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MULTI-DIMENSIONAL BRANE WORLDS, THE ACCELERATING UNIVERSE, GAMMA-RAY BURSTS,
   HIGH ENERGY COSMIC RAYS, BLACK HOLES, RELATIVISTIC JETS, SUPERNOVAE,
  AND MORE, ARE ON THE AGENDA, AS RESEARCHERS PREPARE TO CONVENE AT THE
             20TH TEXAS SYMPOSIUM ON RELATIVISTIC ASTROPHYSICS
                  IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, DECEMBER 11-15, 2000

The Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics, a world conference of top
cosmologists and astrophysicists, returns to the state of its origin on
December 11-15, 2000 at the Austin Convention Center, 500 East Cesar Chavez,
Austin, TX 78701.

Online registration and abstract submission at:

www.texas-symposium.org

Deadline for early registration is November 15.

A block of rooms at the centrally located Hyatt Regency Hotel
has been reserved for Conference participants at $115 per night
for a single or double room, and $140 per night for a triple or
quad room.  HOTEL RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BY NOVEMBER 13 to
qualify for group rates. For reservation and further information about
the Hyatt, please call: 1-800-233-1234, or check their website.

In the tradition of the Texas Symposia, the Austin meeting program
features major invited talks, as well as topical sessions and
poster papers on the latest theories and findings.  Key topics this
year are:

* string theory & quantum gravity    * the brane world & multi-verses
* observations of massive neutrinos  * new experiments to detect WIMPS
* cosmic background radiation        * gravitational waves
* dark energy and quintessence       * the accelerationg universe
* dark matter, WIMPS included        * cosmological reionization
* X-ray background & quasar census   * gamma-ray bursts
* relativistic jets                  * ultra high energy cosmic rays
* supermassive black holes           * supernovae
* pulsar/magnetar physics            * colliding neutron stars
* numerical relativity

New results are expected from the Chandra and Newton X-ray observatories
and the recently-launched High Energy Transient Explorer - HETE2.

PUBLIC POLICY.  Prof. Michael Turner of the University of Chicago, Chair of
the NRC Committee on the Physics of the Universe, will address the Symposium
on "From Quarks to the Cosmos," the first public presentation of the
Committee's report that identifies timely scientific opportunities and
thus will provide an opportunity for community input before the second
phase report determines priorities.

J. Craig Wheeler
Chair, Local Organizing Committee