[phas-dept] Informal colloquium: Mar. 23 (Thursday) 4 PM - Physics and Astronomy

[Heungman Park]

Dear all,

We will have an informal colloquium talk from Dr. Kurtis Williams on  3/23 (4 PM Thursday).

All students in PHYS 401, 501 must attend the colloquium.




Spring 2017 Colloquium

Department of Physics & Astronomy

Mar 23, Thursday, 4-5 PM in Science Building 127

(coffee and cookies will be served at 3:50 PM)

Physics

How To Talk Good - Improving Communication in Scientific Presentations


[https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/hujr-TtO0_OuXhXMp0zgMlPJD7dfOykDx1BTq6-qgEfZsfRhcZTruRNK9Du2dKR4OfEV0haRWSgo4Px6258UCPZhx8X4_trlbTmFy9IFHA7YuHG86zrs1d9W0tDGMBlyeQlh7GQ_]

Dr. Kurtis Williams

Texas A&M University - Commerce

Dr. Kurtis Williams earned a B.S. (1996) degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Pennsylvania State University and received Ph.D. degree (2002) from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He was a postdoc at Steward Observatory in Tucson, AZ and the University of Texas-Austin, TX. Dr. Williams joined Texas A&M University - Commerce in September 2010, becoming an associate Professor in 2016. He primarily studies white dwarfs, the glowing embers of stars which have completed their life cycles.  These studies have made use of telescopes around the world, including the Keck Observatory, containing two of the world's largest telescopes, and the Hubble Space Telescope.



Abstract:

Verbal communication is a highly respected skill in the sciences, yet most of us receive little to no useful instruction in the art of scientific talks.  Most people, including yours truly, tend to “learn” verbal communication skills by mimicking the talks we see and here, the majority of which are mediocre (by definition) and fail to communicate the value of one’s own research.  Quick - name the most important result of each colloquium so far this semester.  If you can’t even remember the topics, let alone a single result, then the speaker was not successful.

During our time together, I will focus on three tools you can use that, WITH PRACTICE, are guaranteed to make your presentations more effective.  First, we will discuss the the three act structure of storytelling.  Seriously.  Second, we will discuss how to make effective use of typical tools of the trade, especially PowerPoint.  Finally, we will discuss how to assess and best serve your audience, including my own struggles and open questions in this arena. If you’ve actually read this far, you deserve a prize.  Everybody should read colloquium abstracts, but few people do.  Thursday afternoon *before* the start of colloquium come tell me the title of your favorite novel, and you’ll be richly rewarded.
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