About the Fifth International Conference on Structural & Functional Intermetallics: About Vancouver

The Fifth International Conference on Structural & Functional Intermetallics (ICSFI), sponsored by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), will be held July 16-19, 2000, at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Westin Bayshore has a waterfront location overlooking picturesque Coal Harbor.

Referred to as “The Gateway to the Pacific”. This cosmopolitan jewel, its downtown skyscrapers flanked by snow-capped mountains and shimmering English Bay, has a relaxed ambience that makes visitors feel welcomed.

Just across the Canadian border, Vancouver is to British Columbia what Seattle is to Washington: the focus of the region’s culture and vitality. Consistently rated among the world’s most beautiful cities, a large part of Vancouver’s appeal lies in its location. The city sits on a thumb-shaped strip of land almost entirely surrounded by water: Burrard Inlet lies to the north, Fraser River to the south, and English Bay and the Strait of Georgia to the west. North of Burrard Inlet, the massive flanks of the Coast Mountains rise in an unbroken chain all the way to Alaska. Vancouver is larger and more cosmopolitan than Victoria, BC’s capital across the Strait of Georgia. The downtown area sits on the peninsula separating Burrard Inlet and English Bay. In Gastown, downtown’s trendiest morsel, buskers jam beneath the glow of antique lampposts. Just east of downtown, Chinatown packs more people of Chinese descent into its few crowded blocks than most Canadian towns have residents. Among the attractions are the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Sam Kee, the World’s Thinnest Office Building. Immediately north of downtown, 1000 acre Stanley Park fills in the rest of the peninsula. The park is home to an old-growth forest, the Vancouver Aquarium, a 6 mile (10km) seawall promenade and scores of trails and beaches.