Mission Statement
The LabAutomation Academic Poster Award, hereafter “award,” recognizes the innovative research by students, graduate students, post-doctoral associates, and junior faculty (less than four years in first academic appointment) who are chosen to present a poster during LabAutomation, the Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (formerly ALA.)
Award
The award consists of cash awards of $1,000 for first place, $750 for second place and $500 for third place. The award-winning posters will be featured in an issue of JALA following the conference and identified as winners on LabAutopedia. In addition, the first place winner is invited to participate in an interview with the SLAS Lab Man just after the awards ceremony at LabAutomation. From this point forward the presenting author may also be referred to as the “candidate”.
The Panel of Judges
The panel of judges is comprised of individuals selected by the LabAutomation Poster Award Judge’s Panel Chair and formally approved by the LabAutomation2011 Education Committee. These judges represent the various technologies and applications within the LabAutomation Conference curriculum.
The panel of judges is broken out into pre-conference judges and onsite judges. Pre-conference judges participate only in the pre-screening phase of the judging process (see Judging Process below.) Onsite judges participate in both the pre-screening phase of the judging process and the on-site selection of the winners.
Judges may not have or have had any formal association with the candidate poster assigned to them for review. Judges must recuse themselves from evaluating any candidate wherein there exists a relationship such as family, business, financial or other, e.g. academic, student/professional association. Judges must sign a non-conflict of interest certification form ensuring no improper purposes. It is expected that any potential conflicts are declared by the judges. The Poster Award Panel Chair makes the final decision on any questionable issues.
Presentation Evaluation
Many of the candidates for the award are chosen to present at LabAutomation as part of the LabAutomation Tony B. Academic Travel Award Program. Selection of the recipients of the Tony B. Academic Travel Award is based on a number of factors and is completed by the LabAutomation2011 Education Committee. Candidates need not be Tony B. Award recipients to participate in the LabAutomation Academic Poster Award Program.
Selection of the LabAutomation Student Poster Presentations
In assembling the program for LabAutomation, the LabAutomation2011 Scientific Committee selects qualifying poster presentations from the abstracts received in response to the Call for Papers. To qualify for entry into the LabAutomation Academic Poster Award contest, the author must opt-in for consideration using the appropriate check box.
Judging Process
Candidates for the award will be asked to submit their poster to LabAutopedia for pre-screening by December 20, 2010. Presenters must meet this pre-screening submission deadline in order to be eligible for the award. The award Chair will assign each judge a pre-determined number of posters to view and judge via LabAutopedia. Each poster will be judged by no fewer than five (5) judges. The total number of judges will be determined by the total number of eligible poster submissions.
The pre-conference panel of judges will narrow the field (based on scores submitted as per the criteria below) to 12 posters to compete for the award at LabAutomation. Each of the Top 12 authors will be notified of their standing prior to LabAutomation.
Pre-conference Judging
Posters to be considered for the competition will be required to be uploaded to LabAutopedia by December 20, 2010. A pre-conference panel of judges will view and score these posters Online prior to the conference. The Top 12 posters will move on to the on-site competition.
In scoring the posters the judges will consider the following:
Pre-Conference Phase:
Poster Design:
Organization: Is the poster content organized in a logical manner, such that experimental problem, approach and results are easily understood?
Layout: Is the poster layout/look/feel well done? Is there use of appropriate font sizes, readable graphics, suitable colors, etc…?
Poster Content:
Motivation/Background: Does the poster present sufficient context for the reader to understand the purpose and originality of the experiment as well as the background and motivation for performing the experiment?
Approach: Does the poster present sufficient data on the experimental methods used for the reader to understand and judge the quality of the approach?
Discussion: Does the poster demonstrate an understanding of the selected methods and technologies in the context of the state-of-the-art? Presenter should provide appropriate statistics.
Conclusion: Does the poster present sufficient information and data to support the conclusion of the poster?
