The posters program at Visualization has become an increasingly important component of the conference, showcasing high-quality cutting-edge research. Because the conference reception is co-located with the poster area, posters presentations can initiate productive discussions and collaborations. Posters offer a venue for work in progress, research exploring new problems or application areas, student projects, and any work that might particularly benefit from discussion with others in the field (see also the Frequently Asked Questions below). Case studies in all areas of science, engineering, and medicine are welcome.

Review criteria are: interest to the community, originality, significance, and presentation quality. Submissions will be limited to two printed pages and an optional draft of the poster. Submissions should include a concise description of the idea, the results or findings, supporting imagery and figures, and a discussion of the implications of the work to visualization. Full literature searches are not expected, although relevant citations should be included. Submissions must be in final form; those accepted will be distributed to attendees on paper and on the conference DVD as submitted -- no revisions will be possible. Any optional drafts of posters are submitted for review purposes only and will not be distributed.

Deadline: June 30, 2006

Starting with IEEE Visualization 2006, the Best Poster award will be determined through a two stage review process, similar to the current process for the Best Paper award. The decision will be made by a Best Poster Committee, consisting of the current poster chairs and the poster chairs from the previous year's conference, and chaired by one of the current poster chairs. For the Visualization 2006, the Best Poster Committee is:

2006 Best Poster Committee Members:
Daniel Weiskopf (chair), Simon Fraser University
Gordon Kindlmann, Harvard Medical School
David Laidlaw, Brown University
Robert Kosara, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Best Poster Selection Procedure

• July 20, 2006: acceptance decisions are announced for all submitted posters
• The Best Poster Committee will review and discuss the accepted posters, to choose 5 candidates for Best Poster.
• August 30, 2006: Best Poster candidates are announced.
• At the conference: There will be a Best Poster Session (new in 2006) affording each of the Best Poster candidates a 7 minute talk (with 3 minutes for questions and speaker transition) to present their work in more detail. These talks are an opportunity to showcase the high quality of research on display in the Poster Session. Note that the fast-paced Poster Preview Session will still include the Best Poster candidates, as not all Vis attendees will be able to see the Best Poster Session.
• The Best Poster Committee will make their decision based on the Best Poster oral presentations, and on the posters themselves.
• At the end of the conference: the Best Poster winner will be announced (along with the other awards).

To make the Best Poster decision, the Best Poster Committee will assess the quality and impact of the research, and the clarity of its presentation. Specifically, the poster should describe a compelling innovation in visualization methods or applications, in a way that invites further research, discussion, or collaboration. The explanation of the research problem and methods should be easily understood. The visual presentation on the poster should be clean and logically structured, and the main research results should be clearly stated.

Abstracts will be accepted electronically in PDF. The draft of the poster may be in either Powerpoint or PDF. Both should be submitted using the Poster Submission Page The final poster size should not exceed 60 inches wide x 40 inches tall (approximately 150 cm x 100 cm).

For more information please contact Daniel Weiskopf at weiskopf@cs.sfu.ca or Gordon Kindlmann at gk@bwh.harvard.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of a poster?
There are different reasons for submitting your work as a poster. Maybe the work wasn't quite mature enough at the papers deadline, but you would like to show it to your colleagues. Or you want some feedback on what others think about it. Maybe the work was interesting but not of such a great value that it would warrant a paper (student projects often fall into this category). Or you may have some late breaking results you want to show the world before writing a complete paper. A poster presentation provides you with the chance to get more feedback than with a paper presentation, and you can get in contact with people working in a similar field, or who are interested in your work.

What are my responsibilities as a poster author?
To facilitate dissemination, discussion, and access, posters will be on display during the entire conference. Authors will be expected to set up their posters the first morning of the conference, and take them down the final afternoon. Posters are also presented in person, first in a one minute summary at the fast-paced poster summary session, and then by standing with the poster during the poster session itself (during the conference reception) to describe the work and to answer questions. If the poster has multiple authors, not all authors need to be there, however the poster must be staffed by at least one person at all times during the poster session. Multiple authors may wish to "tag team," taking turns at their own poster and then seeing the other poster presentations.

What makes for a good poster?
The main points of the poster should be easily readable from about three meters away. The poster may also have more dense text, suitable for viewers who come for a closer look, standing perhaps one meter away. Consider also that the material on the poster should be useful for you to illustrate key points when discussing your work individually with attendees during your session. And don't forget to include your name, affiliation, and contact information on the poster. At the poster session, you should have your business card or a leaflet ready to give to interested people.

What is the expected physical format of a poster?
Posters are usually printed with a large-format printer onto a large piece of paper, which covers most or all of the posterboard it is mounted on. A less attractive (though time-honored) option is to form the poster from a collection of individual letter-size sheets of paper, either as the individual pages of the presentation, or as "tiles" of a single large-format document. At the conference, you will mount your poster onto a posterboard for display. Posterboards and pushpins will be supplied by the conference organizers.

Will I have an internet connection for my laptop?
Probably not. It's best not to plan on having an internet connection during your session.

Will AC power be available for my laptop or other devices?
Sorry, we can t promise AC power outlets. Charge your batteries before the session.

Can I leave my laptop or other equipment there before or after the session?
The poster sessions are in unsecured open areas. Take your laptop and all your gear with you.