Late spring/ early summer is Conference Season in academic science, with lots of meetings scheduled during the academic break, so that everybody can attend without cutting into their teaching responsibilities (of course, our trimester calendar means we're still in session for most of these, but whatever...). The peak time for conferences in my subfield is late May and early June-- the main meeting I go to, the Division of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics is actually later than usual this year, presumably because it's in Calgary, and they need an extra week or two to thaw out.
Of course, scheduling the talks for these meetings is a major undertaking. Hundreds of physicists will submit abstracts to present, and these need to be reviewed and arranged into sessions. The sessioning is done on a semi-volunteer basis, as I understand it, so they need to provide ample time for getting everything sorted out, which means that the abstract deadline for talks to be presented at a meeting that starts June 5 is, well, today.
that's a lot of lead time, and here are two main ways of dealing with it:
The first option is to submit a solid abstract based on work that is already complete, or very close to completion. The problem with this is that by the time the meeting rolls around, the work in question is boring old news. Everybody who cares has already heard about it, and moved on to something else. I've given talks at conferences on work that I was already bored with, because the experiment was already done when the abstract was submitted.
The other strategy is to submit the "hopeful abstract"-- look six months ahead, and guess what you'll have done by the time the meeting starts, and promise to talk about that. There are some code phrases that identify hopeful abstracts-- "progress toward" (as in, "we report progress toward the development of faster-than-light interstellar travel") is a dead giveaway-- but at a given meeting, probably a third of the talks are hopeful abstracts.
Hopeful abstracts often lead to better talks-- the science is fresher, and everybody likes fresh, hot science-- but they can be risky. One tiny little lab flood that sets things back, and your talk ends up being pure vapor: "We would've had a working star drive by now, but the equipment was damaged in a flood, so, um, here are some computer animations..."
Anyway, unlike last year, I won't be wrestling with the APS's abstract submission system today to get a paper in before the deadline. One of my thesis students had his submission accepted for the Special Undergraduate Session at this year's meeting. This is a big deal-- only five or six students are selected for the session, and they get to give half-hour talks rather than a poster or a ten-minute contributed presentation. And, as a bonus, the APS pays for his registration and travel to the meeting.
Of course, what he submitted was very much a hopeful abstract, which means we've got a lot of work to do in the next few months... The Special Session should serve as ample extra motvation, though. For me, as well as him...
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One can also go the route of submitting the abstract on what one expects to talk about, and then showing up and talking about something completely different.
Now I have to rewrite this as a hopeful abstract.
Maybe: "Progress Toward Complete Synthesis of a Human Being from Commercially Available Small Molecules" (as in, "we report progress toward the development of a Star- Trek Transporter, also known as a Beam-Me-Up-Scotty Device. Some assembly required.")
Dark Bands in the Human Spectrum
by
Jonathan Vos Post
1 Feb 2007
What is the human body made of? An odd way to answer
this is with the inverse question: What is the human
body NOT made of? I can give an answer in the
following sense: for what natural numbers (i.e.
positive integers) is there no ion or molecule found
in significant quantities in a human being, which has
that number as the average atomic or molecular weight,
rounded down?
Humans have lots of water, and thus lots of hydrogen
atoms and hydrogen ions, both of whose molecular
weights (1.00783) round down to the integer 1. HEavy
water (Deuterium oxide) has already been figured in by
our using an average molecular weight, which this
considers both protium (hydrogen with no neutron) and
deuterium (hydrogen with a neutron, molecular weight
averaged down to 2). There is not going to be a
measurable amount of radioactive tritium (hydrogen
with two neutrons) whose atomic weight rounds down to
3. The human body has essentially no helium (atomic
weight rounded down to 3 for the rare light isotope,
rounded down to 4 for the rare light isotope). The
human body, assuming this is not a person taking
lithium as treatment for depression, has nothing of
molecular weight 5, 6, or 7. Beryllium is rare, and a
poison. So there is a gap in the average molecular
weight mass spectrum of a human which is covered by
the integers 2 through 10. There should be no atomic
carbon in a human body, not counting gunshot residue
or charcoal from grilling or sketching, hence no 12 or
13. Carbon is in humans, but bound up in organic
molecules.
In summary, the integers representing mass gaps in the
human spectrum include: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 36, 37, 40, 41,
42, 49, 52, 53, 56, 64, 66, 69, 70, 82, 91, 95, 98,
99.
We'll look higher, but these "dark bands" will become
rare...