Judging of Presentations at LabAutomation
The on-site panel of judges will view and score the Top 12 posters at LabAutomation during the student poster session on Monday afternoon (see schedule for exact date/time.) The panel of judges will have no more than 10 minutes to view each poster and move onto the next poster. This includes a question and answer period. Presenters will be notified of the approximate time the judges will visit each poster and of the time constraints of the on-site presentation.
Each of the Top 12 presenters is required to remain at their poster for the duration of the poster session in order to be eligible for the award. Once the on-site panel of judges has determined the three winners, the award Chair will notify the winners in-person and provide details regarding the award ceremony.
Each candidate will be judged on the same criteria as listed below. See Scoring below.
In scoring the presentations the judges will consider the following:
On-site Phase:
Poster Presentation:
Timely Presentation: Did the presenter explain the key concept(s) of the poster within the time allowed?
Content: Was the poster content presented clearly and concisely in a way that enhanced understanding of the written poster content? (Rather than just a verbatim reading of the poster itself.)
Questions and Answers: Did the presenter satisfactorily answer questions from the judges within the time allowed?
Overall Presentation: Was the presenter able to keep the judges’ attention during the presentation and was the presentation easily understood? Did the presenter show an appropriate level of enthusiasm for the research?
Scoring
Each numbered criteria will be judged on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the best possible score; integers only). A maximum of 60 points will be assigned during the pre-conference phase of judging and a maximum of 40 points assigned at the on-site judging (Top 12 only). A maximum total score of 100 points is possible.
Rules & Regulations
Candidates are encouraged to be members of the association to participate in the contest and/or win the LabAutomation Academic Poster Award; however, membership is not required.
Candidates must be the primary author of a selected poster abstract and must present their research during LabAutomation.
Candidates must be a student, graduate student, post-doctoral associate, or junior faculty (less than four years in first academic appointment.)
Tony B. Academic Travel Award winners presenting a poster will automatically be entered into the competition, but candidates are not required to have been selected for a Tony B. Academic Travel Award to qualify for the LabAutomation Academic Poster Award.
Eligible candidates selected for poster presentation under this program will receive a complimentary student registration for the conference (valued at $25.)
The panel of judges will review only those poster presentations selected and slotted for the conference by the LabAutomation Scientific Committee and submitted to LabAutopedia for pre-screening by the published deadline. All candidates must adhere to the LabAutomation Abstract Submission policies, timelines, rules and regulations1.
The following list of individuals are not eligible to participate in the LabAutomation Academic Poster Award program:
SLAS Board of Directors, officers, the LabAutomation Scientific Committee*, contractors, employees, members of the Judging Panel, family members, and/or those considered to be "insiders."
Candidates affiliated with anyone on the Judging Panel are permitted to participate, but the Judge must recuse him or herself from evaluating that particular candidate.
* The LabAutomation Scientific Committee comprises a Chairman, Associate Chairman, Track Chairs and Associate Track Chairs. Session Chairs are not members of the LabAutomation Scientific Committee, and therefore are eligible to participate. ?
Monetary disbursement
The cash prizes will be awarded on the day of the LabAutomation Poster Session assigned to the LabAutomation Academic Poster Award Competition (currently the Monday of the conference.)
The following rules apply:
The candidate presentation author, a co-author, or a representative must be present to accept the award at the poster award ceremony (see full schedule.) The cash prize is awarded solely to the winning presenting author.
Prior to receiving the check, each winner will be required to fill out any appropriate tax forms.
Winners have the option to decline the monetary award.
The monetary award is not to be considered an obligation of SLAS.
Non-Discrimination Statement
Discrimination based on race, religion, gender, age, national origin, ethnicity, veterans status, or disability in regard to the LabAutomation Academic Poster Award is prohibited. Each candidate shall be evaluated based on the award's criteria which are tied to the SLAS exempt purpose of advancing the science and education of technologies in the laboratory.
1Abstract Submission Policy
SLAS invites academicians, scientists, and post doctoral and graduate students to submit abstracts poster presentations for this international educational forum. Presentations will be hand-picked by the SLAS scientific committee. Rules, regulations and guidelines are subject to change at the discretion of the SLAS Board of Directors in accordance with bylaws, polices, and procedures.
