Computational Science in San Diego, or How I Lost my Trousers
Do you remember the first time you gave a speech at a conference? I am sure that every young scientist has a story related to such an exciting experience. Here is what happened to me when I successfully presented my research at an international conference despite losing my formal trousers.
My plane landed on the West Coast of the United States. In less than 24 hours I had to make a speech at my first international conference. But in that moment the only thing I could think about was "I am half across the world!"
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After more than an hour of endlessly waiting for my suitcase at baggage claim (yes, I didn’t find it) I found myself at a bus stop. I chose to go by public transport to learn more about local culture. I bought a bus pass (which is like "Podorozhnik" in St. Petersburg or "Troyka" in Moscow), deposited some money and started to wait for bus № 992.
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After making two bus changes I reached my hotel. It was the right time to think about new clothes, as due to this incident in the airport I had none at all. One of the hotel’s employees gave me information about local malls and I started shopping.
San Diego
In a couple of hours I realized that there are only sports stores, as I was staying near the beach. It was the perfect place for skaters and surfers but nobody was selling anything for young researchers who need to find pants for their upcoming presentation at a conference.
Due to the jet lag (the time difference between San Diego and St. Petersburg was 11 hours) I wanted to sleep. So I decided to indulge myself).
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I woke up at 3 am. I wish I repeated my speech but I switched on TV and watched Shrek! I had never watched it in English. Ogres Are Like Onions!
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Two hours later I finally forced myself to get back to my speech. The "repetition is the mother of skill" proverb was absolutely right — it was necessary to repeat it. I did it despite the fact that there were so many interesting programs on TV.
Next thing I knew, it was dawn. Dozens of people were running along the beach and as time went by, more and more people appeared. It is true that Californians are obsessed with an active lifestyle.
San Diego
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As the conference was soon going to start, most of the participants had already arrived at breakfast in the hotel. It was the first time in a while I saw my colleagues and first time I heard someone speak Russian in 3 days.
ITMO representatives were to give speeches on each of the three days of the forum, mine was scheduled for the first day. First of all we focused on the Jackie Chen speech on Exascale computing. Then during a break my colleagues and I went to have a look at the timetable and learn the extraordinary names of the rooms. In a room called Toucan, with a giant parrot’s photo on the wall, I found my scientific supervisor preparing for his speech, and decided to do the same.
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In a couple of hours after giving my speech I fortunately had a rest. I even had no difficulties with the question-answer part, which made me feel anxious more than other ones due to the language barrier.
It turned out that the success of any speech session depends on the moderator because he or she chooses what questions will be asked and lets speakers know how much time they have. Fortunately my session was moderated by Ian Foster from the University of Chicago who did his best!
There is an ironic saying "Experience is a priceless knowledge, which you will never need." While this isn’t about the experience of visiting international conferences. I made some rules from my experience which might also be useful for you.
- Don’t lose your luggage! It is not a problem to give a speech dressed in shorts. Even if your legs are covered with a lectern. But it is not good for your self-confidence!
- Prepare your speech. I picked up several words that made my presentation smarter, for instance, "consequently." They don’t make sense but when you use them, your speech looks more authentic.
- Use eye contact. It is better to memorize your speech. The difference becomes clear when you compare a presentation by a person, who interacted with audience, with another one by a speaker who was constantly looking at his laptop.
- Don’t use filler words. Instead of "uhm" and "so" make pauses in case you forget something and need a couple seconds to remember.
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Research team of ITMO's eScience Research Institute at the ICCS-2016
The first day of ICCS-2016 came to the end. You could see an international team of scientists from all over the world admiring the wonderful bay and eating guacamole and nachos. I talked to Brendon from Australia — we tried to find what makes our countries similar. We found lots of things! Unfortunately the jet lag made me tired. That is how I spent my first day at the international conference.
