TENTATIVE SYLLABUS FOR CHEMISTRY 982 - GRADUATE SEMINAR
Spring Semester 2007
Tuesday 4 - 5 PM, BE 162
Instructor: D. R. Dalton , BE340, Telephone 215-204-7138; Facsimile 215-204-1532
e-mail: david.dalton@temple.edu
Office Hours: MWF 9 - 10 AM and other times by appointment

For the calendar of seminar presentations, please click here .

Course Information

This course is taken by chemistry graduate students in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the Doctoral or Master's degree. The goal of this course is to provide an opportunity for the graduate student to develop skills in the oral presentation of research in an open forum. Traditionally, there are two basic types of presentation topics: (i) Dissertation/Thesis research topic, and (ii) literature-based research on a chemistry topic unrelated to the dissertation/thesis research. By developing and presenting a research-based talk, and answering questions from an audience that consists of other students and faculty, the student is given the opportunity to demonstrate his/her knowledge of the subject. Also for the benefit of the student, an anticipated outcome is an increased confidence in effectively communicating scientific information.

Grading

A letter grade will be assigned by the course instructor. The grade will be based on the quality and clarity of the spoken delivery and the visuals (i.e., slides), and the ability to effectively answer questions. The course instructor also will solicit comments on the presentation from the faculty in attendance.

General Comments and Guidelines

Appropriate presentation sequences that have succeeded in the past include material such as (i) Introduction/Background; (ii) Presentation of key problems/questions; (iii) Results & Analysis; (iv) Summary & Conclusions; and (v) Acknowledgements.

Dissertation/thesis research presentations should be 45-50 minutes long. Literature research presentations should be 20-25 minutes long. Recent successful presentations have used Powerpoint format although use of an overhead projector or white board, as appropriate, is not discouraged. Please contact me ahead of time for special requests. Given the criteria for grading and demonstrated excellence by many students it is highly recommended that the student give a practice talk in advance with his/her advisor and research group.

A title and abstract (all on one page) of the presentation must be provided to the course instructor no later than two weeks prior to the presentation. The title and abstract for the talk can be sent as a *.pdf file to the course instructor (david.dalton@temple.edu).

All students registered for the course are required to attend all the lectures. Moreover, attendance by all other graduate students is expected, and will be duly recognized.

Withdrawal: Students may withdraw from the course without penalty (Grade of "W") any time up to and through Monday, 30 January 2006. After that grace period the "W" grade is only given in accordance with institutional procedure. The procedure to obtain a "W" grade after 30 January 2006 is governed by the Temple University Policy (#03.12.12) on Withdrawal. Please click here to view the policy.

Incomplete: Please note that an Incomplete ("I") Grade is only given in accord with institutional procedures. The "I" grade cannot be given until the specific requirements have been met and forms filled out, signed and submitted. This course is governed by the Temple University Policy (#03.12.13) on Incompletes. Please click here to view the policy.

Disability Impact Statement: Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss the specific situation as soon as possible. (S)he should also contact Disability Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 in Room 100 Ritter Annex so that we can attempt to coordinate reasonable accommodations for her/his documented disabilities.