Since a few of you seemed interested in the process of proposing a symposium, I thought I’d write a post about it. I spent a lot of time struggling with it this week, so I’d like to talk about it here anyway. I am working on this proposal with a collaborator, Cauliflower, who works in another state and just recently finished her Ph.D.
I’m sure the way that symposia make it into meetings varies dramatically among societies. For this particular society, anyone can propose a symposium topic. Proposals are comprised of a 400 word description, a 250 word justification, and a list of speakers. They are due 11 months before the meeting. They are competitive; however I do not know the success rate. I do know that some symposium ideas are rejects and some end up as the less prestigious but similarly formatted Organized Oral Session.
This society is divided into subject sections that can endorse one symposium proposal and provide secondary endorsements for two more. This doesn’t ensure success, but it helps. There are two relevant sections for us, one of which had already committed to another proposal but agreed to give a secondary endorsement, and another that wants to evaluate all ideas it gets before it decides on one. If that section decides not to endorse our idea, I think we will try for an OOS. This is fine, but it appears to be a little less credit for about the same amount of work.
So, what’s the work we have to do? Well, first we pitched the idea around to our colleagues to see if it was something they thought would generate interest, be appropriate for this particular society’s meeting, etc. They liked it, so we crafted an email with a brief description to send to the section chairs. They liked it, so we began working on the proposal itself. We wrote a draft that we sent to Academic Advisor (who is very good at this sort of thing and did one himself a few years ago). He suggested some retooling.
It’s rather difficult to write about a big (sort of technical) knowledge gap in less than 400 words that will appeal to a broad swath of a large society. We had identified a good problem, but needed to state it more broadly. And we hadn’t really said what we hoped to achieve with the symposium -- how we would address/solve the problem. On top of that, Cauliflower is currently overseas working with collaborators, so there is a big time change that is inhibiting our communication. Both of us really struggled with the ideas this week, but after much back and forth I finally emailed what I think is a much better draft to Cauliflower last night. If she likes it, I’ll send it to our advisors for comments. We need to have a pretty final version finished early next week to submit to the subject section chair.
Okay, what else? We have to work with the section chair who happens to be a big famous scientist who I have never met (Cauliflower has) and intimidates me somewhat. Then we have to invite all the speakers, some of whom we know and some we don’t. The more speakers we have committed, the better. Some are famous big-wigs and some are quite early career. This is scary. However, it is exciting to have a reason to contact people I’d like to know. I think this is a major benefit of trying for a symposium, even if it is unsuccessful. I also think this is the part that will foster the most growth for me. If our symposium is selected, we have to write a short blurb for the program, work with the speakers to make sure they know what we want from their talks, make sure they get their abstracts in, and run the show the day of the session.
There were some comments alluding to the fact that it is surprising for students to be taking on a symposium proposal. That’s true – I fear I’m just at the brink of having bitten off more than I can chew – this is very challenging for a grad student and early post doc. However, the society always wants to encourage participation from new scientists so our proposal will actually be favored to some extent because we are so early in our careers. I think we have good people around us who think our idea is good and will help us along or at least keep us from falling on our faces. Let's hope, anyway.
Showing posts with label conferences. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conferences. Show all posts
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Meeting notes
Oh my, have I been dragging my heels about posting my experience at the Big Meeting last week. I have been thinking about all the things I want to share, so this post is a little rambly and I might write more later. Plus I'm so excited about some of it that I've wanted to work rather than blog. So out of character!
First of all, thank you for all the well-wishes before I left. My talk went reasonably well, I think. Not outstanding, but not a flop. I felt very lucky because I was in one of the few rooms that was an appropriate size for the attendance at my session (most sessions were in rooms that were pratically empty or had people sitting on the floor in the aisles). While I was speaking, I noticed that the audience was very still and quiet. I took this as a good sign, since people tend to get fidgety if they are bored during a 20 min presentation (rather than falling asleep in that short time).
As for the science, I saw some good talks and posters, but no standouts that really blew me away. There a few clunkers, but mostly what I saw was solid but not ground breaking. Where I really benefitted was the networking.
