Session Chair Instructions

Thank you for agreeing to serve as a Session Chair for MT28. The following describes the details and specifics for managing sessions at the conference.

  • All MT28 sessions will have two Session Chairs. A list of assignments will be posted in the program prior to the conference.
  • There are four types of sessions: plenary sessions, special sessions, regular oral sessions, and poster sessions.
  • Session Chairs must complete the Session Chair Report after the session and return it to the Speakers Preview Room in the Grand Theatre
  • If a scheduled presentation has no-show presenters and the presentation has to be canceled (e.g., was not given), the corresponding paper, if submitted, will not be considered for peer review and published in the special MT28 issue of the IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity. It is therefore very important for session chairs to properly record the no-shows.

Session Chairs for ORAL SESSIONS have several responsibilities.

Prior to the session start:

  • Please read over all abstracts in your session before the day of the session.
  • Please go to the Speakers Preview Room prior to the session to check whether all presentations have been submitted. Talks will be pre-loaded to the computer in your session room. It is also a good idea to confirm which talks are loaded on the computer just prior to the start of the session.
  • Take 5 – 10 minutes prior to the session to familiarize yourself with lighting controls, computer, laser pointer, slide controls, microphones, and the general layout of the room (viewing angles, doors, noise, etc.).
  • If there are any issues, please advise the conference staff.
  • Take a roll-call of all speakers.
  • PowerPoint tip: F5 will start the presentation, ESC exits.
  • Acrobat tip: Ctrl – L will enter full-screen mode, ESC exits.
  • Session Chair Report will be placed onto the speaker podium prior to the session.

Beginning of and during sessions:

  • Announce the title of the session.
  • Introduce yourselves.
  • Explain the ground rules:
    • Invited orals at 30 minutes = 25 min (warn at 23) + 5 min for questions.
    • Contributed orals at 15 minutes = 12 min (warn at 10) + 3 min for questions.
  • You should introduce the presenting author and the title of each presentation.
  • Be polite but firm when enforcing these time limits: Stand, ask the speaker to conclude. Keep control of the session time!
  • At your discretion, talks may encroach into question time, but then you should defer questions to private discussion.
  • Monitor noise, audience, etc. If there are any repeated or unprofessional disturbances, please note it and inform the conference staff.
  • The two chairs can alternate this task.
  • Every presentation must be exactly as scheduled. If a speaker does not show on time for the scheduled presentation, the next speaker shall not begin the presentation until the scheduled time. Session Chairs may fill the time before the next presentation starts by allowing more questions or initiating discussion on the subject of the session.
  • Complete and return the Session Chair Report after the session but no later than the end of the day to the Speakers Preview Room. Check off presentations as they are given. Also estimate the audience size.
  • PLEASE! Do not let anyone walk away with the laser pointer!

POSTER SESSIONS do not require introduction of the authors or of the presentations.

  • Pick up the Session Chair Report prior to the session from the Speakers Preview Room.
  • Session Chairs are asked to record any posters that were not presented. One of the authors must be present at most, if not all, times with the poster presentation.
  • Walk the session multiple times. Note that in some cases, an author may need to attend to more than one poster, and thus might not be present during your first survey, so you may have to return later. Poster presenters have been instructed by Conference Management to leave a note on their posters to say when they will return. Feel free to remind the attendees of this request.
  • Complete and return the Session Chair Report after the session but no later than the end of the day to the Speakers Preview Room. Record posters that have been mounted and are attended by a presenter, posters mounted but have no attendant, and posters that are missing entirely (No-Show). Please take note of the policies that follow when completing this form. Estimate audience size.
    • Poster policy #1: If a poster is placed on the poster board but an author is not available for the majority of the session, this is not considered as having been presented. Please make a note on the session Chair Report as a No-Show
    • Poster policy #2: Posters that simply consist of a posted copy of the paper (even if enlarged) are not considered to be poster presentations. Please mark the poster as a No-Show in the Session Chair Report and add an explanation.