Guidelines for RPM Speakers, Chairs, and Dinner Hosts

(Version 2.3: 8/31/2005)

Research Progress Meetings (RPM's) offer the opportunity to present ongoing research in a casual environment to colleagues with similar interests. This is a privilege which entails a responsibility on the part of the author to present his/her research in a polished, clear and succinct manner, both in delivery and supporting audio-visuals. RPM chairs have a responsibility to facilitate the setup and presentation so that the RPM runs smoothly. Dinner hosts have the responsibility of providing a pleasant opportunity for further interaction between the speakers and local physicists.

Speaker Guidelines

Preparations for your talk

• RPM's are normally targeted at a cross section of the LBNL Physics Division's physics staff and graduate students, a mixture of high energy physicists and astrophysicists.
• The entire talk should not exceed 1 hour, including 5 minutes for announcements and at least 5 minutes for questions, so that the prepared presentation has a 50 minute maximum.
• Provide the RPM Committee with a title and abstract as soon as possible after your invitation, but not later than two weeks before the talk.
• If you need any audiovisual equipment beyond one transparency projector, please inform the RPM Committee in advance. Laptop projectors such as used in PowerPoint presentations, slide projectors, and second transparency projectors can be provided, but these require advance warning.
• If your talk uses a laptop projector, it is recommended that you have a backup set of transparencies in case the projector or laptop fails.
• Each podium has an ethernet connection, but the speaker cannot depend 100% on the network being up. The talk should be downloaded to the laptop well in advance of the talk. Unless the speaker brings their own laptop containing the talk, the talk should be checked after downloading in case there are font problems or PowerPoint version problems. Adobe PDF files are free from these problems and are the recommended file format if the talk is being downloaded to a different laptop.
• Check the list of previous RPM's for related talks to avoid duplication in your presentation.
• Step back from the details of your research and think about what this particular audience might like to learn from your work. Keep it simple - remember, less is more. Some may wish to look at Advice to First-Time Speakers.
• The atmosphere is casual and jokes and levity are always appreciated, but in the interest of maintaining an inclusive environment which is comfortable for everyone, please refrain from jokes which might be sexually, racially, ethnically, or otherwise offensive.
  

At the Meeting

• Tea and cookies are provided in the meeting room so it is good to arrive 15 or 20 minutes early for introductions and to chat.
• If using a laptop projector or other special audiovisual equipment, arrive 30 minutes early to allow for setup.
• The talk and questions should be over by 5PM. Some people have to leave at 5:00 for transportation, to pick up children, etc., so please finish by 5PM.

RPM Chair Guidelines

Prior to the meeting

• Send an informal email inviting the speaker, with a cc to the RPM Committee. Update the RPM Scheduler to indicate that the speaker has been invited.
• As soon as the speaker accepts, inform the RPM Administrator so he or she can send a formal invitation. Update the RPM Scheduler to indicate acceptance.
• Contact the speaker to establish a date and get a title and abstract as soon as possible. Inform the RPM Committee as soon as a date has been established and update the RPM Scheduler with this date. The RPM Administrator should add this talk to the public List of Upcoming RPM's as soon as possible.
• The formal invitation from the RPM Administrator should point the speaker to these guidelines, emphasizing the type of audience, the time constraint, and the need for advance warning about A-V needs, such as whether the speaker will need a display projector for a laptop computer. The Physics Division has a display projector. The Chair and RPM Administrator should set up the projector and laptop 30 minutes before the talk.
• The Chair is responsible for introducing the speaker unless you have delegated this to someone else, such as the dinner host or the person heading the job search for which the speaker is a candidate. Prepare a brief introduction to the speaker, either from your own sources or through discussion with the speaker or others.
• The RPM Administrative Support provides transparencys of the RPM Announcement for the current and first upcoming talk. Prepare any other RPM announcement transparencies which you wish to have.
• Familiarize yourself with the controls for lights, microphones, and a-v equipment, and the location of pointer sticks, chalk or markers, marking pens, and blank transparencies.
• Test the A-V equipment and, if you encounter problems, immediately alert the the A-V technician. Audio-Visual Services can be reached at x6068 or (in afternoon) paged at 425-2864.
• With respect to A-V in 50B-4205, some assistance may also be available down the hall, from staff in the Computing Sciences Directorate (50B-4230). The key for 50B-4205 in in 50B-4206C, Jose Olivares' office. The ethernet connection is below the podium at the left.

During the meeting

• Start the session on time, usually at 4:00 PM, even if physicists are still arriving. Make any general announcements and then introduce the speaker.
• Interaction and questions during the talk are fine. However, if the audience is slowing the talk down so that you think the speaker will not be able to finish by 5PM, ask the audience to hold their questions until the end.
• Inform the speaker when it is 4:55 if they are not already summarizing.
• If a speaker makes offensive or inappropriate remarks, for example of a sexual, racial, or ethnic nature, the Chair should immediately say that this seems inappropriate to a physics presentation and that we should bring the discussion back to the physics topic.
• If any problems arise that you are unable to handle relative to successfully chairing the session, either go, or immediately send, someone to the RPM Administrative Assistant or the Physics Division Office.

Dinner Host Guidelines

• Typically RPM speakers from out of town are taken to dinner by a host. Often this is a different person than the RPM Committee Chair.
• Choose a restaurant after consulting with the RPM speaker about food preferences and restrictions.
• Invite other guests to make a total party of 3 to 6 people, checking with the speaker to see if there are particular people they would like invited.
• Make a reservation at a time, say 6:00PM, sufficient to allow the speaker time for some after-talk discussion and enough time to drive to the restaurant.
• Give restaurant address, phone, and directions to guests and organize car-pools if appropriate.
• Pay the bill, treating the speaker. The Lab (in conjunction with UC-Berkeley) subsidizes the meal up to $200. If the cost exceeds $200, divide the remainder, taking into account cases where someone has had a much less expensive meal, as is often the case with graduate students and postdocs.
• Provide Anytra Henderson (x4427, MS50B-5239, ashenderson@lbl.gov) with a Request for Reimbursement of RPM Dinner Cost. The request can be for up to $200. Include the restaurant name, names of all dinner guests, the total cost of the meal, an original receipt, and if you have it, a copy of the blue RPM announcement.