Abstract

Students in the Graduate Program in Neurobiology & Behavior (N&B) are requesting funding to purchase a small, light-weight LCD projector, three USB memory sticks, and a VGA switching device. These items are expected to enhance presentations at program-mandated colloquia, rotation talks, poster presentations, journal clubs, and lectures. Presently, we have only an older LCD projector (previously funded by STFC) that does not meet our increasing presentation needs. Although functional, it has proven too large to be easily moved between training sites, especially as most students travel on mass transit. The USB memory sticks are light-weight flash memory devices that will facilitate transferring files between workstations for oral presentations and for printing large posters. The VGA switching device will allow us to connect multiple computers to a single projector. This will facilitate smooth transitions between speakers in our colloquia and laboratory rotation talks (a quarterly program requirement). We are confident that the purchase of the proposed equipment will provide enhanced availability and portability of presentation equipment to all of the students in and students affiliated with the N&B program. This in turn will enhance efficiency in the workflow, reduce technical difficulties, and maximize the use of our resources.

Background

The Graduate Program in Neurobiology and Behavior (N&B) at the University of Washington is an interdisciplinary degree-granting graduate program. There are currently 59 students enrolled in the program, with about 10 new incoming students every year. Several students in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD) also join our program to complete their PhD portion of their degree. Our program currently encompasses 18 departments spanning a variety of disciplines at the University of Washington. There is a significant amount of interaction between faculty and students in all 18 departments and N&B students, resulting in a large network of faculty and students working together to understand the nervous system.

Students in the program are required to present their ideas and data to a wide range of audiences throughout their graduate education. These presentations include, but are not limited to: colloquia, laboratory rotation talks, conferences, thesis and dissertation defenses, laboratory meetings, and student-run journal clubs. Because our goal is to develop professional presentation skills, the preparation of a/v materials and pre-talk practices play an important role in this process. While attempts are made to minimize conflicts, an increase in the number of students who use computer presentations has resulted in the need for more access to a computer projection system.

Currently the department has only one older LCD projector. Due to the large number of talks both within the program itself and in the 18 affiliated departments, this projector is quite often in use. However, because of its limited mobility, the LCD projector that we currently have is almost exclusively used on the main UW campus. As some of our students work in UW affiliated off-campus institutions, such as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Veteran's Hostpital, they use mass transit to get to and from the main office. These students often opt not to use this equipment because of the hassle of tranporting it on the buses, not to mention the possibility of damage. Since there are, at a minimum, ten department-wide events (some outside of the University of Washington) and numerous individual occasions each year, there is an urgent need for a more portable projector in the program. The incoming students in N&B program are also each required to give at least three presentations during the course of their first year. These students depend heavily on the resources provided by the department.

Because N&B is an interdisciplinary program, students are dispersed throughout the campus and off-campus sites. The requested USB memory sticks will facilitate the frequent transfer of files between multiple workstations.

At rotation talks and colloquia it is inevitable to have more than one computer used in a presentation series. Problems often arise when switching the projector between computers. This complication disrupts the flow of the talks and causes time delays and/or schedule interruptions. A VGA switching device will allow multiple computers to be hooked up to a single projector. This device will shorten the dead time between talks and reduces technical difficulties in the switching process. This is a major issue because one of the main benefits of presenting one's data comes from having the time to obtain direct feedback.

Benefits

We are requesting one LCD projector, three USB memory sticks (512 MB) and a VGA switching device for student use. Microsoft Powerpoint presentations have become the standard for seminars and other scientific presentations which allows for the display of complex data to diverse audiences. Quicktime movies and web-based files are often incorporated into Powerpoint presentations provide a powerful means of supplementing the spoken words of the presenter to give a more complete picture of the issues being discussed. It is vital that students have the opportunity to practice the art of scientific presentation with equipment that is both portable and readily available.

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the program, students conduct their dissertation research in numerous locations including the Health Sciences Building, UW Medical Center, upper campus, the Veteran's Hospital and The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. A portable presentation system is the most practical way to accommodate the needs of all of the students in the program. Recent advances in this technology now permit such devices to be acquired for a reasonable price.

