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This week, new PVL PhD pupil (previously PVL MSc pupil – congrats!) Conor Hayes displays on the simply accomplished DPS Convention that they attended just a few weeks in the past. That is the primary time that DPS has been in particular person since Geneva, Switzerland in 2019 and the primary time it has ever been held in Canada. I actually appreciated having the ability to expertise the convention along with my graduate college students as a analysis group with out even having to carry my passport!
by Conor Hayes
It has been almost a 12 months since I final submitted an entry to this weblog, detailing my expertise at GAC-MAC 2021, my first in-person convention as a grad pupil. A lot has occurred since then; I half-pivoted away from the Moon so as to add a brand new MSL-based venture to my Grasp’s thesis lower than 9 months earlier than my defence, I wrote and efficiently defended stated thesis, and now I am a freshly-minted PhD pupil right here at PVL.
Some issues, nonetheless, don’t change, so I’m right here as soon as once more to speak about our newest convention expertise on the 54th Annual Assembly of the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS). PVL sometimes places up a powerful exhibiting at DPS as a result of we’re all planetary scientists, and this was significantly true this 12 months for 2 causes. First, DPS 54 was held in London Ontario, virtually down the highway (comparatively talking) from us right here at York. Second, PVL’s personal John Moores was Chair of the Science Organizing Committee, so we couldn’t not symbolize our group nicely.
In some ways, DPS was similar to the 2 in-person conferences that I used to be in a position to attend throughout my Grasp’s – GAC-MAC again in November of final 12 months, and the seventh Mars Environment Modelling and Observations convention this summer time. The scientific program was divided between oral talks and poster displays, with a plenary session in the course of every day. I largely caught to the periods on subjects that I’m fascinated with – the Moon, Mars, and terrestrial planets, although I did attend just a few that had been extra “on the market” (not less than close to my very own analysis) on Europa and different icy moons, in addition to periods on citizen science, training, and public outreach.
Though it adopted this acquainted sample, DPS was very a lot a convention of firsts for me. As a result of DPS was a hybrid convention this 12 months, every session had two chairs, not less than one in every of whom needed to be in-person. One chair would guarantee that every speaker caught to their allotted time and handle questions from within the room, whereas the opposite would monitor the session’s Slack channel, the place digital attendees might ask their questions. As a result of regularly evolving well being state of affairs, there have been numerous in-person chairs who needed to swap to digital attendance, that means that some periods not had an in-person chair. A number of members of PVL (together with myself) had been recruited to take their place. The session that I chaired was titled “Dynamical Dances in House,” and featured 4 talks discussing gravitational interactions between varied Photo voltaic System our bodies, the primary of which was really based mostly on a newly-published paper that I had learn shortly earlier than the convention. Stepping in as chair on the final minute was somewhat daunting as a result of I had no thought what to anticipate, but it surely ended up being a fairly non-stressful affair.
Way more worrying was the truth that this was the primary time that I had been invited to present an oral presentation at a “main” convention. I’ve given displays about my analysis earlier than, however all the time in a lot lower-stakes settings, whether or not that be in PVL group conferences or at smaller conferences run by graduate college students (e.g. York’s Physics and Astronomy Graduate Government convention or the annual Lunar and Small Our bodies Graduate Discussion board). On prime of that, I had by no means introduced the preliminary outcomes of my lunar work to a bigger group earlier than, so there was quite a bit that I used to be anxious about. Consequently, I spent numerous time getting ready my presentation and ensuring that I stayed as near the seven minute restrict we got. Ultimately, the magnitude of my stress was wildly disproportional to the precise occasion, as my presentation went easily and hit the seven minute mark virtually precisely. Though I’d have fortunately taken simply that as a win, it has additionally impressed my first official analysis collaboration with somebody outdoors of PVL, one thing that I’m very enthusiastic about.
Now that I’ve had expertise with each oral and poster displays at conferences, I feel I can say that I choose oral displays over posters. Posters actually do have their benefits – you current your entire data on a single web page and also you don’t have to fret about deadlines or ensuring that you simply keep in mind what you wish to say, as posters typically include a extra conversational model of sharing data. Nevertheless, I’m simply not likely a fan of the poster expertise. Throughout a poster session, you’re sharing a room with many different individuals presenting their posters on the similar time, so there’s a sure ingredient of competing for the attendees’ consideration. Some individuals also can discover approaching the presenters one-on-one extra intimidating than asking a query at an oral presentation (I actually do!), which could restrict the variety of interactions you’ve. I undoubtedly don’t wish to flip individuals off of poster displays; they could be a low-stress strategy to ease your method into the convention expertise and/or to current early/preliminary outcomes which can be nonetheless in progress.
Total, DPS was in all probability my favorite convention of the handful that I’ve attended (both just about or in-person) over the previous two years. I can solely hope that the climate in San Antonio will take a break from its ordinary late-summer Texas warmth for DPS subsequent 12 months.
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