When people asked about my timeline, I was able to say I'd be graduating soonish and I am starting to think abut post doc opportunities, so hopefully I'm on the radar for some labs. I think a few people might be interested, but it's still a little far off. I also tried to talk up a new experiment that my research group has recently established, the kind where we do the most central aspects of the research and others come from elsewhere to use the study site to perform related work in a somewhat synergistic way. I think at least one person will be contacting Research Advisor about a possible collaboration. I also had an idea for a symposium that I think I'm going to propose with a grad-student friend. Everyone I have suggested it to has encouraged us to pursue it, so I feel really excited. It will be a lot of work and it will probably get rejected, but it makes me feel really good to have come up with something that people think is a good idea.
This meeting is by far the most fun of all the big meetings I typically attend (it's rivaled by a small, biannual meeting that's my favorite). I always come away feeling super exhausted, yet energized by the connections I make both to new people and to new ideas. I ended up staying out till between 12 and 3 am every night, then getting up between 7 and 8 am each day. I have made some good friends with people I see at meetings year after year and then we introduce each other to new people each time. It has become easier for me since it doesn't take as much effort to meet everyone new for the first time, but it remains fresh. Still, I was postively wiped out by the end and pretty much slept and slothed all weekend.
One thing I have learned about myself is that although I'm pretty outgoing, I'm not really an extrovert. It takes a lot of energy for me to interact with so many people so intensely. I really enjoy it and the experience invigorates my work, but I don't feel like I obtain energy from the people time. I often think how difficult meetings must be for really shy people. It would really be a challenge to get the most out of a meeting if it was hard to talk to new people.
Oh, and I got to briefly meet Addy N. We didn't make a plan for meeting up, but she had told me her name when we emailed about the possibility of meeting, so I checked out her website for a photo. I was just standing talking to a friend when I looked up and recognized her. It was very cool to meet her and D., but too bad we didn't get to hang out more.
In other news, I had a great meeting with Academic Advisor about that paper I blogged about months ago. He suggested some relatively straightfoward changes, some of which I did right away and get this: he commented on my changes right away too! He says he thinks it's nearly ready, so cross your fingers that Research Advisor will agree when she reads it.
First of all, thank you for all the well-wishes before I left. My talk went reasonably well, I think. Not outstanding, but not a flop. I felt very lucky because I was in one of the few rooms that was an appropriate size for the attendance at my session (most sessions were in rooms that were pratically empty or had people sitting on the floor in the aisles). While I was speaking, I noticed that the audience was very still and quiet. I took this as a good sign, since people tend to get fidgety if they are bored during a 20 min presentation (rather than falling asleep in that short time).
As for the science, I saw some good talks and posters, but no standouts that really blew me away. There a few clunkers, but mostly what I saw was solid but not ground breaking. Where I really benefitted was the networking.
When people asked about my timeline, I was able to say I'd be graduating soonish and I am starting to think abut post doc opportunities, so hopefully I'm on the radar for some labs. I think a few people might be interested, but it's still a little far off. I also tried to talk up a new experiment that my research group has recently established, the kind where we do the most central aspects of the research and others come from elsewhere to use the study site to perform related work in a somewhat synergistic way. I think at least one person will be contacting Research Advisor about a possible collaboration. I also had an idea for a symposium that I think I'm going to propose with a grad-student friend. Everyone I have suggested it to has encouraged us to pursue it, so I feel really excited. It will be a lot of work and it will probably get rejected, but it makes me feel really good to have come up with something that people think is a good idea.
This meeting is by far the most fun of all the big meetings I typically attend (it's rivaled by a small, biannual meeting that's my favorite). I always come away feeling super exhausted, yet energized by the connections I make both to new people and to new ideas. I ended up staying out till between 12 and 3 am every night, then getting up between 7 and 8 am each day. I have made some good friends with people I see at meetings year after year and then we introduce each other to new people each time. It has become easier for me since it doesn't take as much effort to meet everyone new for the first time, but it remains fresh. Still, I was postively wiped out by the end and pretty much slept and slothed all weekend.