Source of data: the Human Metabolome Data Base
On 1/31/07, Jonathan Post wrote:
> Sorted (by hand) by molecular weight
>
> HMDB02106 1.00783 Hydrogen ion
> HMDB01362 1.00783 Hydrogen
> HMDB02386 11.00930 Boron
> HMDB02714 16.03130 Methane
> HMDB01039 17.00274 Hydroxide
> HMDB00051 17.02655 Ammonia
> HMDB02111 18.01060 Water
> HMDB00662 18.99840 Fluorine
> HMDB00588 22.98980 Sodium
> HMDB00547 23.98504 Magnesium
> HMDB02084 26.00307 Cyanide
> HMDB02175 27.97690 Silicon
> HMDB01361 27.99490 Carbon
> HMDB01371 28.00610 Nitrogen
> HMDB03378 29.99799 Nitric oxide
> HMDB01426 30.01056 Formaldehyde
> HMDB01315 30.97380 Phosphorus
> HMDB00164 31.04220 Methylamine
> HMDB02983 31.04220 Methylamine Hydrochloride
> HMDB00598 31.97210 Sulfur
> HMDB01377 31.98980 Oxygen
> HMDB02168 31.98983 Superoxide
> HMDB01875 32.02621 Methanol
> HMDB03338 33.02150 Hydroxylamine
> HMDB00983 33.98770 Hydrogen Sulfide
> HMDB00492 34.96885 Chlorine
> HMDB02162 35.97670 Hydrochloric acid
> HMDB02306 35.97670 Hydrochloric acid
> HMDB00586 38.96371 Potassium
> HMDB00464 39.96260 Calcium
> HMDB02078 43.00580 Cyanate
> HMDB01967 43.98980 Carbon Dioxide
> HMDB00990 44.02621 Acetaldehyde
> HMDB01536 45.02146 Formamide
> HMDB00087 45.05785 Dimethylamine
> HMDB00142 46.00548 Formic acid
> HMDB00108 46.04186 Ethanol
> HMDB01382 47.00070 Nitrite
> HMDB03227 48.00337 Methanethiol
> HMDB02503 50.94400 Vanadium
> HMDB01050 50.96377 Hypochlorite
> HMDB00599 51.94050 Chromium
> HMDB01333 54.93800 Manganese
> HMDB00692 55.93490 Iron
> HMDB02457 57.93530 Nickel
> HMDB01659 58.04186 Acetone
> HMDB03366 58.04190 Propanal
> HMDB00608 58.93320 Cobalt
> HMDB01842 59.04835 Guanidine
> HMDB01869 59.03710 Acetamide
> HMDB03656 59.03710 Acetaldehyde oxime
> HMDB00906 59.07350 Trimethylamine
> HMDB03551 60.00855 Carbamate
> HMDB03344 60.02110 Glycolaldehyde
> HMDB00042 60.02113 Acetic acid
> HMDB00294 60.03236 Urea
> HMDB00820 60.05751 Propyl alcohol
> HMDB00863 60.05751 Isopropyl alcohol
> HMDB00595 60.99257 Hydrogen Carbonate
> HMDB00149 61.05276 Ethanolamine
> HMDB02179 61.98782 Peroxynitrite
> HMDB02878 61.98782 Nitrate
> HMDB03538 62.00040 Carbonic acid
> HMDB02303 62.01902 Dimethylsulfide
> HMDB01887 62.03678 Ethylene glycol
> HMDB00657 62.92960 Copper
> HMDB01853 62.99560 Nitrate
> HMDB01303 63.92910 Zinc
> HMDB03276 65.95979 Hydrogen sulfide
> HMDB02077 67.96650 Chlorite
> HMDB01525 68.03745 Imidazole
> HMDB04101 71.06092 beta-Aminopropionitrile
> HMDB01167 72.02113 Pyruvaldehyde
> HMDB03543 72.05750 Butanal
> HMDB00474 72.05751 Butanone
> HMDB01106 73.05276 3-Aminopropionaldehyde
> HMDB02134 73.05276 Aminoacetone
> HMDB01522 73.06400 Methylguanidine
> HMDB02501 73.92120 Germanium
> HMDB00119 74.00039 Glyoxylic acid
> HMDB00237 74.03678 Propionic acid
> HMDB03052 74.03678 Lactaldehyde
> HMDB03453 74.03680 3-Hydroxypropanal
> HMDB04327 74.07320 1-Butanol
> HMDB00002 74.08440 1,3-Diaminopropane
> HMDB00123 75.03203 Glycine
> HMDB00925 75.06841 Trimethylamine oxide
> HMDB00115 76.01604 Glycolic acid
> HMDB01881 76.05243 1,2-Propanediol
> HMDB02808 76.05243 1,3-Propanediol
> HMDB02991 77.02992 Cysteamine
> HMDB02151 78.01390 Dimethyl sulfoxide
> HMDB01505 78.04695 Benzene
> HMDB02500 78.91834 Bromine
> HMDB00926 79.04220 Pyridine
> HMDB01349 79.91652 Selenium
> HMDB00240 79.95681 Sulfite
> HMDB01033 80.96464 Hydrogen Sulfite
