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The Annual UW Undergraduate Research Symposium

Information for Symposium Participants

The 16th Annual Symposium was held Friday May 17, 2013

View the 2013 Online Proceedings (including event schedule, abstracts, and presenter search tools)

Mark your calendar for the 17th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium on May 16, 2014



Quicklinks




Schedule of Events

(Note: some sessions overlap)

Poster Session 1 - 11:00 am - 12:30 pm, Mary Gates Hall
Formal Welcome - 12:30 pm -12:45 pm, Mary Gates Hall
Poster Session 2 - 12:45 pm - 2:15 pm, Mary Gates Hall
Performing Arts Session - 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm, Meany Hall Studio Theatre
Oral Presentation Session 1 - 1:15 pm - 2:45 pm, Mary Gates Hall
Poster Session 3 - 2:30 pm - 4:00pm, Mary Gates Hall
Oral Presentation Session 2 - 3:45 pm - 5:15 pm, Mary Gates Hall
Poster Session 4 - 4:15 pm - 5:45 pm, Mary Gates Hall

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Symposium Etiquette

On the Day of the Symposium

Participants are encouraged to:

  • Wear professional/business attire.
  • Come prepared to the Symposium, which means posters should already be mounted and printed and presentations should already be uploaded to student Dante accounts.
  • Arrive early to presentation sessions, especially if presenting. Presenters are asked to be in their session room at least ten minutes prior to the beginning of the session.
  • Remain for the entirety of a presentation session, especially if they are presenting.
  • Wait until students are finished delivering presentations (or are in between presentations) before entering a session room.
  • Visit Mary Gates Hall prior to the Symposium, in order to get a feel for the building and, if applicable, the session room in which they are presenting.
  • E-mail the URP with any questions about Symposium etiquette.
  • If you have signed up to present but are no longer able to, make sure to let the URP know as soon as possible.

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Information for Symposium Poster Presenters

Preparing Your Poster

Your poster:

  • Should be 40" x 32" .
  • Should be attached on a foam board and ready to display on the easels we provide.*

* Please note the URP does not provide foam board for mounting posters. You may purchase foam board at the University Book Store, or other locations. You do not need to pay for mounting, you may clip or tack your poster to the foam board.

Tips for Designing your Poster

Courtesy of the NASA Space Grant Consortium, the URP has two worksheets for use in preparing a poster:

Visit our Poster Design Workshop page for additional resources and advice about how to create an effective poster presentation. If you were unable to make one of the workshops, you can download some of the slides from the 2012 presentation.

Printing Your Poster

The best on-campus options (and usually the most cost-effective) for large-format poster printing are:

Additional locations near campus include:

Submit your printing request by Monday, May 13th in order to guarantee your poster is ready on the day of the symposium.

Don't forget to request a proof of your poster prior to printing the full-size version if available.

On the Day of the Symposium

Deliver your poster to the Mary Gates Hall Commons and check in at the registration table between 8 and 10:30 am on Friday, May 17th.

You will present your poster during the formal Poster Session. Presenters are asked to remain at their posters during the formal session times and as available throughout your session time. You should be prepared with a three- to five-minute summary for visitors using your poster as a visual guide. Some visitors may ask additional questions. Additionally, you are also strongly encouraged to attend the presentation sessions.

Please plan to retrieve your poster between 5:45 - 6:15 pm on Friday, May 17th.

Posters left behind will be available for pick up the following week in 171 Mary Gates Hall.

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Information for Symposium Oral Presenters

Oral Presentation Workshop

If you missed the Oral Presentation Workshop, you can see the slides and listen to the presenters from the 2012 version here .

Length and Format

Your presentation:

  • Should be ten minutes in length. This limit is strictly enforced. You will have an additional two minutes for Q&A.
  • Should be tailored to an educated, non-field expert audience.
  • May be accompanied by a visual slide show (e.g., PowerPoint) and/or handout for the audience.
  • May include a live demonstration, performance, and/or audience participation.

