Info for Presenters

Call for Papers

Oral Presentations

CMAS will email all presenters prior to the conference to request a digital copy of the presentation (in Powerpoint or PDF format), so that presentations can be loaded onto conference computers ahead of time. In addition, all oral presenters should have a backup copy saved onto USB memory sticks. Presenters will have time each morning of the conference to upload their presentation onto the computer in the room that they will present in, but if we have your presentation ahead of time, you will not need to worry about that.

Some Suggestions for Oral Presentations

Oral presentations will be 15 minutes followed by five minutes for questions for a total of 20 minutes. We suggest that you limit the number of slides to less than 1 per minute. This will allow for sufficient viewing time especially if the presentation matter is complex.

• Layout
  • Don't use hand drawn materials
  • Use 18 point fonts for text or numbers. The presentation has to be readable from 50 feet or more from the screen
  • Use a heavy line thickness for graphics
  • Use dashed, dotted or color lines rather than varying line thickness
  • Use a dark background color and bright colors for the copy
  • Avoid shades of gray
• Content
  • Use short, crisp text
  • Don't use the page from your abstract
  • Select only key parts of an equation to illustrate a point
  • Show information piece by piece, built to the conclusion
  • Use simple diagrams
• Computer presentations
  • Do not use bright red, blue and/or green at the same time. It is difficult for the eye to focus on these color combinations
  • Do not use too many colors at the same time
  • Follow common associations people have with colors
  • Keep the presentation simple. Too many animations or complex background images take away from the substance of the presentation

Oral presenters will be asked to upload a digital copy of their presentation as either a PowerPoint file (.pptx) or PDF prior to the start of the conference, so that we can preload the files onto the conference computers and share them on our website.

Poster Presentations

We will have two poster sessions. The first session will be on Monday, October 21, 2024 at 5:30 PM and will continue with a reception until 7:00 PM. The second poster session will be on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at 5:00 PM and will continue with a reception until 7:00 PM. We have reserved some time in Grumman Auditorium on Monday, October 16 at 4:40 PM for all poster presenters to give a quick synopsis of their poster to conference attendees.

The two best student posters will win an iPad!

Each poster session will give conference attendees a chance to browse through the extensive collection of posters and speak with the authors. All poster presenters are expected to remain near their posters during this poster session to answer questions other attendees may have.

Poster presenters for Poster Session 1 should hang their posters first thing in the morning on Monday, October 21, 2024 and remove their poster at the end of Poster Session 1, while poster presenters for Poster Session 2 should hang their posters first thing in the morning on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 and remove their poster at the end of Poster Session 2. CMAS will honor the best student-made poster submitted from each day. During each poster session, members of the EAC and the session chair(s) will visit each poster in their session, and the poster presenter will be expected to give a brief 1-2 minute synopsis of their poster. Winners will be announced during lunch on Wednesday.

Poster presenters will be asked to upload a graphic of their poster, in JPG. PNG, or PDF format, prior to the start of the conference for posting on our website.

Persons wishing to submit a poster presentation must be registered for the conference as a presenter. Presenter registrations must be received by July 15, 2024 to be considered. Presenter registrations must include a presentation title, a brief description, a preference for format (select "Poster"), and a preference for session. Submissions will be sent to the respective session chairs for review. Presenters will be notified of their acceptance status on or after 08/08/2024. We will make every effort to include all reasonable submissions. If the presentation is accepted, the presenter will be asked to submit an extended abstract for publication on our web site.

Posters need to fit in on a 4' high X 6' wide kiosk, mounted horizontally. Also, many of the kiosks have a wooden border approximately 2" thick, so do not print your poster any larger than 3' 8" X 5' 8". Other considerations:

• You will be provided with stick pins to attach your poster
• Your poster should be self explanatory so that you are free to supplement and discuss particular points raised in inquiry
• Materials should be mounted on thin poster paper or lightweight cardboard. Do not use heavy cardboard.
• You may want to group logically consistent sections or columns of the poster on backgrounds of the same color
• Prepare a label for the top center of your poster which includes: Title, authors and affiliations, using 72 point lettering
• Arrange materials in columns rather than rows. An introduction should be placed at the upper left, and a conclusion at the lower right, both in large typescript.
• The sequence of illustrations should be clearly indicated with numbers or letters of 72 point size, preferably in bold lettering. Each figure or table should have a heading of one or two lines in large type stating the "take-home" message. Detailed information should be provided in a legend in smaller types below. The legend should describe the content of the figure and the conclusions derived therefrom. Charts, drawings and illustrations might well be similar to those used in making slides - preferably simpler and more heavily drawn. Keep everything as clear as possible.

---

Extended Abstracts

Extended abstracts should be submitted by October 21, 2024. All presenters need to provide an extended abstract. The abstracts should be NO LONGER THAN 6 pages and should be submitted in PDF format. The abstract should include your name, affiliation, e-mail address, and phone number. Please e-mail your extended abstract to cmasconference@unc.edu with the subject line "Conference extended abstract" by October 21, 2024. Extended abstracts will not be accepted after December 1, 2024.

Extended Abstract Template: PDF or MS Word (.docx) (Remember to convert from MS Word (or other format) to PDF before sending to cmasconference@unc.edu!)