Poster Paper Session: A Forum for Interactive Learning
Thomas F. Marinis, PhD - Educational Program Chair, IMAPS New England
At large conferences, the poster paper session is frequently used to accommodate any overflow of papers that are submitted for the regular sessions. This utilization of the poster session certainly has merit, but it does foster a perception that the papers did not make the final cut and are to be read, time permitting. The consequences of this perception are many missed opportunities. The poster session provides an ideal forum for an extended interactive exchange between author and a small group of colleagues.
After I graduated from school, I had the good fortune to go to work for Bell Laboratories. It was a tremendous place to learn the science and art of microelectronic assembly and packaging, in part because of the numerous opportunities for researchers to hold informal discussions in labs and hallways. This mixing of experienced engineers with newcomers, like myself, quickly brought us up the learning curve, but it also prompted fresh views on a wide range of technical issues.
Industry veterans readily attest to the value of informal discussions with colleagues during the coffee breaks of conferences. For the most part though, these conversations are among acquaintances and are not readily joined by first time attendees. Even for the regulars, though, there is no way to know which ongoing discussions are most pertinent to their current interests.
I believe that the poster session is ideal for hosting and organizing these types of discussions. For this purpose, however, I submit that a poster paper is fundamentally different from a lecture paper, which is presented at a topic session. First and foremost, the poster paper should invite questions and comments from the reader. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is not to tell the whole story in the usual introduction, theory, procedure, results and discussion format of a paper. Choose just one or two of these section headings, keep figure captions somewhat cryptic, and of course keep the scope of the paper as broad as possible to engage a diverse cross section of readers.
For students, a poster paper presents an ideal opportunity to outline a proposed thesis topic, organized perhaps as introduction and theory discussions. Conversations with industry engineers during the early stages of a research project could help focus the work on current problems and avoid execution pitfalls. Making as many industry contacts as possible could prove to be invaluable when the inevitable experimental problems arise or later, when the time comes to find that first job with real growth potential.
Industry engineers might wish to utilize a poster paper to outline a designed experiment for optimizing a bonding or soldering process. It is likely that colleagues have conducted similar experiments and could help you reduce the number of process runs or improve the analysis of your results. A poster paper is also an excellent vehicle for presenting ongoing work. Comments and questions from colleagues could provide new insight into unexpected results or improve the focus of a new product or service. Personally, I much prefer to have colleagues critique my work before my customers do so!
With all of the resources that are now available on the world wide web, a good poster paper might review sites that you have found helpful, organized along the lines of application software, or topics such as MEMS or material properties. No one has time to look at even a fraction of the material available and I am sure that many of us have stumbled across a real treasure, which the search engines missed. So, a poster paper devoted to reviewing or cataloging resources would be a welcome contribution to any meeting.
In closing, I would like to offer a few tips on how to most effectively utilize the poster session. Bring plenty of business cards and make sure that they include your email address. A fruitful discussion doesn’t necessarily have to end when the conference closes. Print the title of your paper in large bold font to attract participants from across the room. Engage your readers in conversation to get their opinions and comments. Be sure to leave some blank space on your poster or place a large pad of paper next to it. Sketches and written comments help convey the discussion to a larger audience. Finally, if you did not have time to prepare a poster paper, make time to talk to those who did. It is an investment in yourself and our industry.
Note: Dr. Marinis has developed an extremely successful Poster Session for the New England Chapter Annual Symposium during the last two years and plans to expand it for 2002. Poster paper submissions are now being accepted for the IMAPS New England 29th Annual Symposium and Exhibition, May 7, 2002, Boxborough, Massachusetts. Visit their website at [www.imapsne.org].
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