BATAVIA, Illinois -- Did the universe have a beginning? How fares the cosmological constant? Is there new light on dark matter?

Several dozen of the world's leading practitioners of the science of particle astrophysics will explore these and other questions of the hour at the Inner Space/Outer Space II Symposium to be held at the Department of Energy's Fermilab Wednesday, May 26-Saturday, May 29.

At the Symposium's special "Workshop on Future Missions" on Friday, Director Dan Goldin of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Under Secretary Ernie Moniz of the Department of Energy, and Assistant Director Robert Eisenstein of the National Science Foundation will share their views on future directions in the field of particle astrophysics. Goldin has announced that he will use the occasion to make a "major policy address."

The four-day agenda includes presentations on Extra Dimensions; the Accelerating Universe; Beyond the Standard Models; Dark Matter; Neutrino Physics & Astrophysics; Inflation, and many other universe-expanding and outlook-expanding topics. Members of the press are also invited to be the guests of Fermilab at a Thursday evening dinner gathering with scientists at Chez Léon, the Lab's onsite restaurant.

To sign up for press credentials, go to the Inner Space/Outer Space II web site:

http://www-astro-theory.fnal.gov/ISOSII/

--and click on Press. You will be free to enter all conference sessions. Tickets for dinner at the special Friday night buffalo banquet are available for $60. The web site contains detailed information on the conference, as well as on transportation and accommodations.

Space is limited (at least, it is for the symposium; that aspect of the universe is sure to be hotly debated), so please sign up as soon as you can.