One thing I have learned about myself is that although I'm pretty outgoing, I'm not really an extrovert. It takes a lot of energy for me to interact with so many people so intensely. I really enjoy it and the experience invigorates my work, but I don't feel like I obtain energy from the people time. I often think how difficult meetings must be for really shy people. It would really be a challenge to get the most out of a meeting if it was hard to talk to new people.
Oh, and I got to briefly meet Addy N. We didn't make a plan for meeting up, but she had told me her name when we emailed about the possibility of meeting, so I checked out her website for a photo. I was just standing talking to a friend when I looked up and recognized her. It was very cool to meet her and D., but too bad we didn't get to hang out more.
In other news, I had a great meeting with Academic Advisor about that paper I blogged about months ago. He suggested some relatively straightfoward changes, some of which I did right away and get this: he commented on my changes right away too! He says he thinks it's nearly ready, so cross your fingers that Research Advisor will agree when she reads it.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
List
First of all, the new Scientiae is up at Faraday's Cage is Where You Put Schroedinger's Cat. Cherish did an excellent job putting it together in a most creative way, so go see it. Second, Silver Fox has an explanation for why many blogs aren't loading right today (if you're lame like us and use Internet Explorer).
Anyway, I'm wound up tighter than a tick (as my dad would say) preparing for Big Meeting, mostly because I'm not settled with my talk yet. So, a list.
Anyway, I'm wound up tighter than a tick (as my dad would say) preparing for Big Meeting, mostly because I'm not settled with my talk yet. So, a list.
Finish talk (nearly there).Email talk to Academic Advisor.We had a great meeting on Thursday; he made many helpful suggestions to improve the structure and flow. I want to send him the completed presentation so he can make any last comments if he wants. Research Advisor, who knows the work I'm presently much more intimately, has been away on vacation without her computer for the last week and a half (good for her!) so I haven't been able to benefit from her guidance.Practice,practice,practice. It's the only way to reduce nerves.Obtain quarters for laundry, do laundry,iron.- Review the meeting program so I can figure out what I want to see and when I'll have free time.
Visit Walgreens.Need toilet paper (the cats have shredded some of my stock); clear-ish nail polish (to try to prevent biting. It's unbecoming in so many ways, not the least of which are annoying the person seated next to you by making disgusting chewing sounds and offering to shake someone's hand with a hand that's just been in your mouth.); travel size hairspray and toothpaste; gel inserts for the cute shoes I really want to wear but are just slightly too big and rub blisters.Pack suitcase with clothesand backpack with proof of registration, bus ticket, supporting info for my talk in case people want to discuss it later, etc.Cat stuff.EGM won't be back from Canada until Wednesday, so I need to leave them with enough supplies for a few days alone.Tidy up.But not very well.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Can I just prepare an awesome talk?
If things go to plan, tomorrow I will have the last of the data I need for my talk at Big Meeting in two weeks. Having two weeks to work with the data is actually pretty good for me. As much as I swear I won't do it again, for whatever reason I always end up scrambling to get the last results with just a few days to spare. This time, I have worked with the preliminary data pretty extensively (I gave a poster on it last year) so I at least have some idea what to expect.
Despite that, my anxiety about preparing for conference presentations seems to increase as I gain experience. I have been to pretty many conferences (1 to 3 each year since 2001) and I have grown less anxious about the meeting itself since I am familiar with the routine and I now know enough people that I can usually find someone to have lunch with even when none of my labmates are there. But the stakes feel higher for my presentations. I used to feel like I was just a young student, so people would know not to expect too much from me. On top of that, I could relax with the idea that they wouldn't remember me anyway, so if I said something stupid, it would vanish into the black hole of the unremembered and I would start with a clean slate next year. But now people do remember me (for which I am grateful, of course!). And I want to impress them. I want them to have in mind that I gave a nice talk when I let them know I'll be graduating and looking for post docs soon.
