You will give two presentations in this class: a 10-12 minute progress report on your research project and a 15-20-minute final presentation on your final project. For both presentations, we will assume that you are giving a seminar to your research group and other interested people (including, perhaps, industry representatives and regulators).
I suggest that you prepare for your
talks in four stages: planning, creating visuals, rehearsing, and relaxing.
See the rest of this Workbook or the Web site for information on planning
and delivering technical presentations. We will discuss this information in
class, especially the importance of adequate rehearsal and techniques for
overcoming nervousness.
Final Presentation
Schedule, fall 2006
Oral
Progress Report
Progress reports, sometimes called status reports, update research advisors,
management, clients, and other interested personnel on the progress of your
work on a research or engineering problem-solving project. In a progress report,
you state what work has been done, what changes have been made in the work,
and what work still needs to be done. You clearly describe any changes in
your methodology, scope or criteria. Most importantly, you let your reader
or listener know whether or not
the project is on schedule and whether there are any current or potential
problems.
This semester, you will deliver your progress report orally in front of the class. The format and organization of this presentation is up to you; just be sure to discuss the topics listed in the preceding paragraph. Assume that you are giving a seminar presentation, updating your advisor and other graduate students on the progress of your research. You do not have to have results and conclusions in order to present your work; you can focus on methodology and motivation for doing the work. What have you learned so far?
You will have 10-12 minutes for the oral presentation of your progress report. You may use any visuals you choose.
Be sure to discuss any current or projected problems with your project. Your advisor wants to hear about problems before they get any larger. Additionally, your ability to learn from problems (perhaps to shift the focus of your work) is a critical aspect of being a successful researcher and problem-solver.
Your progress report will be videotaped so that you have the chance to see your own strengths and weaknesses as a speaker. We will not critique the videotapes, however; they are for you to watch privately ( we will put the tapes on reserve in the Engineering Library). This opportunity should help you strengthen your final presentation.
The oral progress report is worth 5% of your final grade.
Final
Presentation
For the final presentation, you will have a maximum of 20 minutes (not including
questions) to present your research results so far (or whatever you have worked
on for your CE 389C final project).
The final presentation is worth 15% of your final grade.