Graduate Student Research Poster Competition

Sponsored by Tyson Foods

Sunday, June 22

Entry Form (due January 16)

Abstract Submission Web Site (due February 15)

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The purpose of the American Meat Science Association Graduate Student Research Poster Competition is to encourage students to:

1. Engage in high quality, sound and pertinent meat research;
2. Gain experience in presentation of scientific papers;
3. Demonstrate poise and mental agility before their peers;
4. Develop skills in effective communication for dissemination of research information; and
5. Acquire an appreciation of the role of the Association and its members in advancing the well being of the meat industry through research.
   

Eligibility

Contestants must hold membership in the American Meat Science Association at time of entry (February 15.)  Only two students from one University may enter, regardless of the division in which they will compete.

Divisional Competition

Contestants may compete in one of two divisions depending on their eligibility. Contestants may compete only once in any one division.
Master of Science Division: Contestants competing in this division must be currently enrolled in a Master of Science Program or have completed a Master of Science program since the last Reciprocal Meat Conference.
Doctor of Philosophy Division: Contestants competing in this division must be currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program or have completed a Ph.D. program since the last Reciprocal Meat Conference.

Subject of Presentation

Any basic or applied research in meat or poultry science will be considered for entry in the competition, if conducted by the graduate student as part of their graduate education indicated by the division in which they are competing. The presentation may contain information that has been presented at other regional or national scientific meetings, but cannot contain material previously used in this competition. Information must have been from data collected by the contestant.

Entry Form

A entry form to participate must be received by AMSA Headquarters (Debi Seymour, AMSA, 1111 North Dunlap Avenue, Savoy IL 61874) no later than January 16, 2008.  An entry form may be submitted online at: www.meatscience.org/awards/posterintent.asp.

Abstracts  

An abstract must be submitted to AMSA Headquarters, no later than 11:59pm. Central Time, Friday, February 15, 2008. The submission for the abstract (3500 character limit) must be made via the RMC web site using the guidelines established for the 2008 meeting (http://www.meatscience.org/rmc).  Abstracts must be written in English and should be explicit, precise, informative, and well documented.  Abstracts that do not report results or that state “data will be presented” will NOT BE ACCEPTED.  Abstracts not following the required format or those submitted as a hard copy or by fax will NOT BE ACCEPTED (if electronic submission is absolutely not possible, contact the AMSA office well in advance for alternatives).

Place and Conditions of Presentations

Contestants will make poster presentations at the Reciprocal Meat Conference on Sunday, June 22 beginning at 3:00 p.m. The first session of the judging committee shall consist of a review of posters with none of the contestants present. Poster presentations should be completely assembled on Sunday, June 22 between noon and 2:45 p.m.

A meeting for all competitors will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 22 to determine a schedule for the order of actual presentations of poster material by contestants. Graduate students need not be present for presentations by other contestants and are free to leave the poster area before and after they have given their presentation.

A poster board surface area 4 feet high by 4 feet wide will be provided to each contestant. None of the material (label, abstract, figures, charts, tables, summary, etc.) shall extend beyond the border of the 4 x 4 foot poster board surface and the poster will be considered ineligible for awards if material extends beyond the 4 x 4 foot limit.

Contestants should prepare a label for the top of the poster space with the title and authors of the presentation (same as abstract). Lettering for this section should be not less than 1 inch high. A photo of the presenter should appear in the upper right corner of the poster.

The surface provided for the posters has a fabric cover, suitable for use with pushpins to affix materials to the presentation surface. Contestants should provide their own mounting materials.
Contestants might find it useful to have on hand a tablet of sketch paper (9” x 12”) as well as felt marking pens. A short and legible “introduction” poster and a “summary of conclusions” poster might be helpful to attendees.
Contestants will not give a formal oral presentation, in the traditional sense, but will be given five minutes to introduce the material to the judges and six to eight minutes for questions and discussion. They should be prepared to answer questions from judges and attendees concerning objectives, methods, design, results and interpretation of research presented.

Contestants will also display their posters during the open poster times as designated by the program chair and will need to be present during the poster presentations for their section.

1.          The Graduate Student Research Poster Competition Committee, chaired by David Gerrard, Purdue University, shall evaluate abstracts, extended abstracts and poster presentations for each division. The chairman of the Graduate Student Research Poster Competition Committee will tabulate scores but will not be a judge.

2.          Judges will visit each exhibit in a group and evaluate posters using procedures set up by the committee chairman. At the conclusion of the competition, judges will meet with the chairman of the committee to select a winner.

3.          As far as possible, none of the judges will be from institutions represented in the competition nor will major professors of contestants serve as judges. If, however, it occurs that a judge and a contestant are from the same institution that judge will not evaluate that contestant. No two judges shall be from the same institution. The judges’ decision will be final.

Awards for the Graduate Student Research Poster Competition are sponsored by private organizations. The number of awards given will not exceed one-half the number of contestants. The following awards, dependent on the number of contestants, will be presented:

All entrants will receive an American Meat Science Association Certification of participation.

 

January 16, 2008            Entry Form to AMSA Executive Director
February 15, 2008          Abstract electronically submitted via RMC website.