Seminar 3: Science and Technology in New York
Culminating Projects — FAQs
Concerning poster abstracts
When are poster abstracts due? Friday, November 14, 2008.
What is a poster abstract? As part of standard scientific practice, short descriptions of each poster are published in conference programs so that participants can get an idea of what they’re about to encounter. That’s exactly what we’ll be doing too.
What does the abstract consist of? An abstract must include the following:
- title (short)
- names of all student members of the group doing the research and the poster that presents the research
- name of instructor
- name of tech fellow
- a one-paragraph description (appr. 75 words)
- name and email address of one student who can be contacted should there be any questions
How long should the abstract be? Maximum: 75 words.
What happens if our group’s abstract is much too long? It will be ruthlessly cut.
What happens if our abstract accidentally includes typos or other errors? It will be printed as submitted.
What happens if our group doesn’t submit our abstract on time? It won’t be printed in the booklet. It won’t be grouped with other abstracts on similar topics in the booklet. Your poster may not be eligible for the voting.
Who is responsible for sending in the abstract for each group? The contact student in each group — not your tech fellow, not your instructor — you. But, of course, your instructor should see all abstracts before you submit them.
I’m the contact person for my group and responsible for sending in the abstract — who should I send it to? Michael Teitel (Michael.teitel@hmhc.cuny.edu).
What happens to all of the abstracts when they’re sent in? They will be collected, grouped according to topic, and bound in a booklet that will serve as a “map” to the poster exhibit on December 2, 2008.
Concerning posters
What is a scientific poster? As part of standard scientific practice, presentations at academic conferences often take the form of posters that participants stand by and explain the key points to questioners interested in the topic and ideas. That’s exactly what we’ll be doing too.
Who creates these posters? Students do, in small groups together.
But I don’t know how to create a poster! Both your instructor and your tech fellow will help you do the research, organize the information, and construct the poster.
How many posters (and therefore abstracts) per class? Five maximum. If there are more, there’s no guarantee they can all be exhibited. If faculty think there might be more, please contact right away the Associate University Dean, Dr. Sylvia Tomasch (sylvia.tomasch@mhc.cuny.edu).
Can a class do one collective poster? No. It’s simply not possible to distribute the work of making the poster or writing the abstract if too many are involved — and it’s not fair either: we know from experience that a too large group means that one or two students will end up doing all the work (and getting little or no credit for it). Writing the abstract is as much a skill as making a poster — and they both arise from doing the research, so it’s essential that everyone participate in every phase of this project.
What should the abstract and the poster be about? They both are based on the research you are doing in your Seminar.
Are there any examples of good posters so we can see what’s expected? Of course — and here’s where your Tech Fellow can be particularly helpful. ITFs have been spending a lot of their time lately talking about posters, collecting good examples, creating workshops on how to construct good posters, posting information on the Macaulay website, etc. So be sure to talk to your Tech Fellow right away.
How do we actually make the posters? Again, one of the jobs of the Tech Fellows is to make sure you have the skills needed for this task. So ITFs give workshops, in class and outside of it, perhaps in the Honors Lounge — don’t miss the next one if you missed earlier ones or need brushing up on your poster-making skills.
How do we get the posters printed? Printing is done differently at each campus, so your Tech Fellow will inform you how it is done on yours and when the deadline is. You must have your poster file ready to be printed by the deadline on your campus. In some instances, you may get your poster printed at Macaulay. In either case, you must have the poster saved on a file on a CD or flashdrive.
When are the poster files due? If they’re being printed on your campus, your Tech Fellow will inform you of the due date. If they’re being printed at Macaulay, you and your Tech Fellow must make an appointment together to bring the file to Macaulay and oversee the printing (don’t worry — an expert printer will do the actually printing, but you need to be present). We’ll be printing November 20 through 26, but since it’s a slow and careful process, everyone cannot come at once nor at the last minute. So one person from each group plus the Tech Fellow must make an appointment ahead of time; to do so, contact the Director Technology and Learning, Dr. Joseph Ugoretz (joseph.ugoretz@mhc.cuny.edu).
What happens if we don’t get our poster printed in time? It won’t be considered for the competition. There may not even be room to hang exhibit it at the Common Event. Posters that “exist” only on computers are not eligible for consideration.
Can we print the posters commercially and be reimbursed for the cost by Macaulay? No.
Concerning the Common Event
When is it? Tuesday, December 2, 2008, starting at 5 pm for poster set-up and 5:30 for the first shift eating and viewing posters.
Where is it? At the Graduate Center. You’ll set up posters in the Commons area and view them downstairs, eat upstairs on the 8th floor, and come together at the end of the evening in the Proshansky Auditorium (downstairs). Everyone will take turns viewing and eating, since the spaces can’t comfortably contain all of us at once.
This sounds complicated — how will it work? One person in each group (preferably the contact person) arrives around 5 pm to set up your poster in its assigned space. That person then goes to the 8th floor dining commons to eat dinner. Everyone else arrives starting at 5:30 and also goes to the 8th floor dining room. Everyone will be given a ticket for your eating and viewing times, so we circulate in manageable numbers throughout the whole exhibit and still have adequate time and space for eating dinner.
Who will explain the posters if everyone’s eating and viewing? Members of each group should arrange their schedules ahead of time so there is always someone standing by each poster ready to discuss the research and answer questions.
Is it true that there is a sort of poster competition — and if so, how does it work? It is true: all posters will be evaluated according to the criteria set out on the evaluation sheet, which everyone will get upon arrival. All posters will be grouped according to topic, and one winner will be determined for each group. Winners will be announced at the end of the evening, and prizes will be given to all members of each winning group.
Who completes the evaluations? You do. Although you should make every effort to see all poster groups and talk with all the presenters (just as you want others to do), you will be completing evaluation sheets in only one category (not your own).
What’s the schedule during the event? After arriving at 5:30 (5 for those setting up), everyone is given a ticket that determines the time period for eating and for viewing. Around 7:30, we’ll all assemble in the auditorium for viewing the PSAs and awarding of prizes. The evening concludes after that.
PSAs - what are they? Recently, some faculty have had their classes produce short Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in addition to posters as another mode of presenting collaborative research. Your instructor may want to do this in your class as well. If so, your ITF will help train you so you’ll know how to create them. All the PSAs that are created by Seminar 3 classes will be shown in the last portion of this Common Event and later posted on the Macaulay website.
What should I do if I have an unavoidable conflict on December 2? Talk to your Advisor - now.
What to do if you have further questions? Concerning abstracts, ask your instructor or your tech fellow. Concerning posters, ask your instructor or your tech fellow or Dr. Ugoretz. Concerning the exhibit in general, ask Autumn Payne (autumn.payne@mhc.cuny.edu). For general confusion or concerns, ask Dr. Tomasch.
