Spouse/Guest Activities

A suite will be available at the hotel for guests and spouses to organize, with the help of hotel staff, their visit to the Houston area. There is no plan for organized tours.

Houston City Information

The Industry Applications Society of IEEE invites you to the 45th IAS Annual Conference in Houston, Texas USA. This Conference is the start of what will become the premier meeting for the practicing electrical engineer seeking practical information directly applicable to his or her work. The IAS Annual Conference will include multiple continuing education tracks that are geared towards the practicing engineer.

The Conference will be held October 3 through 7, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency, located in downtown Houston. Set in the heart of the business and entertainment districts, this classic downtown Houston hotel is the ideal starting point for exploring all this vibrant city offers.

Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States of America, is a cosmopolitan city that blends Western and Southern heritage and style; it has been one of America's great boomtowns of the past decade. It's once staid, business-oriented downtown has become a trendy district of restaurants, clubs, shops, condos and hip hotels, along with an architecturally stunning baseball stadium.

As of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles. Houston is the seat of Harris Countyand the economic center of the sixth-largestt metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of around 5.6 million. At 634 square miles, the City of Houston could contain the cities of New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Miami.

Houston acts as a cultural capital bridging the South and Southwest, with some of the best museums in the country. Many of the city's engaging attractions lie in the Museum District, south of downtown, anchored by lush Hermann Park, home of the Houston Zoo, Japanese Gardens and Miller Outdoor Theatre and is adjacent to the beautiful Rice University. The Museum District is home to 18 museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Children's Museum of Houston, the Menil Collection, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and many more.

Where can you go for the best in entertainment, sports, cultural arts, shopping, dining and nightlife? Look no further than Houston, Texas. Home to a respected and energetic cultural arts scene, the fourth largest shopping center in the country, Houston is as diverse a city as they come. As The New York Times stated in a recent feature, "Maybe that's what makes Houston such an unusual and wonderful place--there are so many different Houston's to see."

A visit to Houston would be incomplete without a shopping spree. The Galleria is Houston's premier shopping destination, recently renovated with more than 375 fine stores and restaurants and a full-size ice rink. Houston is one of five cities in the United States with resident companies in the four disciplines of the performing arts: Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony and Alley Theatre. Houston's 17-block Theater District is home to all of them, as well as musical theater performances by Theatre Under the Stars and Broadway in Houston.

For a long while, Houston has had one of the most exciting food scenes anywhere. Home to more than 5,000 restaurants, Houston offers everything from fine dining to hole-in-the-wall Tex-Mex.

With three major airports, Houston is one of the nation's premier international gateways, linking the region to more than 185 destinations. George Bush Intercontinental Airport is the ninth busiest airport in the United States for total passengers, facilitating travel to Houston from all over the world.

Houston boasts the world's largest medical center, The Texas Medical Center. Medicine is a growing economic force in Houston, employing more than 65,000 people and comprising 42+ institutions, with a combined operating budget of more than $5.4 billion. The renowned Texas Houston's NASA/Johnson Space Center trains America's astronauts and coordinates operations development and design work for the space missions, Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.

The IEEE IAS 2009 Houston Local Committee welcomes you to Houston with open arms. Ya'll come, stay a while and you will wonder why you went back home. We look forward to a fantastic conference and after all, where else can you learn so much about your professional calling and have such a good time along the way.

Visit Houston, and see it all for yourself!

Please check https://www.visithoustontexas.com/ for interesting places to visit during your trip to Houston.