A laser pointer will be available in each room for use by the presenters.
Timing is everything!
Plenary talks (45 minutes)
Each talk includes a 5 minute introduction, and a 10 minute Q&A period after the talk.
Symposium talks (15 minutes)
Each symposium includes 4 talks, 15 minutes each, followed by 5 minutes of Q&A and a 40 minute general discussion (50/50 rule; see below).
Open papers (10 minutes)
Each open paper is followed by 2 minutes of Q&A. If the speaker desires additional time for Q&A, the talk can be shortened to 8 minutes.
Lightning talks (5 minutes)
Each lightning talk is 5 minutes and is limited to 1 slide in PDF format (think digital poster). It is followed by 1 minute of Q&A.
All conference talks must stay on time. With such a busy schedule, even a few extra minutes for one speaker can compromise the entire session. Session chairs are asked, encouraged and incentivized to be very strict with timing. If a speaker exceeds his/her allotted time, the session chair will be forced to use the squawking chicken, pictured on the right, which is far more effective than the Oscar speech-ending musical crescendo.
Each room will be equipped with two timers, one for the podium, visible to the speaker, and one to the session chair. Talk times are as follows: