For the first time, IEEE VAST will have a Poster Program. The VAST Poster Program provides a forum for researchers to present work that is in progress and not sufficiently mature for a regular paper submission yet. To be accepted, posters must have topics relevant to the visual analytics research agenda. (See here for details of the agenda.)

Posters offer a venue for preliminary findings, research exploring new problems or application areas, student projects, and any work that might particularly benefit from discussion with others in the field. In addition to having a two-page article in the electronic proceedings, authors will present a large poster summarizing their work and will be available to discuss it during the conference poster session. Please refer here for formatting guidelines and instructions.

Deadline: June 30, 2007 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time
To submit your poster, please click here.

Information for Authors

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 visual analytics. Full literature searches are not expected, although relevant citations should be included. Poster authors must submit a 2-page summary in the same two-column format as is required for papers, and an optional draft of the poster layout (in PDF format). Submissions must be in final form; those accepted will be distributed to attendees as part of the electronic proceedings as submitted -- no revisions will be possible. Any optional drafts of posters are submitted for review purposes only and will not be distributed. Those who intend to show demos are highly encouraged to also submit an accompanying video. Clearly identify the type of your submission by including the prefix "Interactive Poster:" in the title of your summary.

Poster Session

Authors of accepted posters are required to bring an explanatory hardcopy poster for display during the scheduled evening poster session, and be available for discussion at that time. Accepted authors who wish to also show demos of their work are encouraged to also bring a laptop to the poster session. Authors who wish to show a live demo but cannot provide their own machine should contact the posters chairs in advance of the submission deadline to discuss the logistics. All authors who plan to show live demos or video should clearly indicate this fact in their submissions. Authors are also required to present a very brief one-minute summary of their interactive poster at a short preview session earlier in the day.

Poster Review Process

Each poster will be read and evaluated by the Poster Chairs. Review criteria are: interest to the community, originality, significance, and presentation quality. Submissions will also be evaluated based on whether the content is suitable for VAST and not a repetition of the work of others. There will be two categories for submission: student and general. Student posters are strongly encouraged and several slots will be reserved for student submissions. Authors of posters that are not accepted will receive summary reviews of their poster from the chairs explaining the decision and providing feedback.

Best Poster Awards

We will have two categories for Best Poster: general and student. The poster co-chairs will select a set of finalists in each category. A special Best Poster Committee will be assigned to select the winners. The Best Poster Committee will make their decision during the symposium based on the 2-page submission as well as the final poster and discussion as observed during the poster session. Again, we encourage students to submit posters since their will be a separate award category for students.

For more information, contact the VAST Poster Chairs:
David Gotz, IBM Watson Research Center
Greg Schmidt, Spatial Data Analytics

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 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 poster board 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 poster board for display. Poster boards and push-pins 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 session is in an unsecured open area. Take your laptop and all your gear with you.