Published July 20, 2015
Annual scientific meetings in the future
Meghan Wulster-Radcliffe
American Society of Animal Science, Champaign, IL
Implications
• Presentations at future scientific meetings will include emotion
and values in addition to scientific facts.
• New communication technologies will provide opportunities for
in-depth discussions between the presenter and the audience.
• Future scientific meetings will utilize new technologies and social
media to allow interactive participation by a global audience.
Key words: communication, data dissemination, meetings
Introduction
Over the last 100 yr, we have seen a technological explosion that has
forever altered how we think and learn about science. Although our ability
to reach a larger and more diverse audience has expanded exponentially, we
haven’t yet seen a major shift in how we conduct scientific meetings. Scien-
tific meetings have moved from unadorned lectures with visual aids in the
form of transparencies or 2x2 diazo slides to sophisticated PowerPoint pre-
sentations laced with graphics and video streaming. Where we once glued
together posters or used multiple 8.5 by 11-inch pages with lots of push pins,
we now print posters on one large laminated sheet that is easy to roll into a
plastic tube to carry on an airplane or send by overnight express mail car-
rier. However, the organization and format of today’s scientific meetings are
shockingly similar to those conducted 100 yr ago. Data are presented. At-
tendees ask questions to exchange information and ideas. A peer-reviewed
abstract and sometimes an invited symposia paper are published—success!
It is hard to argue with success! The current model of scientific exchange
at meetings has helped facilitate unprecedented scientific and technological
advances in all major disciplines. In fact, the American Society of Animal Sci-
ence (ASAS) owes its origin to a small gathering, where a group of scientists
identified the need for a formal scientific organization of animal nutritionists.
Thus, a scientific meeting was used as the platform to launch ASAS.
After 107 yr, ASAS has made a science out of organizing and hosting
scientific meetings. In a given year, we host one large annual meeting, four
sectional meetings, and an Innovate conference. Depending on the year, we
also organize and host at least one international meeting. Each meeting has
different expectations of presenters and attendees and a different culture.
Interestingly, what is considered to be a strength for some meetings is con-
sidered to be a weakness of others. For example, we have worked hard to
expand partnerships and grow the size of the annual meeting. These efforts
have led to a large, general scientific meeting, with a global attendance. All
of these elements are considered great at the annual meeting, but several of
the other meetings are designed to be the opposite of the annual meeting.
© Wulster-Radcliffe
doi:10.2527/af.2015-0029
36 Animal Frontiers
The Innovate series of meetings is the most extreme example of this. Rather
than trying to cover all topics and disciplines within animal science with
only the use of oral presentations to share information, Innovate is designed
to focus on a specific theme or topic that is relevant to a smaller audience
with specialized interests. In addition, Innovate meetings are designed to
share information in discussion sessions that are led by a panel of experts.
This also encourages more networking and personal interaction.
Attending scientific meetings is part of the scientific culture. Organiz-
ing and conducting scientific meetings is one of the main jobs of a scientif-
ic professional society. But for both the attendee and the host organization,
meetings are also big business and high risk. The attendee spends valuable
dollars traveling to the meeting location to communicate the successes
(and failures) of their research. One benefit of attending scientific meet-
ings is to broaden their scientific network, including potential collabora-
tors, mentors, trainees, or employers. The society must provide members
with highly visible professional and social activities while keeping costs
manageable. Because of the potential risk for both parties, changes to the
format of scientific meetings are usually made gradually over time to try
to mitigate the risk, which would decrease meeting attendance. For vari-
ous reasons, we are on the cusp of a meeting revolution, as scientific meet-
ings begin to embrace cultural and technological changes that will impact
attendance and sharing of scientific information at meetings.
There are three current drivers that are likely to change scientific meet-
ings in the future: 1) the addition of emotion and values to scientific pre-
sentations, 2) advanced technologies to include innovative, interactive
experiences, and 3) the desire for meetings to attract a global audience.
Adding Emotion to Scientific Presentation
Although this is not the flashiest change we will see at meetings, it is
likely the most significant. Directly linked to the emergence of social media,
the immediate availability of immense amounts of data over the internet,
and the increased participation of the millennial generation, the definition
of a good scientific presentation is changing. As little as 10 yr ago, we were
trained to remove emotion from presentations; while we were encouraged
to be passionate speakers, the passion was over the data versus the implica-
tions or the potential impact of the data. In essence, we stuck to the facts and
just the facts. This approach does not resonate with younger generations.
Although science oriented, they have shorter attention spans, they want im-
mediate access to data across multiple platforms, and they are driven more
by social issues/causes rather than a quest for new knowledge.
