SomethoughtsongivingGoodScien1ficTalks

Dr. Mike Strauss OU REU 2017

with input from Dr. Eric Abraham and Dr. Ferah Munshi

How many talks have you heard that sound something like this?

What makes a good, interesting talk?

I.WhyBotherWorkingatSpeakingWell?

�  Conferences,colloquiumandyouwillhaveto:�  Thissummer�  Academictalks:� seminars� JobInterviewTalks

�  AnyprofessionaloccupaEon.� Wearen’ttalkingaboutteaching.ThatisadifferentskillenErely.

�  Itisimportanttoknowhowtogiveagoodtalk.� Mayneverbefun,butcandecreaseanxiety.�  SaEsfacEonincompetence.

SpeakingwellMaJers!�  GetnoEced,peoplerememberyou.�  Postdocs,programofficers,reviewers,students

�  Samegoesforbusinessworld.�  Bosseswillgetyourideas�  Impactonthejob;influenceothers

�  JobTalks�  Youwillhavetogivetalkswhenapplyingforpost-doctoralandotherjobs

�  Aspartoftheinterviewtogetajobasaprofessor,aTeroveradecadeofgraduateschoolandpost-doctoralresearch,acrucialinterviewcomponentwillbeapresentaEonatadepartmentalcolloquium.

Withali'leeffort,youcangivegreattalks…relaEvely.

� ManyscienEfictalksarehorrible� ManyscienEstsputnoeffortintotheirpresentaEons.� Mostviolatemuchofwhatwillbediscussed.� Mostpeopledon’twanttoworkatit,evenaliJle.� Mostpeoplefearpublicspeaking.

�  Shypeople/introvertsmistakenlybelievetheycan’tdothiswell,oristoomuchwork�  Introvertsmakegreatpublicspeakers(withpracEce).�  Extrovertsdoaswell(pracEcingdifferentthings).

II.SomeBasicRules

�  Thereisabewilderinglylargearrayofdifferentkindsoftalksonecangive.

�  Fourrulesyoushouldneverviolate:1.AudienceAnalysis:Knowyouraudience

3.PracEce

4.Never,ever,underanycircumstances,gooverEme.

2.Storytelling:Knowwhatyouaretryingtosayandaccomplish

1.AudienceAnalysis

� Whatistheirbackground?

� Whatistheirinterest?

� Whyaretheythere?

� Whatlevelshouldyoupitchthetalk?

�  Isthereamixtureoftheabove?Howisthatrelevanttoyourtalk?

�  Notnecessarilyanydecisions,yet.Butthisguidestherestofyourdecisions.

2.StorytellingGivingagoodtalkmeanstellingagoodstory.Herearesomeideas:�  ForscienEfictalksstartwithcontext� WhatquesEonareyoutryingtoanswer?Whatisthe

fundamentalscience?�  Supporttheimportanceofyourresearch� WhyisthisquesEonrelevant?Whathasbeendoneon

thistopic?�  Tellwhatyouhavecontributed�  Howdidyoudoyourresearch?Whychosethismethod?�  Summarizewhatyouhavelearnedanditsvalue.

3.PracEce

�  EverytalkshouldbepracEced.

�  Decreasesfear.

�  PolishesthepresentaEonandtransiEons.

�  Debugsslides,logicalsteps,colors,mechanics.

�  FixesEmeproblems.

4.NevergooverEme

�  The�threerules�ofpublicspeaking

�  Destroysgoodwill,damagesyourlikability

�  ArrogantandinsulEng:�  Areyouaremoreimportantthanaudience?� DidyounotpracEce?Audiencenotworthit?�  CouldyounotbebotheredtolookupthespecificaEonsforthetalk?

�  IhaveneverseenascienEfictalktooshort.

III.PlanningtheTalk:Details

� Whatareyoutryingtoaccomplish?�  CommunicaterecentresearchresultstothescienEficcommunity.

�  AdverEseresearch,drawaJenEontoit.� Getfuturepaperspublished,grantsfunded.�  Impresspeoplebyhowsmart/competentyouare.� Gethired.� Getthroughrequirementwithoutlookingstupid.

