illuminating science

So this week I’m reporting live (always wanted to say that!) from the AIP Congress in Canberra, Australia. AIP is the Australian Institute of Physics, and is the society that most physicists in Australia belong to (although, I have to confess, I’m not currently a member - when I get a larger income though! The Congress here is a chance for physicists from all around Australia to share their latest research, ideas and results, as well as to meet new people who might be doing relevant research. Finding new collaborators (i.e., people who want to work with you!) is a big part of this game! In total, 951 people have registered - that’s a lot of physicists in one place!

Aside from discussions over dinner and chats over coffee, there are two main ways that we communicate our research at conferences: by posters (large, A1-A0 sized displays that outline your research) or talks (20 minute presentations, usually with PowerPoint slides). This year, I had the opportunity to do a talk on my research (which is looking at the role of quantum mechanics in biology, how we can model it, and what physicists can learn from it!) There are many more posters than there are talks, and it gives you a lot more exposure, so getting a talk is a fairly big thing (at least for me! It’s the first one that I’ve done at a conference.) With all modesty, I pride myself on my talks and communication skills, so I think I gave a good talk - general enough that people not in my field could follow it, but with enough detail that experts would see we’re doing serious research. And especially compared to some of the other talks…physicists aren’t always the best communicators.

So, tonight is one of the poster sessions, where all the posters are displayed on boards and we wander around and read the ones we’re interested in. Usually, the author of each poster stands nearby to answer questions and meet people, so it’s a good opportunity to make new contacts (collaborators!) And my partner, Jenny (also a physicist!) is giving a poster on her work on melanin so I’m off to give moral support. The fact that they’re doing free catering and drinks doesn’t influence my enthusiasm in the slightest!