Working alone or in a group of two, you will research a combinatorial question and present your findings through a poster. If you work in a group of two, then you will have two posters, and each group member is responsible for both posters. (Two people = twice as much work.)

      You will choose a topic in the next coming weeks and write up a project proposal. If you have questions about choosing a topic that is of a reasonable scope, see your instructor.

      Each poster should be approximately the size of two pieces of posterboard (each 22'' by 28''). [A group of two will have 3-4 pieces of posterboard in all.] You may write on the posterboard or glue printed documents to the posterboard. Be creative! Color is encouraged. The smallest font should probably be no less than size 20. All the relevant research you have done should be presented in a logical manner on the poster. During the poster session, you will be explaining your work to your classmates and to the instructor. Even though you will be there to explain your work, your poster should be able to stand alone; all words necessary to understand your subject should be ON the poster.

      Along with each poster you will include a quick write-up (at least 12 sentences, at most one page) that highlights the main ideas in your poster, along with a question that you would answer related to your subject if you had more time. You should bring in copies of this write-up for your fellow students and your professor.

Deadlines:

• Poster proposal due: Thursday, October 28 Thursday, November 4.
• Revised proposal due: Thursday, November 4 Thursday, November 11.
• Poster outline due: Thursday, November 11 Thursday, November 18.
• Poster due and poster presentations: At scheduled Final Exam time, Tuesday, December 14 from 6:15-8:15.

Poster grades will be determined using the following criteria:

• Clarity of exposition: Is the poster easy to read and follow logically? Is the spacing of the material pleasant? Are the key ideas highlighted and easy to process?
• Poster content: Is the content complete and able to stand alone? Is the content mathematically rigorous? Do you use methods learned in combinatorics?
• Presentation: During the poster session, you will give a presentation. Can you explain the highlights of your poster to your classmates and to the instructor in a short time?
• Write-up: Does the write-up summarize the key ideas in your research in paragraph form? Do you have an interesting question for future study?

What does a finished poster look like? Here are some examples to whet your appetite. These are here to give you an idea of poster presentation; you should come up with your own idea for the project topic.