2019 Safe Systems Summit: Redefining Transportation Safety

Research poster presentations

We are no longer accepting abstracts to present at the Research Poster Showcase.

Students and researchers are invited to showcase transportation-related research, capstone and community projects as poster presentations at the Safe Systems Summit. The Summit will provide an opportunity for poster session participants to connect with experts in transportation, public health and other related fields. Student posters will be entered into a contest with prizes for first, second and third place. Note: While any attendee is eligible to present a research poster, the competition and prizes are only open to students.

Connect with experts in transportation, public health and related fields. Those selected to present research posters will receive free Summit registration.

Poster sessions are a valuable opportunity for authors to present research and to meet with interested attendees for in-depth technical discussions. It is CSCRS’s mission to create and exchange knowledge to advance transportation safety through a multidisciplinary, Safe Systems approach.

Posters will be selected for display at the Summit based on overall quality and relevance to the Summit theme of redefining transportation safety. Poster topics should be related to:

Transportation safety: Safe Systems, crash analysis, demographics, enforcement, restraint use, human factors.
Planning: Land development, access, equity, trip generation, complete streets.
Data science: Data linkage, statistical analysis, Big Data, machines, surrogate safety measures, machine learning.
Robotics: Automated and connected vehicles, artificial intelligence, simulation.
Engineering: Roadway design, intersection design, speed, traffic control, vehicle design.
Public health issues: Injury prevention, drug and alcohol use, vulnerable road users.

Authors are not required to be affiliated with a University Transportation Center to participate.

Poster presentation & judging

- Presenters will be expected to bring posters to the Durham Convention Center on Monday, April 22, from 2 to 5 p.m. or Tuesday, April 23, from 7 to 9 a.m. No posters will be accepted after 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23.
- Easels, foam core board (40″ x 30″), binder clips and thumbtacks will be provided for presenters to secure and display posters.
- Posters will be displayed during Summit hours on Tuesday, April 23. Poster presenters are encouraged to stand by their posters during breaks and in between sessions throughout the day to meet and discuss project work with Summit attendees.
- The designated presentation and judging period for student-only posters will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. that day.
- Student poster winners will be announced on Wednesday, April 24, as part of the Summit program.
- The prizes for winners are as follows:
  - 1st place: $500
  - 2nd place: $350
  - 3rd place: $150

Please note: Any attendee is eligible to present a research poster, but the competition and prizes are only open to students.

For any questions, contact Marie Melendez at 919-962-8713 or info@roadsafety.unc.edu.

Authors should bring

- - A single (40” x 30”) sheet poster, made of heavyweight poster paper or similar material.
  - Heavy duty fasteners or tacks (as back up to the binder clips and thumbtacks provided by Summit staff), tape, or other materials as determined necessary.
  - Optional: Additional written material, of a non-commercial nature, that supplements the material presented on the poster. This material can be distributed or for display on site.
  - Business cards. This will be a GREAT networking opportunity.

Poster session guidelines

- - Commercial advertising of products or services is not permitted.
  - There are no provisions for printing posters at the Summit.
  - Do not tack individual pages of a Power Point presentation or a text manuscript onto a poster board.

Tips on developing a stellar research poster

- - Shorten your text lines: Long lines of text are more difficult to read, which is why magazines and newspapers always break up their text into narrower columns. With a landscape orientation, consider breaking your text into four columns.
  - Justify the right way – to the left: While justifying text on both the right and left (i.e., full justification) makes for very neat-looking columns, it can cause distracting vertical “rivers” of spaces down the page. Left justifying text makes for an easier read.
  - Consider your font: You don’t have to stick with just one. Adding a little variety, and even downloading a font that isn’t available on PowerPoint, can make your poster stand out. But never use more than two or three fonts.
  - Bigger is better: In low light conditions, or when the audience is reading over other people’s shoulders, larger fonts are essential.
  - Banish the legend: Legends or keys to multicolored line graphs give a viewer one more thing to interpret. If possible, annotate your data with labels directly on the image.
  - Declutter: Use graphs rather than tables; avoid cluttered figures; arrange experiments to tell a story, not in the order they were performed; include enough data to defend your hypothesis; keep about a 50/50 ratio of graphics to text.
  - Visibility is key: Check for readability at 6 feet; print out a small copy to better judge your layout choices; use a ruler to make sure all columns are aligned; stick with black as the text color.
  - This resource provides additional guidance: How to design an award-winning conference poster

What to do before you print

- - Give it a test run: You often find mistakes when you’re standing in front of your poster at the conference. To save yourself the embarrassment, project your poster on the wall of your lab and run through your presentation.
  - Check your message: Once you’ve made your poster look its best, give it one more read-through to make sure that it presents the point of your research in the most convincing light.
  - Color check: Make sure the colors you’ve chosen are readable in low light. It’s hard to predict where your poster will be placed, so make sure your choices work in different settings.
  - Check dimensions: Although this should really be the first thing you do, not the last, it’s a good idea to make sure your poster conforms to the meeting’s size and orientation specifications.

Printing your poster

Whether you’re local or attending the Summit from out-of-state, PhD Posters will print and deliver your poster to the Durham Convention Center. Delivery fees have been waived for Summit attendees.

Visit https://phdposters.com/new/event/95/durham-convention-center to submit your poster design.