Presentations

Class Presentations

All presentations will be held in class, and will be for five minutes plus a brief discussion time. You will be expected to choose a recent article in the popular science press (e.g. C&EN, New Scientist, Scientific American, Chemistry World) about one of the subjects studied in this course and explain the chemistry behind the story.

Example plan of attack:
Go to C&EN
Search for “cerium”
Select “Probing oxygen vacancies on ceria”

Email either Dr Hicks or Dr McIndoe with suggestion(s) for possible articles; include the URLs in your email. We will select one we think to be appropriate (or not already taken!). Once an article has been approved, you should go and track down the original article [in this case, it was Science 2005, 309, 752]. Follow the literature as far as you need to get a full understanding of the material covered; use textbooks to ensure you have the basics covered. Write a one page summary of the article; this will be handed in at the latest the day before your talk. A second page may be used for your references if necessary. The presentation will be 5 minutes* long (followed by questions) and held on the last week of classes. The presentation is worth 10% of your final grade, and both the summary sheet and the presentation itself will be graded.

* At the 5 minute mark, you will be stopped regardless of whether you're finished or not. Practice your talk beforehand.

How will the presentation be graded? Good topic selection is key: a genuinely interesting and relevant article will make it easy for you to deliver an engaging presentation. Being able to explain what it is about the properties of the metal you have chosen that make it crucial to the particular application you are describing is important. Additionally, all of the aspects that make up a quality lecture - e.g. clarity of explanation, interest, style, delivery, keeping to the time limit accurately, ability to answer questions fluently - will be judged.

Note that we plan to ask at least one question in the final exam based on one of the presentations (count yourself lucky if it is yours; the selection will be random), to encourage attendance on days that you are not presenting...

Below is a table showing the slots already taken and those still available (these will be filled in reverse order, so getting in quick is a smart move). If you are yet to choose a topic please ensure your subject does not overlap with one already taken; thank you.