Web Poster Talks

James Bellinger, 2-May-1997

I propose that we try the experiment of having students create Poster Talks from their theses or other papers, and post these on the web.

We have two possible types of poster talks: A professional page and a high school page.

A professional page is designed to succintly display the results of the work in a way that a fellow physicist with some knowledge of the field can understand. It would be helpful in advertising the Department and the student to our peer institutions. Several universities and experiments already post abstracts of their work this way.

• This advertises the UW Physics department to prospective graduate students.

Complications:

• Journals might complain about the publication of text or figures which they have received rights to. (We could discuss this.)
• The work would have to be vetted by collaborating experimenters, and have credit properly given. (The thesis advisor should make sure this is done).

A high school page is designed to explain the research in a way that a high school student can begin to understand the nature of the work. Assume a student in 11'th grade with algebra, geometry, and at least a half year of physics. Writing such a page is very much harder than writing for peers. These pages are useful because:

• We are instructing high school students in the general outline of fields of physics that are unlikely to be taught in high school. (Distance education!)
• It is an important skill to be able to explain your work clearly and simply--and the process of doing so sometimes helps clarify your own mind on things you thought you knew.
• It shows the public what they are getting for their tax dollars!
• It advertises both the UW Physics department and the fields of physics in general to high school students who are still deciding on a college and a major.

Complications:

• The Department will want to keep these around, and so must have the right to continue to publish them on the web. (We can have a staff lawyer draw up something fair.)
• The process of explaining a topic may require a lot of supporting material. Keeping track of all this over time may require manpower. (Are there funds for distance education?)

The High School type of web page seems to be the most useful.