Scios, Inc., a pharmaceutical company in Fremont, that develops treatments for cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disease, and cancer. She writes documents used in clinical trials and FDA submissions and is standardizing writing processes and templates.

Linda Urban (Moderator) is a technical communications consultant at Linda Urban Communications, LLC. She also teaches in the Technical Communication programs at UC Berkeley Extension and UC Santa Cruz Extension, where students frequently ask her about breaking into medical and scientific writing. Her company website is www.urbancreations.com.

Monthly Membership Meetings

The Berkeley chapter meets the second Wednesday of the month.

Continuing in June, 2005 we will meet in the Town Room (on the second floor) of the Shattuck Plaza Hotel in Berkeley, CA.

Program Ideas
Fees
Agenda
Location and Directions

Membership Meeting Program Ideas?

If you have a suggestion for a meeting topic you'd like to hear more about or if you'd like to be a presenter, send an email to Valerie Steele, VP of Programs.

Membership Meeting Fees

For the meeting and dinner, reserved on the Chapter's website in advance:

Members: $18
Non-members: $21
Student members: $15

For the meeting and dinner at the door:

Members: $21
Non-members: $24
Student members: $18

Note: If you do not reserve dinner in advance, dinner may or may not be available on a walk-in basis. We order dinner for the number of reservations plus a few walk-ins.

To attend the program only:

Members and non-members: $12
Non-STC-Members: $15
Students: $10

NOTE ONE: Non-members are always welcome to STC meetings.

NOTE TWO: All members of the San Francisco Chapter of the IABC are welcome to register for Berkeley STC General Meetings at the member price.

If you wish to pay by cash or check, send email to that effect to treasurer@stc-berkeley.org, and then bring payment to the meeting.

If you wish to pay be credit card, please reserve using our online storefront.

Interested in becoming a member?

Membership Meetings Agenda

6:00 -- Networking, conversation
6:30 -- Buffet served
7:15 -- Chapter business, announcements, jobs available*
7:30 -- Formal program
8:30 -- Conversation, off-line questions for the speakers, follow-up on job announcements
9:30 -- Clear the room, move conversations to the sidewalk

*Attendees are encouraged to announce open positions. Please bring job listings for distribution. Recruiters may introduce themselves, but may not describe open positions in detail. Save that for one-on-one after the program.

Location and Directions

Shattuck Plaza Hotel
2086 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA

The Shattuck Plaza Hotel is located at 2086 Allston Way in downtown Berkeley, immediately west of Shattuck Ave. We meet in the Towne Room on the second floor.

The Shattuck Plaza Hotel in Downtown Berkeley, just off of Shattuck

The hotel is within walking distance from the Berkeley BART station; meter parking on the street is free after 6:00 p.m.

The Shattuck Plaza Hotel Lobby

Directions to the Shattuck Plaza Hotel

By BART:

Emerge from the Berkeley BART station.
Walk south on Shattuck one block.
Turn right on Allston.
The Shattuck Plaza Hotel is on the left.

By car:

Metered parking on the street is free after 6:00 p.m.

From north of Berkeley: I-880 south and get off at the University Avenue exit. Follow University east to Shattuck and turn right. Allston is three blocks south of University, and the Shattuck Plaza Hotel is on the South side of the street.

From south of Oakland: SOUTH: Take I-880 north to downtown Oakland, and then bear right onto I-980. Take the Martin Luther King exit and bear left to merge onto Martin Luther King Way. Turn right onto Adeline just past the sharp curve. Adeline will merge into Shattuck Avenue. Turn left on Allston and the hotel will be on the left side of Allston.

From San Francisco: Take the Bay Bridge towards Oakland (I-80 East). At the end of the bridge, take I-80 east towards Berkeley. Get off at the University Avenue exit. Follow University east to Shattuck and turn right. Allston is three blocks south of University, and the Shattuck Plaza Hotel is on the South side of the street.

From far East Bay: Take Highway 24 West through the Caldecott Tunnel. Exit at Highway 13 north towards Berkeley. Turn right on Shattuck Avenue. Turn left on Allston and the hotel will be on the left side of Allston.

Please email webpage corrections or webpage comments to:

Jim Dexter (internet@stc-berkeley.org)

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