Poster Judging : Cal NERDS' Faculty Centric Research Poster Judging Method

Summary

Caroline Kaine and Professor Rudy Ortiz discuss faculty judging of posters at scientific conferences. They emphasize the importance of poster composition, clarity, and the student's ability to articulate their science. The video highlights key features of effective poster design, such as layout, color scheme, and clear conclusions. Additionally, it showcases an evaluation with student Steven Chavez, focusing on his project's rationale, scientific communication, and future work.

Takeaways

• 📈 **Clarity in Poster Composition**: The script emphasizes the importance of a clear and well-organized poster layout that is easy to read and logically structured.
• 🎓 **Student's Understanding**: The student's ability to contextualize and clearly describe their science is crucial, even to judges outside their discipline.
• 🏅 **Communication Skills**: The student's communication and professionalism during the poster session are key components of the judging process.
• 🖼️ **Poster Layout**: A good poster should have an open layout with clear sections and a logical flow, making it easy for anyone to understand the content.
• 🌈 **Color Scheme**: While seemingly trivial, the color scheme of a poster is important as it affects the poster's readability and visual appeal.
• 📊 **Use of Graphs and Figures**: Graphs and figures should be clear, well-marked, and not too numerous to ensure they are easily understood from a distance.
• 📝 **Future Work**: Outlining future work in the poster shows a forward-thinking approach and can be a point of interest for judges.
• 🙋‍♂️ **Student Interaction**: The interaction between the student and the judges is a significant part of the judging process, where the student's understanding and presentation skills are assessed.
• 🔍 **Detailing Methodology**: The poster should clearly detail the methodology used in the research to allow judges to understand the scientific process.
• 📋 **Stickers for Organization**: Using stickers with student names and topics helps in keeping track of which posters have been judged and by whom.
• 📝 **Acknowledgements**: Properly acknowledging contributors to the research project is a sign of professionalism and good scientific practice.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of faculty judging posters at scientific conferences?

The main purpose is to evaluate the quality of the students' work, including the poster layout, the student's ability to explain their science, and their general communication and professionalism skills.

How does faculty-centered poster judging work?

In faculty-centered poster judging, faculty members choose which posters to judge. They are given stickers with the student's name and topic to ensure clarity and organization in the judging process.

What are the three main categories that faculty look for when judging posters?

The three main categories are poster composition and clarity, the student's ability to put the science in context and describe it clearly, and the student's general communication and professionalism skills.

Why is the student's ability to describe their science considered more important than the poster layout itself?

The student's ability to describe their science is crucial because it demonstrates their understanding and communication of the research, which is the primary feature of the poster session.

What features contribute to a good poster layout?

A good poster layout should be open, well-organized, easy to read, logically ordered, and include clear bullet points, marked graphs, and a concise series of conclusions.

Why is it important for a poster to be understandable to someone outside the discipline?

It is important because judges at conferences can come from various disciplines, and the ability to convey scientific concepts to a general scientific audience is a key aspect of scientific communication.

What advice is given regarding the size of figures in a poster?

Figures should be large enough to be seen from a distance, such as 3-4 feet away, to accommodate busy meeting conditions where judges may not be able to stand close to the poster.

What is the significance of the future work outlined in a poster?

Outlining future work shows the direction of ongoing or planned research, demonstrating the student's understanding of the broader implications and next steps in their scientific field.

How does the presence of acknowledgements affect the poster?

Properly acknowledging contributors and sources of support is important for academic integrity and transparency, and it can also reflect positively on the student's professionalism.

What happens when a judge is finished evaluating a poster?

The judge places dots at the upper right-hand corner of the poster to indicate that it has been judged, providing feedback to both the student and others in the poster area.

What is the role of the student in the judging process?

The student plays a central role by presenting their work, answering questions, and demonstrating their understanding of the science, which is a critical part of the judging process.