While diligently working in the lab to get the last of my data, I've been carrying around 8-10 papers that are highly relevant to the talk I plan to give. Yet I haven't read them. Since I only have two weeks to do all the data analysis, interpret the results, make pretty graphs, and write the talk, you'd think I would try to be efficient by doing any necessary literature review before I get the data. But no. Instead I'm all paralyzed by worry about the scientific quality of my presentation. Can I just get over it?
I like to think of myself as a junior colleague. The scientists at these meetings are not the "grown-ups", they are my more senior colleagues (by now, some of them are even junior colleagues to me!). I want them to respect me and my work as I come up the ranks. So can I please not make a boring talk during which I say something ridiculous?
Despite that, my anxiety about preparing for conference presentations seems to increase as I gain experience. I have been to pretty many conferences (1 to 3 each year since 2001) and I have grown less anxious about the meeting itself since I am familiar with the routine and I now know enough people that I can usually find someone to have lunch with even when none of my labmates are there. But the stakes feel higher for my presentations. I used to feel like I was just a young student, so people would know not to expect too much from me. On top of that, I could relax with the idea that they wouldn't remember me anyway, so if I said something stupid, it would vanish into the black hole of the unremembered and I would start with a clean slate next year. But now people do remember me (for which I am grateful, of course!). And I want to impress them. I want them to have in mind that I gave a nice talk when I let them know I'll be graduating and looking for post docs soon.
While diligently working in the lab to get the last of my data, I've been carrying around 8-10 papers that are highly relevant to the talk I plan to give. Yet I haven't read them. Since I only have two weeks to do all the data analysis, interpret the results, make pretty graphs, and write the talk, you'd think I would try to be efficient by doing any necessary literature review before I get the data. But no. Instead I'm all paralyzed by worry about the scientific quality of my presentation. Can I just get over it?
I like to think of myself as a junior colleague. The scientists at these meetings are not the "grown-ups", they are my more senior colleagues (by now, some of them are even junior colleagues to me!). I want them to respect me and my work as I come up the ranks. So can I please not make a boring talk during which I say something ridiculous?
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Back
I'm back! Actually, I've been back for a few days but I haven't gotten around to posting because I had so many posts to read. You people are just far too interesting.
So, the meeting was fine. It was an annual workshop that I've attended before, so I didn't get as much out of it this time. The participants were all students, at all levels, in a range of disciplines. Personally, I think the workshop program needs major overhauling in order to meet the very difficult task of providing something valuable to all members of such a wide audience. They ask us to come for an entire week in June, the time when people are finally freed from the classroom to focus on research or need to be working outdoors in the field, so I think we should be able expect to really benefit from the program that takes us away at such a crucial time. The worst part for me was listening to several of the same talks, positively steeped in opinion, that I heard last year. The best part was interacting with the many undergrads who were eager to learn all about grad school, what it's like to do research, and the science everyone is doing. The even better part was that more than 50% of the people there were women, some from very male-dominated fields.
My talk was okay, but not as seamless and interesting as I would have liked. As I was working on it, I realized that I don't have a super good grasp of how the work fits with some of the recent literature. One lab group has published several very nice papers in the last 6 months or so that put forth a new concept substantiated with several lines of observational evidence. I need to study those papers to figure out how my research adds to that body of work rather than simply confirming it. So, that's why my talk last week was so unsatisfying. However, I think I know what I need to do next (before my presentation at the big August meeting).
Since I've been back, I learned that Research Advisor finally started to do a Lab Thing that has been holding me up. She didn't finish it, but we decided I could move on with part of it in the meantime. I'm glad because waiting for her had me suck on two different projects and I was starting to resent it. But before I do any work in that lab space, I have to clean it because someone did Something Bad in it and now I don't trust the integrity of samples processed in it. Poo. On the personal side, yesterday we met a bunch of friends at a festival where I saw 1. a man wearing a black cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and tiny briefs that had "evil" written in glitter across the ass, and nothing else. and 2. a man wearing tiny denim briefs and nothing else. There was also a marching band band that was awesome and seriously, the most openly-affectionate same-sex couples I've ever seen. That was really cool. Today I had grand plans for doing all sorts of housework, work reading, etc., but ALL I've done is read blog posts. Maybe I'll get my ass into gear and at least go to the grocery store.