Visit the Presentation Tutorial for information on how to create an effective oral presentation.

Please practice and time your presentation prior to the day of the Symposium. The URP offers Presentation Practice Sessions for students who would like feedback on their presentations.

Technology for your Presentation

In each Mary Gates Hall classroom, the following will be available:

  • A computer
  • Data projector
  • Chalk/whiteboards
  • Laser pointers

Each computer has the following resources available:

  • Windows 7
  • Microsoft Office 2010 Enterprise Package (Includes: Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher, Access, etc)
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader
  • VLC Video player for video files
  • Adobe Flash Version 10
  • Adobe Shockwave Version 11 Apple Quicktime 7.7

For additional needs, such as an overhead projector for transparencies or special sound equipment, place a request with the URP.

You may not use your own laptops.

PowerPoint Presentations

If you plan to use PowerPoint, keep in mind the following:

  • The classroom computers run the newest version of Microsoft Office 2010, including PowerPoint. If you are using an older version of Office, you will be fine.
  • Mac Users! If you created your powerpoint on a Mac computer, make sure to test it on a PC before the day of the presentation. If you use videos, audio files, you may have to convert the files to make it readable on a PC. There will not be Mac adapters available.
  • Check your pictures, video and audio that are embedded into your slide show. Please be sure that they are imported in and not linked. Linking video/audio media to the power point does not copy them into the presentation and only links to the existing file on your computer. They will show up as black boxes or broken links on other computers. The easiest way to check if the file has been properly imported is to check the file size of your power point presentation after you save. If the file size is larger by the amount of the file you imported then it is properly inserted and will work on other computers.
  • Any material in the Notes section of PowerPoint should be printed out ahead of time (if needed) as this section will be unavailable during the duration of the PowerPoint slideshow presentation.

Before the Symposium

We recommend you use AT LEAST two of the following methods to save and make your presentation accessible for the day of the Symposium. We strongly recommend that you save a back-up of your presentation on either compact disk or USB drive and another version on either File Transfer Protocol (FTP), web page or email.

  • Win FTP(Fetch for Mac computers)
    You can either upload your presentation to your Dante account on a UW computer or from your computer at home. All computers at the UW have the FTP program on the desktop. You should upload your presentation prior to Friday, May 17th. If you do not have the UW FTP or Fetch program, download it from the UW's UWICK page UWick.
  • Web page
    You may upload your presentation to your webpage. Visit the Creating a Student Home Page Creating a webpage for your Symposium for information on how to create a web page for your presentation.
  • Email
    You may email yourself a copy and download it to the desktop on the day of the event.
  • USB flashdrive
    Save a copy of your presentation to a flashdrive. Use a standard size USB flashdrive.
  • Compact Disk (CD or DVD)
    You may save a back-up version of your presentation on compact disk. You may not be able to edit your presentation once you have saved it on CD/DVD.

On the Day of the Symposium

On Friday, May 17th, check-in at the registration table in Mary Gates Hall Commons between 8 and 10:30am.

You should arrive in your presentation session room at least 15 minutes prior to the presentation session start-time to download your presentation to the computer.

Accessing your Presentation

We recommend that you drag and move a copy of your presentation to the desktop for faster performance during your presentation.

  • via Secure FTP
    • You will access your presentation by uploading it to your Dante account through Win FTP (Fetch for Mac computers).
    • All computers at the UW have the FTP program on the desktop. You should upload your presentation prior to Friday, May 17th.
  • via Internet, USB and CD/DVD
    • Download your presentation to the desktop from the internet sources you used and/or your USB flashdrive or CD/DVD

Logistics of the Presentation Sessions

  • Sessions are thematic and will often include students from different disciplines.
  • Faculty moderators will guide questions and discussion during each presentation session.
  • A session assistant will be available to help with set up and timing for the presentation.
  • Each presenter should participate in the entire session
  • Performing and visual arts presenters can request a dance or drama space, a multimedia player, and/or a piano for their presentation in the application.

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