ABLE 2005 Poster Session

Tom Fogle, Poster Organizer
Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN

tfogle@saintmarys.edu

The poster session was a big hit at the 2005 ABLE Conference held at Virginia Tech. An hour was dedicated on Friday to allow poster presenters to meet with conference participants. The crowded room gave participants the opportunity to rub shoulders -- literally and figuratively -- with colleagues. Topics ranged widely and included physiology, molecular biology, population biology, microbiology and more. The room was filled with engaging discussions. Many individuals commented later on the success of this year’s poster session. The ability to have an additional venue for ideas beyond the major and mini workshops gives ABLE members another opportunity to communicate the valued work they do in laboratory teaching.

There were 11 presentations, including several that also included a demonstration. Jon Acuff brought the components he uses to culture termites to show off how he keeps the critters alive. Bob Ketcham, who has become well-known for his virtual microscope, set up an on-line demonstration. One can twiddle the knobs and observe specimens in cyberspace. Betty Black showed examples of her bioMovies. In one example, an outdoor scene is displayed. Biological items in the image have a hot link that takes you to an image or video clip to learn more. It’s like a virtual tour of the outdoors.

If you have interest in presenting a poster at the 2006 ABLE conference, see the Poster Session Application form.