Reporting on presentations during meetings is an opportunity to pay attention to specific details, to work on one’s science communication skills, and to network. At the MRS meeting, reporting is an activity that a few passionate students and post-docs engage in, with the help and supervision of a senior science writer from the MRS Bulletin journal. Typically, each reporter writes 2 to 4 reports a day on the most exciting talks they attended. The reports are then published online the next day after revision by the senior writer. With a reporting team of 4 to 6 people, specialized in different areas, most of the symposia are covered. This report collection enables the attendees, but also those who could not attend the meeting, to catch up with what has been discussed, in a short yet attractive and specialized way. Indeed, each write-up is ca. 300 words, and describes the motivations and the key findings that were presented during the selected talk, for an audience of material scientists.
I have been a reporter at the MRS Fall meetings twice, in 2017 and in 2018, in my early years of postdoc. My motivations to engage into reporting emanated from a talk in the 2016 MRS Fall meeting, where a staff from the NSF agency highlighted the importance of good science communication skills and outreach for grant applications as well as for tenure promotion. Since I was already interested to follow an academic path, I thought I had to develop this skill. Also, writing was itching me due the lack of reactivity regarding papers from my advisor at that time. Following the talk, I decided thus to start my own blog to explore different writing styles and topics. At the same time, I thought I could promote my own research by explaining it shortly, clarify my thoughts and interests in science, share unpublished pictures I like, and bridge my other hobbies and occupations, mostly ceramics and art, with science.
To engage in science communication writing and get some feedback, I looked also for diverse volunteering opportunities in private blogs and scientific communities. Among others (check here to find other blogs), the MRS was proposing science reporting during the MRS meetings and I applied. The MRS meetings are indeed among the most attended and recognized conferences in the field of materials science and are therefore highly relevant to my research and interests. The quality of the talks is very high, with diverse topics, and they feature top scientists and researchers, offering a great platform for networking and inspiration. Since 2015, I try to attend one of the meetings every year.
In the following, I want to share on my experience of reporting during the MRS, and the tricks I have found that worked for me, to enjoy both the meeting and the reporting. Each person functions differently but hopefully these insights may give some inputs on how to carry out this activity. Also, as the meetings are now moving essentially virtual, some adjustments are to be made. If you have had some reporting activity, please share your tricks and suggestions as well in the comments below!
Choosing the talk to report on
Choose talks that you are interested in, and, if possible, with speakers you have heard of. For example: a topic close to your research or the research of one of a colleague from your lab and a speaker that works in a well-known group or from which you have read some papers. A well-presented talk on a familiar topic will be easier to follow and to write about. It is good to take some time before the meeting to make a schedule. This is particularly useful when there is a need to change room and sometimes building during a physical meeting. I recommend selecting sessions instead of individual talks, to optimise time and networking opportunities at the break. By scheduling to attend the whole session containing the talk of interest, there is the opportunity to listen to talks from speakers you do not know yet and on other topics, which is a great way to spark ideas, to learn new things and meet new people. If possible, try to diversify the speaker’s profile for the selected talk, in terms of career level, gender, socio-cultural background, country, nationality.
Taking notes
Take a lot of notes in a fashion that you manage to understand them later, using acronyms, abbreviations and symbols you are used to. For example, I use Greek letters for certain words, like µ instead of micro-, χ for chemistry and φ for physics; I use v. instead of very, h. instead of high, e instead of electron, mech. for mechanics.
When taking notes, it is helpful to write down a few numbers: the MRS reports are read by scientists who look out for this type of details. For example, if the topic is on mechanics, you could report the Young’s modulus or toughness values; if it is on glucose sensing, what is the level of detection achieved? If it is on 3D printed electronics, what is the resolution, the speed of printing, the conductivity, the sample size? Etc.
Pay a lot of attention at the beginning and the end of the talks: this is when the speakers should explain the key points of their work, namely their motivation, exciting discovery, and take-home messages.
It is also possible to take quotations from the speakers, for example when they make a very good comparison or a memorable statement. Sometimes, it may also be suitable to take notes on the delivery style. For example, it might be a joined talk with two speakers, or there might be a recording or live participation of another researcher.
Writing the report
When the talk is good, the write-up can follow the same outline. It should address the following questions: What is the topic? Why is interesting/ extraordinary about the work? What is the key discovery and how is it relevant to the community or society? Typically, this is what a talk should explain as well. It is good to draft the text within the same day when the talk is still fresh in the head. Yet, it might be helpful to wait a few hours so that the content gets digested and that our memory does a natural selection of the major points to remember. If one waits too long, the excitement from the talk is likely to fade away. Also, if the writing is done right after the talk, the selection of the most important information is likely to be more difficult.
In the report, the first sentence should attract the reader. It does not need to give scientific details but rather to stress out the aim and interest of the work, for example by addressing a challenge or making something new possible. It can be for instance a question, “how to 3D print organs to train researchers?” Or a sentence with a concrete example, “polymers are tough but rather weak, whereas ceramics are strong but brittle. Yet, XXX and her team managed to etc.’ Read a few reports from the previous MRS meetings to get a clearer idea of the expectations in terms of length and style.
Remember that you will be read: do not provide any controversial or negative judgement of the work or of the speakers and always acknowledge their efforts. People are always delighted to be reported on and are delighted to talk about their research. You can feel free to approach them if there are some questions. These people also likely to approach you later on, to thank you, and to retweet or share your article. You can also send them your report if you are interested to network further: it is a great way to start a conversation! I found that reporting was indeed very useful to network, with the speakers as well as with attendees interested in their research.
Enjoy the meeting
I would personally take notes on all the talks I attend anyway. Then, if the talk initially selected for reporting turned out to be ‘not that interesting’, I have a back-up. Also, I find it extremely useful to type in my notes when I am back from the conference, and to save it for future use. Indeed, when looking for names of people to peer-review a paper, to ask for conference participation, collaboration, or for opinion in MRS news articles, for example, I can always go back to my notes. This is particularly useful now as my career has been moving forward. Thus, remember to note down the name and institution of the speaker.
Also, make sure you enjoy the meeting as well! If there is a time change, schedule the reporting talks at the time that you might be more awake. Reporting is an opportunity and should not be an added source of stress.
Finally, do not forget to chat and network with the other reporters!
The Boston Public library is a beautiful and quite place to write!