Outlines

00:00

📊 Judging Posters at Scientific Conferences

Caroline Kaine and Professor Rudy Ortiz discuss the process of faculty judging of posters at scientific conferences. They highlight the importance of clarity in poster composition and the student's ability to communicate their science effectively. The video script outlines three main categories for judging: poster composition and clarity, the student's ability to contextualize and describe their science, and the student's general communication and professionalism. The script also emphasizes the importance of the science being the primary feature, with the student's discussion of the science being even more critical than the poster layout itself.

05:02

🔍 Evaluating Poster Design and Content

The script continues with a detailed evaluation of a specific poster, focusing on its layout, clarity, and the student's understanding of their scientific work. It mentions the importance of a poster being understandable to someone outside the discipline, the need for figures to be large enough to be seen from a distance, and the clarity of font size. The script also discusses the poster's outline for future work and the presentation of acknowledgements. It transitions from evaluating the poster in isolation to the importance of the student's interaction during the judging process, introducing Steven Chavez, the student who created the poster.

10:04

🤝 Engaging with the Student Presenter

In this part of the script, Caroline Kaine and Rudy Ortiz engage in a mock judging scenario with Steven Chavez, the student presenter. They ask him about the rationale behind his poster's design and layout, his choice of project, and the terminology used in his presentation. Steven explains his project, which involves artificial photosynthesis, and discusses the use of sacrificial reagents in his work. The judges also inquire about the future work outlined in his poster. The script concludes with the judges thanking Steven for his participation and emphasizing the importance of understanding the criteria for creating a high-quality poster.

Keywords

💡Faculty judging

Faculty judging refers to the process where academic staff assesses and evaluates student work, specifically in the context of poster presentations at scientific conferences. It is a critical part of the academic conference experience, ensuring that students receive feedback from experts in their field. In the video, faculty members Caroline Kaine and Rudy Ortiz discuss their approach to judging posters, emphasizing clarity, scientific communication, and student interaction as key elements.

💡Poster composition

Poster composition is the arrangement and layout of information on a scientific poster. It is crucial for effectively communicating research findings in a visually appealing and organized manner. The script mentions that a good poster should have a clear layout with well-described sections that are easy to read and logically ordered, which is exemplified by the open layout and clear bullet points in the discussed poster.

💡Clarity

Clarity in the context of the video refers to the ease with which the information on a poster can be understood. It encompasses both the visual clarity of the poster layout and the conceptual clarity of the scientific content presented. The video emphasizes that clarity is the most important aspect of poster judging, as it allows judges to quickly grasp the student's research and the student to effectively communicate their work.

💡Scientific context

Scientific context is the background information and framework within which scientific research is conducted and presented. In the video, it is mentioned that students should be able to put their science in context and describe what they have done. This involves explaining the relevance and significance of their research within the broader field, which helps judges and other viewers understand the importance of the work.

💡Communication skills

Communication skills are essential for scientists to convey their research findings effectively. The video highlights the importance of a student's ability to articulate their research and take the judges through their poster with clarity. This includes not only the visual communication on the poster but also the verbal communication during the judging process.

💡Professionalism

Professionalism in the context of the video refers to the demeanor, conduct, and etiquette expected from students during the poster presentation and judging. It involves dressing appropriately, being respectful, and engaging in a professional manner with the judges. The script implies that students should exhibit good communication and professionalism skills during the poster session.

💡Sticker

In the script, a sticker is mentioned as a tool to ensure organization during the judging process. It contains the student's name and topic, placed on the judging sheet to keep track of which posters have been evaluated. This is an example of practical measures taken to maintain clarity and organization in academic events.

💡Color scheme

The color scheme of a poster refers to the choice of colors used in the design, which can affect readability and visual appeal. The video script notes that while the color scheme may seem trivial, it is actually important because the poster serves as a communication tool. A good color scheme can enhance the poster's effectiveness, making it easier for judges to understand and appreciate the presented science.

💡Future work

Future work mentioned in the video refers to the plans for extending or building upon the current research project. It is an important aspect of scientific communication as it shows the potential for ongoing research and the student's ability to think ahead. The script praises the poster for outlining future work, indicating that it is directly related to the current project and aims to improve material design and efficiency.