So, the meeting was fine. It was an annual workshop that I've attended before, so I didn't get as much out of it this time. The participants were all students, at all levels, in a range of disciplines. Personally, I think the workshop program needs major overhauling in order to meet the very difficult task of providing something valuable to all members of such a wide audience. They ask us to come for an entire week in June, the time when people are finally freed from the classroom to focus on research or need to be working outdoors in the field, so I think we should be able expect to really benefit from the program that takes us away at such a crucial time. The worst part for me was listening to several of the same talks, positively steeped in opinion, that I heard last year. The best part was interacting with the many undergrads who were eager to learn all about grad school, what it's like to do research, and the science everyone is doing. The even better part was that more than 50% of the people there were women, some from very male-dominated fields.
My talk was okay, but not as seamless and interesting as I would have liked. As I was working on it, I realized that I don't have a super good grasp of how the work fits with some of the recent literature. One lab group has published several very nice papers in the last 6 months or so that put forth a new concept substantiated with several lines of observational evidence. I need to study those papers to figure out how my research adds to that body of work rather than simply confirming it. So, that's why my talk last week was so unsatisfying. However, I think I know what I need to do next (before my presentation at the big August meeting).
Since I've been back, I learned that Research Advisor finally started to do a Lab Thing that has been holding me up. She didn't finish it, but we decided I could move on with part of it in the meantime. I'm glad because waiting for her had me suck on two different projects and I was starting to resent it. But before I do any work in that lab space, I have to clean it because someone did Something Bad in it and now I don't trust the integrity of samples processed in it. Poo. On the personal side, yesterday we met a bunch of friends at a festival where I saw 1. a man wearing a black cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and tiny briefs that had "evil" written in glitter across the ass, and nothing else. and 2. a man wearing tiny denim briefs and nothing else. There was also a marching band band that was awesome and seriously, the most openly-affectionate same-sex couples I've ever seen. That was really cool. Today I had grand plans for doing all sorts of housework, work reading, etc., but ALL I've done is read blog posts. Maybe I'll get my ass into gear and at least go to the grocery store.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Travel anxiety and procrastination
I'm going on a trip tomorrow. I have to attend a workshop for my fellowship program during which I will give a 30-45 min talk (nice that they were so clear with the time expectations, eh?). The talk isn't finished yet, but it shouldn't take me too long to polish it off. Too bad I'm blogging instead.
I always get a lot of anxiety before I travel, especially when it's for work. I get nervous about making my flight, how I'm going to get to the airport, how I'm going to find the hotel, etc. I mentally list what I'm going to wear so I don't end up short a shirt or something. I also worry about my talk/poster. I'll have visions of forgetting the poster tube or bringing the wrong memory stick. I'm usually fine with actually giving the presentation, but I get anxious about everything up until the session starts.
I best get back to work on the talk so I can go to bed early tonight and enjoy the afternoon in conference city tomorrow with some of the fellows with whom I have become friends at past workshops. Also, I'm not sure if I'll be blogging while I'm away, but with the infrequency of my posts lately, that should be nothing new.
I always get a lot of anxiety before I travel, especially when it's for work. I get nervous about making my flight, how I'm going to get to the airport, how I'm going to find the hotel, etc. I mentally list what I'm going to wear so I don't end up short a shirt or something. I also worry about my talk/poster. I'll have visions of forgetting the poster tube or bringing the wrong memory stick. I'm usually fine with actually giving the presentation, but I get anxious about everything up until the session starts.
I best get back to work on the talk so I can go to bed early tonight and enjoy the afternoon in conference city tomorrow with some of the fellows with whom I have become friends at past workshops. Also, I'm not sure if I'll be blogging while I'm away, but with the infrequency of my posts lately, that should be nothing new.
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