> HMDB03008 81.97246 Bisulfite
> HMDB03929 83.04830 5-Aminoimidazole
> HMDB02036 83.96140 Chloric acid
> HMDB04363 84.03240 Imidazolone
> HMDB02039 85.05276 2-Pyrrolidinone
> HMDB00549 86.03678 4-Deoxytetronic acid
> HMDB02523 86.03678 Oxolan-3-one
> HMDB03407 86.03680 Diacetyl
> HMDB01080 87.06841 4-Aminobutyraldehyde
> HMDB03642 87.90560 Strontium
> HMDB01880 87.97966 Hydrogen Oxalate
> HMDB00243 88.01604 Pyruvic acid
> HMDB00039 88.05243 Butyric acid
> HMDB01873 88.05243 Isobutyric acid
> HMDB03243 88.05243 Acetoin
> HMDB01414 88.10005 Putrescine
> HMDB02435 89.01129 (hydroxyimino)-Acetic acid
> HMDB00056 89.04768 b-Alanine
> HMDB00161 89.04768 L-Alanine
> HMDB00271 89.04768 Sarcosine
> HMDB02329 89.99531 Oxalic acid
> HMDB00190 90.03169 L-Lactic acid
> HMDB00700 90.03169 Hydroxypropionic acid
> HMDB01051 90.03169 Glyceraldehyde
> HMDB01311 90.03169 D-Lactic acid
> HMDB01882 90.03169 Dihydroxyacetone
> HMDB03156 90.06808 2,3-Butanediol
> HMDB03692 90.06810 (S,S)-Butane-2,3-diol
> HMDB00131 92.04734 Glycerol
> HMDB03012 93.05785 Aniline
> HMDB04983 94.00890 Dimethyl sulfone
> HMDB00228 94.04186 Phenol
> HMDB01429 94.95510 Phosphate
> HMDB00979 96.95955 Hydrogen Sulfate
> HMDB00973 96.96907 Hydrogen phosphate
> HMDB02105 96.96907 Dihydrogen Phosphate
> HMDB01302 97.90540 Molybdenum
> HMDB02934 97.96738 Sulfuric acid
> HMDB01448 97.96740 Sulfate
"One can also go the route of submitting the abstract on what one expects to talk about, and then showing up and talking about something completely different."
I have to admit, that's close to what I'm doing for a talk later this month. I am talking about what my abstract says I will, but I'm segueing into something fresher because I used the safe technique for this abstract.
A 4th option is to make your title and abstract sufficiently generic to cover just about anything you'd be likely to do. This doesn't work for us mere mortals, but some superstars regularly do this.
It's interesting that you consider late spring/early summer conference season. It's probably a fair general characterization, but all of the major conferences in my field are solidly within the regular academic year.
thanks for talking about this in the open. i felt so dirty after i submitted my "hopeful" abstract for the march meeting back in october. it was loaded with such vagaries that i felt like i needed a shower upon submission. what's worse is that i think it will turn into anon's third type of abstract.
Bad-bad Chad! "Hopeful abstract!" Just think for a moment - would your thesis advisor do that??? But you've got tenure now, so I guess that's ok..
The first option is to submit a solid abstract based on work that is already complete, or very close to completion. The problem with this is that by the time the meeting rolls around, the work in question is boring old news. Everybody who cares has already heard about it, and moved on to something else.
It depends on the size of your field, I expect. Sometimes, people haven't heard about your work, and this is a good opportunity to get it in front of everyone's eyes.
On the other hand, I've known one or two people who won't give talks about work in progress, or work just finished, because they're paranoid someone will hear the talk -- or even just read the abstract in advance -- and immediately try to duplicate the work and scoop them.