Lightning Talks

Each research scholar in the Xerox, NSF REU’s (except Photonics) or an engineering researcher in McNair will present a 4x20 Lightning Talk about their research at the Kearns Center end of the summer Research Symposium.

These high‐energy one minute and twenty second talks provide an opportunity for scholars to share key points about their research in a fun and engaging way. You will have exactly four slides that will advance automatically every 20 seconds. No animations or embedded video are permitted in the slides.

To review the presentations and facilitate the transitions between presentations, slides will need to be turned in by Thursday July 25. There will be dedicated sections throughout the research symposium for each REU’s set of talks. You will receive your session assignment and presentation order as we get closer to the research day.

If you are unfamiliar with these types of talks, you can search for the terms “Pecha Kucha” or “Ignite” talks to find similar examples. Overall, the key to a successful 4x20 Lightning Talk is: practice, practice, practice!

Kearns 4x20 Lightning Talk Guidelines

Each presenter will have a total of one minute and twenty seconds for their presentation. Each slide will automatically advance after 20 seconds. Because of the limited time, the moderator will stop a presenter who goes beyond the time limit.

PowerPoint is required as your visual. No animations or video are permitted in the slides. Each presentation should have four slides. What we are looking for is an articulation of

• What you did: an overview of your project, research question(s), methodology
• Why you did it: the “so what,” why is this research important and/or needed
• The contributions to your field and the larger field of human knowledge: who and/or what does this help to understand, solve or figure out

On the first slide please list the research title, mentor(s) name and labs and programs the research is affiliated with.  

Practice, practice, practice! Lightning talks are fun and energizing because of the quick format. Using the automatic presentation feature keeps the moderator on task and requires concise delivery of information. Practice is especially important in a timed presentation since slides will advance automatically. When you practice, we strongly recommend that you use the automatic advance feature set to 20 seconds per slide.

Presenters will receive information about lightning talk session assignments along with additional details for the session by email and before the event. Timing is subject to change as we try and accommodate the schedules of faculty guests that day. We ask for your patience and flexibility.