M/C and Judges for the IMS2019 Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition
Sherry Hess is vice president of marketing at AWR Group, NI. With more than 20 years of high-frequency software experience, prior employers include Intel Corporation, Ansoft Corporation, AWR Corporation and now National Instruments.
I often describe myself as an “extroverted geek” because I am both outgoing and technical. This combination of skills has propelled my own career as being able to communicate clearly and succinctly the value of my employer’s product from the C-suite to the everyday engineer has been an asset and a strength. As the M/C for the IMS2019 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) program, I’ll be looking for someone with a strong technical grasp of their research but who also possesses the communication and interpersonal skills to present their work and its importance in a way that connects with everyone in the audience regardless of their background. Any and all presenters who do just that, in my mind, will have won regardless of the final vote tallies.
We are further delighted to introduce our panel of five judges:
Samiya Alkhairy is a postdoctoral researcher in geophysics and a communications fellow at the MIT EECS CommLab. Her research area is modeling wave propagation systems and analytic estimation of latent variables.
Asked to outline what she will be looking for in an engaging presentation of scientific research, Samiya responds: "As for my primary criteria: I'm looking for a well-motivated problem and a clear storyline."
Carey Goldberg is a health and science reporter at WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station, and editor of its CommonHealth vertical. She has been Boston bureau chief of the New York Times, a Moscow correspondent for the LA Times, and a health/science reporter for the Boston Globe.
Asked to outline what she will be looking for in an engaging presentation of scientific research, Carey responds: "For me, the ideal presentation grabs me from the get-go — often that means “Sell me on the problem, then sell me on the solution” — and keeps hold of me by avoiding jargon, remaining clear and concise, and progressing logically. In the best of all cases, I even get a jolt of “That’s so cool!” and a follow-on jolt of 'Wow, I understand something new!'"
Tamar Melman is a data scientist at Climacell, using sensor data from existing hardware networks to observe weather events on the ground. Prior to her current role she was an Insight Data Science fellow. She did her Ph.D. in computational biology from Weill Cornell Graduate School, where she developed statistical techniques to study brain signals from brain-injured patients.
Asked to outline what she will be looking for in an engaging presentation of scientific research, Tamar responds: "Communication with both field experts and outsiders is a vital component of any technical career. In the 3MT competition, I will be looking for a clear and logical story about the motivation and process of a project. Visuals should enhance the audience's understanding of the project and be visually clear. And don't forget to speak up and enunciate, we want to hear what you have to say!"
Poet Robert Pinsky is the only member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters to have appeared on both The Colbert Report and The Simpsons.
Asked to outline what he will be looking for in an engaging presentation of scientific research, Robert responds: "The important forms of energy, I guess, will be heat and light. (Not necessarily in that order.)"
Ron Renaud is a professional coach and author of Uncompromised: Your Life on Your Terms. He’s married with four children and is an avid reader and student of natural law.
Asked to outline what he will be looking for in an engaging presentation of scientific research, Ron responds: "For me, the ideal presentation grabs me from the get-go — often that means “From high philosophical ideals to a complex construction project, I have a lot of respect for those who can articulate sophisticated and intricate concepts in a language that everyone can understand. I’m looking forward to hearing about the exciting things tech has for us — and understanding some of it!
"I’m sure there’s a lot to be excited about — in terms of making life better for all. I know one thing that will likely be on my mind as well is what potential downsides, health effects or dangers of any of the various new technologies are or could be."