💡Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements are a section of a scientific paper or poster where the author thanks individuals and organizations that contributed to the research but are not authors. In the video, the way the poster's acknowledgements are put together is highlighted as a positive aspect, showing the student's appreciation for the support received and adherence to academic norms.

💡Sacrificial reagent

A sacrificial reagent is a specific type of chemical used in experiments to protect the main reactants or catalysts from degradation. In the video, the student explains that it was used as a baseline to compare with standard reagents to assess the efficiency of their devices. This term is used to illustrate the importance of clear scientific terminology and the need for students to be able to explain their methods to a broader audience.

Highlights

Caroline Kaine introduces the topic of faculty judging of posters at scientific conferences.

Professor Rudy Ortiz joins to discuss the nuances of judging posters.

Faculty judges select which posters to evaluate, ensuring clarity and organization.

Stickers with student names and topics are used for organization during judging.

Three main categories for judging posters: composition and clarity, student's ability to describe science, and communication skills.

The importance of the science being the primary feature of the poster.

Rudy discusses the open layout and clear description of sections in a good poster.

The ability to understand the science from the introduction and conclusions is highlighted.

The color scheme's role in making the poster a communication tool.

The necessity for clear bullet points and not too many graphs for readability.

The importance of figures being large enough to be seen from a distance.

The minimum font size should be 16pt for clarity.

The outline of future work and acknowledgements are noted as strong points of the poster.

The student's role in poster judging is emphasized as the most important feature.

Steven Chavez is introduced as the student who created the evaluated poster.

Steven's project on artificial photosynthesis combines his interests in material science.

The rationale behind the poster design is to facilitate scientific communication.

Explanation of 'sacrificial reagent' in the context of the project.

The selection of future work areas that build upon the current project.

Final step of a judge marking the poster as evaluated with dots.

The video concludes with thanks and encouragement for future poster sessions.

Transcripts

[Music]

