Undergraduate Meeting Tips

About APS Meetings
APS physics meetings can range from a few hundred physicists at APS unit meetings to nearly 10,000 physicists at the annual March Meeting, the largest physics meeting in the world.
  About APS Units

Most APS members are active researchers in academia, national labs and industry, in a variety of subdisciplines within physics. Many of the branches of physics represented by APS units have their own meetings and sponsor sessions at the March or April meetings.

At the March Meeting, thousands are abstracts are presented daily, often over 50 sessions occur at the same time. Talks can last anywhere from 12 minutes to 36 minutes.

Hints for a Successful Meeting

How can you maximize your time at a scientific meeting?

Present Your Work!
Keep in mind that learning about what other physicists do by attending presentations by other scientists is only one part of the reason people attend a conference. Another big part of the meeting is to get out the word about your own work and results. The easiest way to tell people about your work is to present a talk or poster showcasing your work.

Meet Others in Your Field
Another way to discuss your work is to attend sessions related to your research. Talk to the presenters, either during the question and answer sessions or after the sessions, about how your work relates to theirs. For most people, the personal interaction in sessions is the most important part of a meeting. It's fine to miss a few presentations so that you can talk with other physicists, friends or acquaintances!

Hints for a Successful Meeting

What are the secrets to a great presentation?

Present Yourself Well
Dress for general meeting attendance is business casual, except on the day you are present your work. When you are presenting, dress in busines formal. Both men and women will wear business suits to give their presentations.
  Business Casual Dress with Photographs 
  Business Formal Dress with Photographs 

Practice Your Presentation
Of course, dressing well isn't enough. Before the day of your presentation, take time to practice your talk. Time yourself. Session chairs must keep to a tight schedule.

At larger meetings, there is a Speaker Ready Room where you can take you make sure your flashdrive will work on APS equipment and time a run-though of your talk. Stop in early so that you are confident you won't have any technological problems.

Attend Your Session
Come early and introduce yourself to the session chair. It is polite for you to attend your entire session, so be attentive from the first talk through to the last. If something prevents you from staying for the full session, you should be certain at least one speaker before your scheduled talk.