Guidelines for Proposing an MAA Panel or Poster Session

MAA panel sessions are scheduled for 80 minutes.  The typical format is for three or four speakers to make comments on a subject followed by a reasonable time for questions, answers and discussion.  The format may vary somewhat.


A.  Information to Include in the Panel Session Proposal

    1.  BACKGROUND

•    Names and affiliations of the presenters
•    Name and regular-mail address of the primary contact person
•    E-mail address of the contact person
•    Telephone number of the contact person
•    FAX number of the contact person

    2.  TITLE

The title should succinctly and clearly define the content and purpose of the panel.

    3.  ABSTRACT

The abstract is the description that will appear in the program, FOCUS and for the Joint Meetings, the Notices.  This description should clearly indicate what will be discussed in the panel session and be written to help the meeting attendee determine whether or not they wish to attend the session.
 
    4. OTHER INFORMATION FOR THE COMMITTEE.

This can include justification for why the session should be run.  Later in the submission form is a place to list previous panel sessions run by the organizer(s).  This list should also contain an estimate of the number of attendees at the session.  There is also a place to list sponsoring committees, SIGMAA’s and/or outside organizations.

    5.  LOGISTICAL REQUIREMENTS

Typically, an overhead projector is provided for panel sessions.  List any other equipment needs.  Data projectors can often be provided.  Depending on the meeting venue, internet drops may be too expensive to provide.

B.  How to Submit a Proposal

The panel session forms for Mathfest may be found here and for the Joint Meeting may be found here. Fill out the form and send it to:

Chair
Committee on Panel and Poster Sessions.
proposals@maa.org


If the proposal cannot be submitted electronically, it should be mailed to the committee chair via MAA headquarters:

Committee on Panel and Poster Sessions
c/o Programs and Services
Mathematical Association of America
1529 Eighteenth St NW
Washington DC 20036
202-387-5200

Proposals for MathFest must be received by the second Tuesday in December in the year preceding the meeting.   
Proposals for the Joint Mathematics Meetings must be received by the second Tuesday in April. 


C.  No Commercial Promotion

While some speakers in a panel session will have presentations whose format relies on information in a commercially-available product, such as a book or authored software, the promotion of such materials in the panel session is not appropriate.

D.  No Recording

The recording or broadcasting of any MAA sponsored event, including but not limited to proceedings at sectional and national meetings, workshops, minicourses, short-courses, and colloquia, is strictly forbidden without the explicit written permission of the Mathematical Association of America.

POSTER SESSIONS
MAA poster sessions are typically held in a large room or hallway where there is ample room for many participants to set up their poster.  Each person or group is typically provided with a table.  Some presenters use a computer but access to power cannot be guaranteed.

The Panel session form may be used.  The description should be written to provide prospective presenters with the information they need to decide whether or not to submit a poster and how to do so.  The logistical requirements should include a proposed maximum number of posters that can be accepted.