Another aspect of the dispersed student body is the need to transfer files between multiple computers. The USB memory sticks will provide an simple and staightforward way to achieve this. In addition, students would benefit from the flexibility of being able to rework their slides at any time prior to presenting. The capacity of the USB memory sticks (512 MB) is sufficient to hold several large posters that students print and present at the colloquia, rotation poster sessions, and scientific meetings.

To address the problem of time delay between presentations involving multiple computers, we have requested a VGA switching device, which will facilitate smoother transitions, thereby freeing up more time for informative discussions.

This equipment, in conjunction with what the department already has, will create a portable presentation system that is accessible to all the students in the N&B program.

Student Access

Students in the Graduate Program of Neurobiology & Behavior will have the highest priority for the access to the equipment. In addition, students in 18 affiliated departments may have access to the equipment on available basis. The proposed equipment is to be used primarily by students as N&B faculty have primary appointments in other departments and thus have access to similar equipment through their home departments. Ann Wilkinson (program coordinator) and Lucia Wisdom (assistant to the Director) have agreed to store and secure the equipment in their office when not in use and to maintain a check-out form for the equipment. Both the projector and the USB memory sticks may be checked out for up to a week per occasion. They may be taken home or outside the campus. The office will be open for students to check out equipment between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday except holidays.

Available Resources

There are no departmental funds to support the purchase of all of the proposed equipment. However, the department has agreed to pay a matching fund for a replacement bulb for the projector ($379 including tax and shipping) and other on-going cost for at least three years. They have agreed to provide a secure storage space for the equipment inside the program office.

Installation Timeline

Not applicable.

Departmental Endorsement

This proposal is endorsed by the directors of the Graduate Program in Neurobiology & Behavior:

Thomas Reh, Ph.D., Director
Michael Shadlen, M.D., Ph.D., Director

Student Endorsement

Of over 20 responses that we received from the students on a recent survey, among the top requests were the smaller, more portable LCD projector and USB memory sticks. We have also heard about an suggestion to hook up all laptops onto one VGA switching device to facilitate smooth transitions between talks, which has received a rave support from many students in the program. Below are some testimonials from the students in the N&B program.

"To make an effective presentation, it is often necessary to practice in the same environment as the actual presentation. I believe that having more than one projector will allow students to have this practice. With only one projector for the number of students we have in our program, this is difficult. Also, my classes or lab meetings will often require me to present papers or current research. While projectors are usually provided, they are sometimes not. In these situations, it is important that I have access to a projector, and mutliple projectors will help ensure this.

Key cards will be extremely helpful in transfering materials between computers. Currently, I often need to put my material (usually presentations) onto a CD. Our lab does not have a zip drive, so CDs are the best way to copy resources. Because I do not often reuse these resentations, it is a waste of resources. Key cards would provide a perfect combination of portability and reusability for copying material." - James Bullis (N&B graduate student)

"Of course, I think that with enough preparation and forethought, we should all be able to get our presentations onto one computer, but we know that that doesn't always work out for various reasons (sleeping through your alarm clock :) , data coming in at the last minute, last minute additions/changes/corrections to your talk, etc.). There were a couple times last year when multiple students had movies in their presentations that ran perfectly on their computer, but then couldn't run on the single computer we all chose to put our presentations on... hopefully we're getting closer to a point in time when everything will run on all computers, but we really aren't there yet, especially (in this case) if the movies being used were made years ago. Of course, we can always change the cords in between each talk, but depending on when that's done, it can either slow the meeting down (or rotation talk schedule) or if it's done during the question and answer period, it can really be disruptive to the speaker and audience. (And for a class that is as big as mine was (13 students), the rotation talks already were scheduled for 3 hours... delays and interruptions only added to an already exhaustive schedule.) Another example of when I can see this tool being extremely useful would be during our N&B retreat, when it's possible that we could have multiple speakers flying in on the same day. It is a logistical feat to make sure that in limited time, multiple presenter's talks can be loaded onto one computer and run perfectly and when people are travelling here on the morning or the evening before the meeting, this can be almost impossible." - Cristi Stoick (N&B graduate student)

Items

Below are the items making up the current proposal. The asterisk (*) beside items signify that they were approved by the committee. This however was not implemented correctly for our database before 2005, so earlier years may not show this.

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