Departmental research seminars occur in CBMS on selected weeks,  generally scheduled Tuesdays 1-2pm. This is a conventional forum by which visiting scientists formally convey their research findings to a peer audience, and research staff and students of the Department are expected to attend. Such seminars differ from more informal research discussions, such as occurs within research team meetings.

You will be required to attend a total of 10 seminars in the semester, usually of 1 hr duration, and confirm your attendance with sign-off from the day's seminar convenor.

You are a guest at these formal settings in which the Department shows respect and gives full attention to the speaker: always arrive on time (space is limited) and do not leave the session until after questions are completed.  Should it be essential to leave the room before others, always do so quietly at a back exit. Make sure you turn your mobile phone off and leave it in your bag. Photographing of screen presentations is not acceptable in this forum.

Research seminars held elsewhere in the University, or across the Sydney region, will also be of direct relevance to your research interest, and you are encouraged to include these in your attendance program, should they be formally endorsed by an educational organisation. Please seek permission from A/Prof. Mabbutt should you plan to include other types of seminar experiences in your portfolio: commercial technical presentations are not considered appropriate for inclusion in this research task.

You will be supervised in readings concerning a selected technology currently having breakthrough impact within molecular science.  Students  will be able to select a specific topic from a panel of emerging technologies of significance in the molecular sciences.

You are required to prepare a written review (2500 words) outlining the molecular basis of this new technology, its development and recent applications.  You may wish to include illustrative material, which must be your own original artwork.  

To prepare for this essay, you are expected to first attend (or view) a workshop addressing report writing or referencing skills.  You will be advised if this will  be a training session offered through the library or the University's HDR Unit. Your attendance is to be documented via your research Seminar Record card.  It is acceptable to view a webinar, provided the material is extensive and relevant to scientific report writing.

The first version of your report will form the basis for a viva (~20 min) with your supervising academic.  Following your viva and feedback concerning your written report, you will re-submit an improved version of your review (see below).  

The grade awarded will reflect the degree to which you demonstrate understanding of the molecular basis underlying the specific technology, and your awareness of the scientific impact and potential demonstrated by its recent application.

In scientific research, most publications are a result of collaborative writing.  Thus it is normal to prepare several versions of a document, incorporating feedback and insight from fellow authors.

Thus your task is to re-submit an improved version of your review essay, incorporating feedback from your viva and your first written draft.  This resubmission will be accompanied by an annotated literature review (see below).

The grade awarded will reflect the degree to which you made improvements in response to feedback provided for your draft document.

You will submit an annotated review of literature you have read and analysed for the essay topic.  Generally, 20-30 papers would be cited in such a task.  Your annotated review should list each citation, in an appropriate journal style,  each accompanied by  2-3  sentences summarising the impactful data/findings reported within the publication. 

Your grade will be determined by the extent of literature covered, its relevance to the specific technology topic, and the degree of insight in your annotations.

A 10 min PowerPoint presentation will be delivered by each student to the CBMS700 peer group, highlighting and critiquing one research seminar attended during semester which proved to be of specific personal interest.  Your talk will be followed by questions (~10 min) from your audience of academic moderators and fellow students. 

By exploring relevant background literature, you will be expected to demonstrate insight into the concepts and findings presented by the seminar speaker. You will also be required to reflect on the impact the particular piece of research successfully brings to the molecular sciences.

Grading of this task will be determined by the critical depth and scientific understanding articulated in your reflection and answers to questions.