What is this thing?
This is a scientific poster.
They spelled my name wrong.
You know how in middle
school and high school,
sometimes you would do
a project and then you'd
have to make a poster about it?
And you would go
into Microsoft Word,
and you would make
3D text to put up
at the top as your
title, and then
you'd have different sections
about the introduction,
and the conclusions, and
the middle, and the body,
and all the stuff that you did?
Well, I remember thinking,
why am I doing this?
It was fun.
Like, I kind of liked it.
But I remember
thinking, you know,
adults don't make posters
at their real jobs.
Science adults do.
Scientific posters are
actually a really common way
of getting your
research out there
at places like conferences.
You make a poster,
and you set it up,
and you often stand
next to it and talk
to the people who come up
to see your poster about it.
So it's sort of a
visual thing that you
can point to show them your
data while you're trying
to talk about your project.
And it's a really
great way for you
to both get your
information out there,
often before it's
fully published,
and also to get
feedback on your project
while you're still doing it.
Most posters are
glossy paper, you
know, giant, printed out sheet.
But some posters are
now made of fabric.
And so this is really nice
if, like me, you're traveling,
and we need to bring your
poster and put in your suitcase,
and then you just
want to iron it
when you're there, rather than
having to carry a giant poster
tube.
You can also wear it
as a science cape.
Very "in" this fall.
Now, I can't show
you this poster
because this still
has a whole bunch
of unpublished stuff on it.
And honestly, this one does too.
But I've already presented
it on the internet,
and you could go
watch that here.
I've presented this poster
at a conference last fall.
And it's not the greatest
poster in the world.
But I want to use it to
demonstrate some science poster
stuff.
So it's really got all
those same basic pieces
you would think about if you
were making one for. school.
You know, you get a title.
And then there's an
abstract or introduction.
And then I give a whole bunch
of background information.
I talk about the methods
that I used to do my project.
Then I talked about the
results to do the project.
And then at the end, I've
got conclusions and stuff.
Is this working for you?
This is real helpful, I know.
But what I hope you
can see is that there
are lots of pictures.
OK, this is a
visual way of trying
to get across my methods,
and my results, and my data.
I try to make my posters
visual because posters
are unique in that they have
to play this dual role where
sometimes they have
to stand on their own
if you're not there
by the poster.
Often at a conference,
you'll hang up your poster
one morning, and it'll stay
there for a couple days.
And people can sort
of walk around.
So the poster needs to
be able to demonstrate
a lot of the things
that a paper would.
It really needs to be able
to tell the story on its own.
But also, there are
often poster sessions
where you are standing with it,
where you are using the poster
to help you tell your story.
So you don't want
it to just be text,
because you want to be able
to talk about those things
and to really use
them and utilize them.
So, what have we learned?
Scientists make posters.
Posters are both visual aids
and storytellers on their own.
And they can be kind
of big and unwieldy.
I have to give three
posters this fall.
One, I presented at
my department retreat
a couple weeks ago.
One, I'm presenting at the
American Society of Human
Genetics up in Vancouver.
And then one, I'm presenting
at the American Heart
Association in New Orleans.
And that's really one of the
nice things about a poster,
is that my project
isn't at a stage where
I'm going to give a giant
talk at any one of these three
things.
But still, a poster allows
me to present my project
to the community there at
all three of these events,
and get feedback.
So I already got
some great feedback
at the genetics retreat.
And I'm hoping to get
feedback from people
way outside of my department
at these two conferences
I'm going to.
So, posters allow
lots of scientists
to present a lot of
science all at once,
and get great feedback
from lots of cool people.
And poster sessions
often have great snacks.
So if you want a lot
of people to give you
feedback on your poster, set
up right by the cookie stand.
That's where you got to be.
Go forth and make
science posters.
Hey, hey, we've got to talk.
So, you might have noticed
that my posting schedule has
been a little erratic lately.
Things have been kind of crazy.
But I have a couple
really cool, really
great video projects lined up
that I'm working on in October,
November, and December.
I'm super excited about them.
I think you guys are going to
be super excited about them.
And the best way for
you to help me right now
is to share your
favorite video of mine
with your social networks, and
your peeps, and your friends.
Get people excited.
And get people here before these
big projects come to light.
I hate asking for
this kind of stuff.
I am never one of
those YouTubers
who is like, "comment,
like, and subscribe."
Something about that
feels super weird to me.
But it really does
make a huge difference
when you guys share my videos
and spread them around.
So if you want to
help me out, if you
want to make it a
little easier for me
to keep making these videos
in the next few months
while I have a bunch of cool
projects that I think you
guys are going to love coming
up, take my favorite video
and share it with somebody.
That's all I ask.
Put it on Twitter.
Put it on Facebook.
Send it in an email to your mom.
Whatever you're going to
do, it really helps a lot.
And I appreciate it
so, so much whenever
I see you guys
sharing my videos.
Because just the fact that
you like it enough to share
it means a lot to me.
So, yeah.
I'm excited.
I think you're going
to be excited to.
