Meeting of Minds 2009 (4th June)

This year's postgraduate conference was very successful, with more postgraduates attending than ever before, more guest speakers and a selection of sessions on offer to delegates. In addition to the continuing theme of communicating research to a wider audience, a secondary theme of postgraduate employability was also included.

The conference, which gives research students the opportunity to give talks and design conference posters on their current research, once again produced presentations of an extremely high standard.

Unlike academic conferences, speakers from all departments and disciplines were welcome and the priority was developing the ability to communicate research to a non-specialist audience. Speakers and poster presenters  were all assessed on factors such as the accessibility of content, how successfully they engaged the audience and the extent to which they related research to other disciplines and to wider, non-academic applications. 

Guest speakers Nick Elliott from online recruitment firm TheGradRoom, David Cole from large postgraduate employer Tessella and the University's own Dr Alan Bunch (Careers Service) spoke on postgraduate recruitment and changes PGRs can make to increase their employability. Professional presentation skills trainer Christine Hardisty delivered a training session on the theoretical and practical aspects of presenting, and Dr Margarida Dolan gave an impassioned talk on researchers communicating to a wider audience. Prof Jane Millar, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, also provided an introduction to the second half, addressing the high quality of research at Bath and the need to reach new audiences.

 

Oral presentations

Challenged with briefly conveying the essential elements of their research to nonspecialists, speakers had to be inventive, engaging and aware that such an audience may not share the common language and assumed knowledge of their discipline and research area. At the same time, they could not oversimplify and risk glossing over significant concepts. The winning presentation was by Paul Caulfield and Gabriela Miranda, with Martin Churchill coming second.

Acceptable pain-related work absence - Elaine Heaver (MPhil/PhD Health)

Chemical shift of Mebeverine HCI - Manal Elmasry (Dept of Pharmacy & Pharmacology)

Fluorescence as a tool in drug development - Sawanya Buranphalin (MPhil/PhD Pharmacy & Pharmacology)

Manipulation of musical signals - Elisa Russo (MPhil/PhD Computer Science)

The Economics of Happiness - Thanawit Bunsit (MPhil/PhD Economics)

Corporate community involvement activities in Turkey - Bilge Uyan-Atay (MPhil/ PhD Management)

Can corporate social responsibility buy goodwill?  - Paul Caulfield & Gabriela Miranda (MPhil/ PhD Management) 

Biologize your Business - Phil Richardson (MPhil/PhD Mechanical Engineering)

Wellbeing through self-regulatory processes - Charlotte Mcleod (MPhil/PhD Psychology)

Computer programs as dialogue games - Martin Churchill (MPhil/PhD Computing)

 

Poster presentations

Poster design had to take account of the aims of the conference, which required them to be attractively designed, simple and accessible to someone unfamiliar with the discipline but still conveying the complex themes of the research. The winning poster was designed by Ed Sells, with Diego Colombara the runner-up.

Silica aerogels to enhance fibreoptic devices - Matthew Rollings (MPhil/PhD Research in Physics)

Electricity as the prime energy vector - Emily Parry (MPhil/PhD Research in Electronic and Electrical Engineering)

Everyone has the right to decent work - Nadia Ahmed (MSc Management with Human Resource Management)

Can Corporate Social Responsibility buy media goodwill? - Paul Caulfield & Gabriela Miranda (MPhil/PhD Research in Management)

Understanding impaction grafting - Michael Ayers (MPhil/PhD Research in Mechanical Engineering)

Feature Inspection Approach for Inspection and Assembly (MAFIA) - Xi Zhang (MPhil/PhD Research in Mechanical Engineering)

Research of cheap materials for solar cells applications - Diego Colombara (MPhil/PhD Research in Chemistry)

The self-replicating 3-D printer: enabling manufacture in your living room - Ed Sells (MPhil/PhD in Mechanical Engineering)

Outdoor thermal comfort in the hot arid climate - Faisal Aljawabra (MPhil/PhD Research in Architecture)

Evaluating the potential of RNA interference in the biological control of insect pests - Jennie Garbutt (MPhil/PhD Research in Biology)

 

 

Catalysed conversions of sugars into chemical intermediates and polymers - Emma Whitelaw (MPhil/PhD Research in Chemistry) 
Preparation of heterogeneous catalysts for tandem stereoselective transformations - Christine Cooper (MPhil/PhD Research in Chemistry)

 

Judging of oral presentations and posters was kindly performed by Dr Ian Eggleston (Dept of Pharmacy and Pharmacology), Dr Alan Wheals (Dept of Biology and Biochemistry), Dr Susan Milner (Dept of European Studies and Modern Languages), Dr Marion Demossier (Dept of European Studies and Modern Languages) and by the guest speakers Dr Margarida Dolan and Christine Hardisty.

Details of the 2010 conference can be found at Meeting of Minds 2010.