III.PlanningtheTalk(more)

�  HowmuchEmedoIhave?

�  Audienceanalysis?

� Mainpointofcontent.� Whatisthetake-awaymessage?� Newmethod,newmeasurement,newcalculaEon� Notthesameaswhatyouwanttoaccomplish�  Istheremorethanonemainpoint?ThatshouldbeclearinyourpresentaEon.

III.PlanningtheTalk(more)�  NarraEve:Youaretellingastory.Whatisit?�  ThinkofyourtalkascreaEvewriEng.� WhattypeofnarraEveskeletonbestfitsyourstory?� Chronological,spaEal,experimental,mystery

� Whoarethecharacters?� Good/badguys(anthropomorphizedequipment,bugs)?

� Whereisthedrama?Conflict?Surprises?�  Thisisnotparodyorfarce,itshouldbeimplicit.�  Thisisalsoveryhard.Don’tletiniEaldifficultyorfailuresdissuadeyoufromworkingonthis.

Finally:CreaEngthetalk�  Outline

�  Onceyouhaveastory,youcanoutlineit�  MainContentFigures.�  Howdoyoustart?Engagetheaudience.

Whyisthisimportant?�  Coolfigures/Goodjokes.

�  SomeEmesshouldbeusedevenifthetalkismoreconcise/completewithoutthem

�  ListSlides�  Writeonpaper�  Whatisvaluableforthisaudiencegiven

theamountof7mealloJed?�  CreateTalk

YouHaveCompleted:1.  IdenEfiedYour

Goal.2.  Audience

Analysis.3. MainContent

Points.4.  NarraEve.

IV.SlideTips

�  Title:Yes

�  Outline:Maybe�  Canhelpguideaudience.�  Cancalmnerveswitheasyfirstslide.� WastesvaluableEme.� NarraEveguidesaudiencethroughtalk.�  Personalpreference,butneverfortalklessthan15minutes.

IV.SlideTips�  Picturesoverwords!�  (Thistalkdoes,unfortunately,havealotof“words”butit

isnotatalkonresearch,data,results…)

�  Bulletsoversentencesorparagraphs!�  Noparagraphs.Neverreadparagraphs!�  Yourtextshouldnotbeexactlywhatyouaregoingtosay.It

shouldbearemindertoyouofwhatyouaregoingtosay.Itislikeanoutline,emphasizingtoyouraudiencewhatthemainpointis,whileremindingyouofthetopicsoyoucanexplainfurtherinwords.Ifyouputallthewordsthatyouaregoingtosayontheslide,itbecomesawalloftext.Youloseyourfocusontheaudienceasyoustareatthescreen.PeoplewillstoppayingaJenEontowhatyouaresayingasyoudroneonandonandon.

How Low Can You Go?

104

103

102

101

100

10-1

10-2

10-3

10-4

10-5

10-6

10-7

10-8

10-9

T(K)

1 K

1 mK

1 µK

1 nK

Surface of the sun Room temperature Liquid nitrogen

Liquid helium

Doppler laser cooling

Sub-Doppler laser cooling

Evaporative cooling

•  Everything stays in the gas phase, must be very dilute.

•  Temperature is related to the average speed of particles.

•  Cooling is the same as slowing down.

•  Cannot touch with any physical object.

•  Typically 103 to 109 particles.

IV.SlideTips

�  Don’tbeconfusing.AvoidcluJer.Onethoughtperslide.

� Maketextlargeenoughtobeseen.Caneverythingbereadfromthebackoftheroom?

SIVA

f1≈c/436.8nm+f2≈c/476.7nm+f3≈c/532nm

206Pb19F207Pb19F208Pb19F

Chris

To search for an e-EDM we will look for ΔU=U+M –U-M in a strong E field.

Precisionstructurecalcula7onsarenotnecessary.

Major Difficulty: A background magnetic field mimics an EDM.

GHz/ 39962458.1)( µµµ =⋅+⋅= BedmB SEgSBgU!!!!

PbF

IV.SlideTips

�  NoAcronymsorJargon.