TED talks by scientists provide an excellent example of the power of
scientific presentations that integrate emotion and science. The TED confer-
ence and associated TED talks began as a one-off conference about technol-
ogy, entertainment, and design, but it morphed into a viral video platform
to create impactful messages and inspire others. As TED developed, talks
were added that concentrated on high-level scientific discoveries. The TED
talks that include science rarely focus on just the science. Rather, these talks
focus on the journey or the personal interest of the presenter and then on the In addition to changes in presentation format, the introduction to so-
potential global application or impact of the science. cial networking and meeting apps for hand-held electronic devices have
Although most scientists are slow to accept the need to tell more of changed how we communicate when we are at the meetings. We have
their personal story in connection with their scientific story, the impact of added large-scale public conversations about the meeting and the science
TED has caused many scientists to use more meaningful visuals and to a presented at meetings to social media outlets using Twitter, LinkedIn,
personal story to science. Facebook, and others. Social media has also changed how we find and
Just as the definition of a good scientific presentation has changed, so initiate personal interactions at the meeting.
has the definition of a good meeting experience. Addition of personal sto-
ries and motives to scientific presentations has caused a number of periph-
Global Meetings
eral changes in meeting culture. Some of the changes are quite dramatic,
and some are actually a throwback to the past. Before the Science is a global endeavor that advances when
most recent turn in meeting culture, there had been knowledge is both generated and shared. In-
a push to reduce sentimentality at meetings creasingly, scientists are working within
with the unintended consequence of reduc- and outside national boundaries on lo-
ing networking. Today, we intentionally cal and global issues. Technology
create an atmosphere that mixes the has allowed the world to become
professional scientific exchange of a smaller place. We can now
ideas with a relaxed social atmo- broadcast worldwide from any
sphere. meeting ensuring that we
have a global footprint at the
largest and smallest scien-
Innovative tific meeting. The American
Interactive Society of Animal Science
Experiences has embraced this process
with the introduction of Vir-
Incorporating new technolo-
tual Meetings. We have taken
gy at scientific meetings has two
scientific meetings with an in-
risks: 1) cost and 2) overcoming m.
t o. co person attendance of 3,500 to a
individual fear of technology. How- ho
i St ockp global reach of more than 22,000
ever, after years of discussing the tech- Photo © 2015
people. This is a game changer and
nology that would eventually be avail-
allows us to rapidly disseminate the lat-
able, we are truly seeing significant changes
est data to a global audience. The next ques-
in technology. Additionally, previous changes in
tion to consider is will scientific meetings of the
technologies used at scientific meetings have created
future be attended by a large number of scientists or will
visuals that are easier to prepare and easier to understand. How-
the success of Virtual Meetings push us to have much smaller in-person
ever, the innovative technologies that are available now are 1) changing
meeting attendance, but larger participation over the internet.
the nature of our presentations, 2) allowing us to connect globally in real
Ten years ago, the ASAS leadership spent much time considering what
time, and 3) creating an archive more powerful than traditional publica-
the scientific meetings of the future would look like. Predicting features of
tions.
meetings that looked like a convention on the Star Trek Enterprise seemed
At two recent meetings, ASAS introduced the use of electronic poster
like only a dream. Many of those dreams are beginning to come to fruition
boards. At first glance, these are just posters on a computer screen. But
paired with additional unforeseen social changes.
over the course of the several annual meetings, we realized that the elec-
tronic posters completely changed the methods that individuals used to
present their posters. Rather than standing by the poster and waiting for
participants to ask questions, the presence of the screen inspired students About the Author
to give a modified short interactive presentation where both the presenter Dr. Meghan Wulster-Radcliffe is an ani-
and the visitor engaged in a meaningful discussion. Visitors stayed longer mal scientist that has served as the CEO
at the poster and interacted at a deeper level with the presenter. of ASAS for 10 years. During that period
she has been heavily involved in scientific
Another important driver of change at scientific meetings is the ability
meeting programing and development of
to record and archive presentations. Previously, an oral presentation was multiple scientific publication platforms.
given, and the only record of the presentation was the published abstract or Together with the ASAS staff, ASAS
the collective memory of the audience. Today, presentations are recorded, Board and many society partners she is
archived, and made available to a global audience for years to come, thereby involved in the scientific programming
and development of 6 meetings a year and
creating a new long-term resource for scientists of the future. Of course, this
content for 3 scientific journals, a weekly
technology is at once a powerful way to preserve science, but it also creates newsletter, and a magazine for kids.
a number of new issues including: 1) Is the talk a publication? and 2) Once Correspondence: meghanwr@asas.org
moved into an archive, should it be peer-reviewed to have validity?

July 2015, Vol. 5, No. 3 37