Video: The poster session comes of age

Don’t let the “snow on the roof” of my colleague Peter Wray fool you. He’s a very forward-thinking guy, and he’s been wondering for a looooong time (maybe since before the “snow” arrived), why it is that posters have to be, well, posters?

Wouldn’t it be more interesting to use technology to show a series of micrographs instead of picking the best one? Wouldn’t it be cool to show a simulation of a heat treatment process? Wouldn’t it make sense to show a video of a mechanical test during the exciting bust-up? After all, the purpose of a “poster session” is to provide an informal, interactive forum for researchers to talk about their work.

Perhaps he had the ears of the organizers of the 4th International Congress on Ceramics, or maybe the idea has reached its critical moment in evolution, but an exciting feature of the July event will be the Interactive Technology Forum, a new kind of poster session that will allow researchers to present their results in dynamic, interesting ways.

ICC4 president, Kathy Faber, tells more about it in the video above, and here is what others are saying about it:

“This interactive forum will bring poster sessions into the 21st century and is exciting because it allows for researchers to present their data in a more creative and visual style.” — Kristen Brosnan, GE Global Research

“This format allows the presenter to interact with his/her audience directly, perhaps replotting data in a different way or looking at a tomography image from a different angle to discuss a specific point.” — Joe Ryan, Pacific Northwest National Lab

“A poster presented electronically will enhance visualization to attract interest of attendees, and help the authors to present their ideas and results more effectively. In particular, materials modeling and simulation results can be vividly presented on a computer.” — Sumin Zhu, Vesuvius Research

“This innovative presentation format will allow researchers to communicate their work in a much more engaging manner. Along with the traditional poster, presenters will be able to use new electronic tools, hands-on materials, and interactive displays to better communicate and discuss their ideas and results with conference attendees.” — Kevin Fox, Savannah River National Lab.

You can be sure Peter will be there talking to presenters and taking pictures. If you see him, ask him what he thinks the next step in the evolution of technical meetings should be!

See the other ICC4 videos:

• Video of the week: Faber introduces plenary speakers for ICC4
• ‘Shaping the Future of Ceramics’ is theme of international congress in Chicago this July