NPR

To Save The Science Poster, Researchers Want To Kill It And Start Over

Scientists often share their latest research on posters displayed at big conferences. Posters are a long-standing tradition, but one reformer says they're mostly terrible and need to change.
Michigan State University doctoral student Mike Morrison has a redesign for scientific posters to spell out their main point in big, easy-to-read letters.

Mike Morrison hardly looks like a revolutionary. He's wearing a dark suit and has short hair. But we're about to enter a world of conformity that hasn't changed in decades — maybe even a century. And in there, his vision seems radical.

"We are about to walk into a room full of 100 scientific posters, where researchers are trying to display their findings on a big poster board," says Morrison, a Ph.D. student in psychology at Michigan State University.

The idea of a science poster is simple. Get some poster-making materials and then slap on a title, the experimental methods and the results. Almost everyone has created a poster like this at some

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR17 min readAmerican Government
What Did Trump Say? Explaining The Former President's Favorite Talking Points
Former President Donald Trump continues to ratchet up his rhetoric on the campaign trail, but if someone doesn't follow Trump all the time, decoding his meaning can get confusing. We're here to help.
NPR1 min read
'Wait Wait' for May 11, 2024: With Not My Job guest Chappell Roan
With the release of her album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Chappell Roan became a queer pop icon. Her hit songs include "Hot To Go!" but what does she know about to-go food?
NPR2 min read
Biden Will Keep Trump's China Tariffs, And Add New Ones On Electric Vehicles
The Biden administration is finally wrapping up its review of President Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports. It will keep those tariffs, and add more on things like electric vehicles.

Related