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 late October to early November and write up a project proposal. If you have questions about choosing a topic that is of a reasonable scope, see Prof. Chris.

      Each poster should be approximately the size of two pieces of posterboard (each 22'' by 28''), for a total of approximately 8 square feet. [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: Tuesday, October 29.
• Revised proposal due: Tuesday, November 5. (If applicable.)
• Poster outline due: Tuesday, November 12.
• Poster due and poster presentations: At the scheduled Final Exam time.

• The topic you choose should be related to something in the real world that you are interested in. Perhaps something you enjoy doing in your spare time outside of school or work.
• Your topic should involve some original research.
• By the due date, send me an email with the topic that you want to investigate. If you have multiple ideas, let me know and I can help to refine their scope. You will have a chance to revise your project topic in the week following submission.

• A precise problem statement. [Precisely, what are you counting?]
• Write three to four sentences about the methods that you have started to use (or anticipate using) to solve this problem. Also mention what you think will be the hardest part of the project.

Poster grades will be determined using the following criteria:

• Clarity of exposition: (~30%) 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? Is your problem statement clearly conveyed?
• Poster content: (~35%) Is the content complete and able to stand alone? Is the content mathematically rigorous? Do you use combinatorial methods to solve your question?
• Presentation: (~20%) 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: (~10%) Does the write-up summarize the key ideas in your research in paragraph form? Do you have an interesting question for future study?
• Timeliness: (~5%) Have you met with satisfaction the deadlines associated to the project?

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.