�  TheproliferaEonofBSOsinAGNsisanoutstandingproblem.TypeIaSnarenotasourceofsuchQSOs.Furthermore,thelackofnewTLAsmayforceustoconsiderETLAs

IV.SlideTips�  NoequaEons!

�  Really?

�  Ok,notnecessarily.But,youmustexplaineveryequaEon.�  Everytermcouldbeexplained.�  Importanttermscouldbeexplained(butthenwhythe

wholeequaEon?)�  DoestheequaEonreallyaddvaluetothetalk?Isit

thebestwaytopresentthepointyouaretryingtomake?

� Willyouraudiencecare?

IV.SlideTips

�  Nocode,circuitdiagrams,machinedrawings.�  OnlyexcepEonmightbeinaverytechnicalworking

meeEng.� Willyouraudiencecare?

SampleInputFile

IV.SlideTips�  Graphs:legible!� NocluJer�  Labels,axes�  Symbolsandlineslargeenough�  IsanythingtoocluJered�  Caneverythingbeseenfromthebackoftheroom?

�  Colors:Checkcolors.

� Whenplanning,assume30to120secondsperslide.

�  Ipreferminimum,orno,textanimaEonforscienEfictalks

Which is better?

�  Canyoureadaxes?Whatdoestheplotmean?IstheEtleunderstandable?Canyouseethedata?

TheFirstofMyObstacles�  IdidnotcreateeverypieceinAutoCAD

�  IassumedthoseIdidnotadjusttobegoodenoughforthemachineshop�  Theyhadbuiltastrikinglysimilardesignbefore

RadiusandLuminosity?

Denneyetal

• Measured intensity profile.. •  Rigorous fit to superposition

of modes to determine mode quality.

•  Fits consistent with 100% in mode of choice.

L21

Detailed Beam Analysis

(99.3 +- 0.9)% of intensity in L21 mode.

Also measured: •  Propagation characteristics •  Extinction ratios •  Conversion efficiencies •  Misalignment effects

Sharon A. Kennedy, Matthew J. Szabo, Hilary Teslow, James Z. Porterfield, and E. R. I. Abraham, Physical Review A 66, 043801 (2002).

αs(pT) results

30

•  Use pTnbr > 50, 70, 90 GeV (138 data points total)

•  At each pT, combine all data points with different pTnbr and ΔR requirements

•  Determine results for αs(pT) at 12 pT values

à  α(pT) results up to 400 GeV à  αs(pT) decreases with pT

as predicted by the RGE

Results agree with results from à ALEPH event shape data à  Previous DØ results from

inclusive jets

V.SpeakingTips:Do’s

�  Dospeaktoaudience,nottocomputerorscreen.

�  Dohavegoodlegiblegraphics

�  DopracEceyourtalk.

�  Dostartstrong.

V.SpeakingTips:Dont’s

�  Don’tblockprojector.

�  Don’tputintoomuchinformaEon.

�  Don’tputintoomanyequaEons.

�  Don’thavetoomuchinformaEononanyslide

�  Don’tcoversegments:bewareofappearingtext.

�  Don’tgooverthetop.Youarenotindebateclass,acEng,orsellingcars.

�  Don’tgooverEme

Remember

�  Itisyourtalk.Youareprobablytheexpertintheroom.Itisyourresearch.Beconfident.

�  YouhavepracEcedyourtalksoyouknowwhatyouwanttosay,howyouwillmaketransiEons,andhowlongyourtalkwilltake.

VI.QuesEons

�  SomeEmesquesEonsarethemostchallengingpartofthetalk.

�  RepeaEngthequesEonmaygiveyouEmetothink.

�  Ifyoudon’tknowtheanswerdon’tmakesomethingup.Don’tpanic.“Idon’tknowbutI’lllookthatup”isaperfectlyreasonableanswer.

�  IfthequesEonerisbelligerent,takeitoffline.

VII.Miscellaneous

�  Dressappropriately.

�  PrepareforAVequipment.

�  Beyourself.Don’ttrytomimicsomeoneelse.

�  Keephumoratprofessionallevel.Carefulgoingoverboardwithinternetpictures.

�  Oh,yeah,andremembertopracEceanddon’tgooverEme.

QuesEons?