hello my name is Caroline Kaine and

we're here to talk with you about

faculty judging of posters at scientific

conferences and faculty will judge

posters in many different ways but the

guidelines that we will give you

especially those of you who are new as

well as students we hope will be helpful

in making your judging experience

Pleasant for you as well as pleasant for

the students let me introduce my

colleague Professor Rudy Ortiz from UC

mered who also is going to be helping

and explaining to you some of the the

vagaries and pleasures of judging

posters what I can tell you is that in a

faculty Centric poster judging this is a

poster judging

form the faculty get to pick which

posters they will judge but to be sure

that there's Clarity and that we know

which students are actually being judged

we're also given a sticker that will

have the students name

as well as the students topic to put on

top of the judging sheet right away so

that we can stay organized and be sure

that the student has the proper score at

the end but then to judging

posters there are three main categories

that I look for in a poster the first

comes when I'm approaching the poster

looking at the poster composition and

it's

Clarity the second which is the most

important actually is the student and

the student's ability to put the science

in a context and describe the science

what he or she has done in the science

and take us through the poster with the

same Clarity that I or better Clarity

than I see on the poster and then the

third is the general communication and

professionalism skills that the student

expresses during the poster judging the

science is the primary feature and the

student talking about the science is in

many ways even more important than the

poster layout

itself now we'd like to go through some

of the things that contribute to a good

poster and the features that we look for

when we're judging a poster Rudy why

don't we start with

you so taking this as an example I I

like the the way the the layout is very

open um each section of the poster is

very well described and it's an easy to

to to read that it flows well in in a in

a logical fashion logical

order and I would add too that the

poster actually is in an area of science

that's distinct from my own and yet I'm

able to come up to this poster and by

looking at the introduction and the

conclusions am able to

get some idea about how well the student

actually understands what's going on in

the science the color scheme is nice

that may sound trivial when you're

evaluating the science but it's not

because the poster is a communication

tool as

well background and then right into the

methodology this is something that when

the student does arrive to talk with us

about his poster we'll expect him to be

able to flow as easily between them as

we can now look at the poster when he's

not here too this poster is a very busy

poster and yet it's arranged to me in

such ways that there are nice bullet

points clearly marked

graphs but not too many

graphs and then a nice series of

conclusions I agree that's uh very

important especially if it's outside of

your discipline to be able to to read it

and still be able to take something away

that's very very important because when

you're at a meeting you don't know who's

going to be judging your posters and a

lot of times it's somebody outside of

your diff discipline so if you're able

to convey your science to somebody

outside that's that's really important

so I I think that's a a clear strength

of the poster but one one of the things

that I I would advise is there are a lot

of figures here

and it's hard to you know we're standing

close to it so it's very easy for us to

see this but usually the judges aren't

going to be able to to get this close if

it's a busy meeting so the figures need

to uh put you know possibly be a little

bit bigger and it would help to uh be

able to see it from you know if you're

standing uh 3 4 feet

away that certainly is true because if a

poster is popular for either the faculty

judges or for other students who want to

see it they won't be able to to

especially with older judges have the

clarity of this particular font although

this font does satisfy the kind of

minimum requirements it looks like it's

about a 16o font for most of the text

and it it should be that or larger on

almost all

counts two other things I think are

really nice about this poster is the

outline of the future

work and the way the acknowledgements

are put

together and so what you've heard us

talking about to this point are features

of a poster that you should pay

attention

to I pay attention to at least and Rudy

pays attention to when we are evaluating

how well a student has done in the

science and now what we'd like to do is

switch to having Just the Two of Us

evaluating the poster in a vacuum to

having the most important feature of a

poster judging and that is the young

scientist himself so we look forward to

talking with Steven

Chavez I want to welcome Steven Chavez

who's the student who put together this

poster Steven is a senior at the

University of California at Berkeley in

the department of chemical and

biomolecular engineering and he also did

this work up at the Joint Center for

artificial photosynthesis at the

Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratories what you're going to see is

just a capsule of what would happen in

an actual judging situation where

somewhat fewer questions will be asked

but at the same time Rudy and I are

really asking these questions out of

genuine interest and they are the types

of questions that judges would ask Rudy

yeah Stephen congratulations this a nice

poster well done thank let me ask you

quickly what is the uh rationale behind

the design of the poster and this

layout so as a student the main thing

you want to do when you're presenting is

get across your science to the judge and

by picking a really organized and easy

to follow layout the judge can focus

more on what you're actually saying

rather than trying to find everything on

your

poster that's a really important feature

of scientific communication let me ask

you why you picked this particular

project to begin with all right so

that's easy I'm actually also a material

scientist so this project artificial

photosynthesis kind of combines

everything I'm interested in and that's

basically why I was able to do such

great

work and I am a biochemist and biologist

much less of an engineer and your poster

is actually very good at at using

terminology that someone with the

General Science Education would

understand except I don't understand

what a sacrificial reagent is in the

context of the current voltage

characterization so could you explain

that please okay so very briefly terms

of this project what I used the

sacrificial reagent for is as I used it

as a baseline against what are called

standard re agents and by comparing the

data between the two we can really see

how efficient these devices

are the other thing I really liked about

your poster was the way that you outlin

future work and I'm wondering how you

picked the particular areas of future

work so the future work directly

parallels this project that I did here

it just takes it to the next level in

terms of material materials design and

efficiency parameters um and by

exploring these things we can make these

devices as efficient as

possible so thank you very much for

letting us judge your poster and the

final thing a judge does before the

judge

leaves is puts dots at the upper right

hand corner of the poster so that both

the student as well as others in the

poster area will know that the students

poster has been judged by two

individuals I want to thank you very

much for the participating in the video

but also for the nice work that you've

done and the way it's really nicely

displayed so I appreciate that very much

thank you for having me and Rudy I

appreciate you're being involved in the

filming too to try and help the next

generation of Judges my pleasure um

enjoy the post recession as do we and

also that the students might enjoy the

poster session even more and understand

what goes into making a First Rate

poster thank you very much

[Music]

[Laughter]

[Music]