Presentation Instructions
General Scheme for Parallel Sessions
Talk Length: All contributed talks are 15 minutes in length, followed by 3 minutes of questions and answers. Please ensure that your video upload and your in-person talk (if applicable) is less than 15 minutes in length. For in-person presentations, there will be a countdown timer in the room, and the session chairs have been instructed to cut people off at the 15 minute mark in order to keep the symposium on schedule.In-Person Speakers: All speakers are expected to use the computers and laser pointers provided in the classrooms for their presentations. Doing so allows sessions to stay on schedule, despite the large number of talks and the short transitions. This system requires that you upload your presentation files to our server no later than 11:59pm the night before your talk. Symposium staff will transfer the files to the appropriate classroom computer in advance of each session. During the Q&A session after your talk, please repeat any audience questions into your microphone so the Zoom audience can hear them.
Virtual Speakers: You will connect to the meeting through Zoom; the Zoom connection information will be available each day in the Attendee Portal. Each session (such as WH) will have an associated Zoom room ID. When it is time for your talk, we will play your uploaded talk on a screen in the classroom and on Zoom. After your talk, you are expected to be available on Zoom to answer questions during the 3 mins of Q&A time – we know this may be 3AM in your timezone.
Virtual Attendees: Both the live talks from in-person attendees and recorded talks from remote attendees will be broadcast on Zoom. Please type questions into the chat for that room; the assistant session chair ask them for you.
Classroom Computers
The classroom computers run Windows 10 (64-bit). They are installed with Microsoft Office 2016 and the MathType fonts. The computers also run Adobe Acrobat Reader. Each computer is connected to a standard digital projector with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 (which is a standard 4:3 ratio).Presentation Options
- PowerPoint (PPTX) -- We anticipate that most presenters will use PowerPoint, and therefore the default presentation type is PPTX. If you are using any non-standard fonts, please embed the fonts in your presentation file. For safety, we also recommend embedding (pasting) images into your PPTX rather than linking to images. If your presentation contains media files, be sure to upload them to our system as "supporting files" or they will not appear on the classroom computers. [Note to Mac users: videos linked in Mac PowerPoint rarely work on Windows computers; instead we recommend that you link your movies on a Windows box.]
- PDF -- Although this method excludes the use of animations and multimedia, it is extremely portable and may be preferred by some users. It can be a good option if you have unusual fonts that cannot be embedded, or are otherwise concerned about portability.
Video Recording/Upload Instructions
Whether you are attending in-person or remotely, you must upload a video of your talk by June 12. This is straightforward to do with Zoom’s recording feature, and we have a video with instructions HERE. Once you record your talk, you can upload it by logging into the website and selecting the Manage My Video Uploads button.Presentation File Upload Instructions
Whether you are attending in-person or remotely, you must upload your presentation files by 11:59pm CDT the day before your talk. To upload your presentation file(s), log into the website and select the Manage My Presentation Uploads button. There, you may upload both your main presentation file (in PPTX or PDF format), as well as supporting files such as multimedia files.If you use PPTX format, there is a Preview functionality that will generate a WMV video of your PowerPoint presentation and email you when it is ready. This system works by launching PowerPoint (on a server with the same build as the classroom computers), automatically clicking "next" every second, and capturing the result into a low frame-rate video file. This can be used to ensure that all of your fonts render correctly, that your transitions work, etc. Be aware that because of the low frame-rate and the once-per-second clicks, some transitions may not appear very smoothly. Videos will start to play, but will be truncated to 1 second.
You may re-upload your presentation file(s) if you make changes, so we encourage you to make your first upload early, and generate your previews while the server load is low. If you need to, you can always re-upload at the "last minute" before the 11:59pm deadline, and you should not need to generate a new preview.
Important notes:
- File names must have proper Windows-style extensions (e.g., presentation.pptx).
- File names must contain only the ASCII characters a-z, A-Z, 0-9, hyphens, and underscores. Spaces in filenames are not allowed!
Previewing Your Talk or Getting Help in Urbana
Once you arrive in Champaign-Urbana, you may view your presentation on a computer with the same build as the classroom computers in the cubicles behind the checkout counter in the Chemistry Library. If you need assistance with your talk, please contact the Symposium Staff at the front counter.Archive
To extend the reach of the Symposium beyond those who are able to attend in person, presentation files are retained and made freely available online to the community from our repository. This repository will represent a permanent archive of the meeting. By submitting your presentation, you grant the International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy and the University of Illinois the non-exclusive right (which does not limit you in terms of future publication or distribution of your work) to make content for the ISMS Repository (hereafter called the “Work”) available in any format in perpetuity.By submitting your talk, you warrant as follows:
- that you have the full power and authority to make this agreement;
- that the Work does not infringe any copyright, nor violate any proprietary rights, nor contain any libelous matter, nor invade the privacy of any person or third party; and
- that no right in the Work has in any way been sold, mortgaged, or otherwise disposed of, and that the Work is free from all liens and claims.
You understand that once the Work is deposited in the repository, a full bibliographic citation to the Work will remain visible so long as the Repository is maintained. You agree to hold the University of Illinois and the International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, and its agents harmless from any claim, action, or proceeding alleging facts that constitute a breach of any warranty implied or enumerated in this paragraph.
This year, we allow you to select one of four archive choices on the upload page:
- Available to the public in July as uploaded
- Restricted to ISMS community until January
- Redact and re-upload for July 1st display to public
- Redact and re-upload and restrict to ISMS community until January