July 29, 2010 –
Top: Spencer DeBrosse (left) and David Shin; bottom: Ana Maria Sanchez
This summer’s nine SURF-IT undergraduate students honed their presentation skills this week by presenting their mid-term results to an audience of fellow participants and CALIT2 staff.
The presentations were timed — each student had five minutes — and audience members were encouraged to ask probing questions. At the conclusion of each presentation, CALIT2 staff offered constructive criticism on ways to improve the slides or the verbal presentation itself.
The participants were asked to define the specific problem they are researching, summarize previous related work, discuss the data and tests they are using, and present their partial results. They were also urged to discuss any unforeseen problems.
“Research usually involves unexpected difficulties; that’s normal. What’s important is how you have handled the problem,” said program co-director Stu Ross.
While some nerves were evident, Ross told the students he was delighted with their presentations. “I’m really pleased with how well they all turned out, and I’m looking forward to seeing the final presentations at the end of the program,” he said.
Jonathan Chu and Marvin Chan
Steven Nguyen and Johnway Yih
Jason Lu and Howard Huang
