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A scientific study of the problems of digital engineering for space flight systems,
with a view to their practical solution.

Presenter/Author Information

2002 Military and Aerospace Applications of
Programmable Devices and Technologies
(MAPLD) International Conference

Note that it is the responsibility of each author (open sessions) to ensure that your abstract, presentation and paper are cleared through all channels (including sponsor, corporate, and export control) for publication in an unclassified international journal and conference with potentially unlimited readership.  Papers from the classified session, if held this year, will be at the secret level and will not appear in the open proceedings unless an open version of the paper is written and submitted.  Dual submissions are acceptable and have been accommodated in previous MAPLD Conferences.. 

The following is an overview of the process for this year's conference.  At the bottom of this page there are links with more detailed instructions.  These instructions apply to the open sessions.  For classified work, please contact Al Hunsberger at awhunsb@afterlife.ncsc.mil.

In general, the presentations are free-format.  The instructions for writing your paper are relaxed with respect to formatting for contributed papers and you may use any professionally acceptable template.  For Select Papers that will be published in the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, the AIAA formatting instructions must be followed.  We are doing our best to make this a very "author-friendly" conference.

The following list of reminders is to make your presentation both acceptable and effective.  Instructions from previous years are included.  In addition, comments received on our evaluation forms have been added this year, as we worked hard to get feedback; this feedback is being passed on to you.

• All poster and oral presentations are to be fully technical in nature.   Product descriptions for industry presenters should be kept to a bare minimum, and only as required to enable explanation of a technical point.
• Lessons learned: Yes, you did good work and everyone is interested in it; that's why we're here.  However, there are usually pitfalls on the path to success and breakthroughs.  It would be good to include one or two slides in your presentation dedicated to "lessons learned" as well as a section of your paper.
• It is acceptable to have your organization's logo in one corner of each slide or panel.
• Company slogans should not appear in your presentations or paper.
• You will not be permitted to advertise your www site in your presentation.
• Quotes from "experts" should not be part of your presentation or paper - you are required to make your own technical points and discuss/defend them in the provided question and answer time or during the poster sessions.  A historical quote or a quote from a famous person to make a point is permitted, if it adds to your presentation.   A quote claiming that your product is both "less filling AND tastes great!!!!!!!" is unacceptable.
• Avoid the use of backgrounds in your presentation (i.e., no company logos, fancy graphics, 'framing', or even shading) as they are a distraction from your work and making the printing of hardcopies difficult (I have to edit them to make them readable).
• The presentations should be on a white background and these work well in our conference room.  Dark backgrounds are not needed and make our printing difficult and expensive (this comes out of my overhead budget!).
• Shading text boxes, while it looks nice on a PC screen, is difficult to read in a conference room and very hard to duplicate for the Proceedings.
• Use of animation during PC presentations is generally not permitted.  If you feel that animation is necessary to make a technical point, special approval will be required.
• Make sure that you do several dry runs of your talk.  This will ensure that you finish on time.  Also, the presentation will be smoother and the evaluation forms will be a bit happier.
• Be careful that your talk is not too abstract or too project specific.  For your dry runs, it is a good idea to find some engineers who know nothing about your work.
• Define your acronyms.  There is no need for you to do this verbally during your oral presentation; simply do it on the slides, which the audience will have in their Proceedings.  You may include a slide with an acronym list if you like.
• Sharpen your speaking skills; stay to the main points, minimize "fluff."   Again, this will make the evaluation forms happier.
• Talk to the audience not to the screen.  Talking to the screen is generally a sign of not doing dry runs.  Feel free to bring notes to the podium or a hardcopy of your presentation with key points highlighted on stage if that makes you more comfortable.  We have put in a request for a flat screen monitor for the podium, slaved to the projector, for your assistance.
• Laser pointers seldom are effective as the small dot tends to move too much.   An alternative which is simple and effective is to place large arrows at key spots of the slide which you wish to reference; you may add letters to them if you need to point to multiple spots and use color.  At a minimum letters should be used, both since the Proceedings are printed in a gray scale and for any colorblind people in the audience.  Saying, "the flip-flop in the circuit pointed to by the red arrow labeled A can go metastable ..." is preferable to waving the laser pointer around.   Also, it is easier for those following in the Proceedings.

Electronic copies of your presentation (both oral and poster) should be submitted to mapld2002@klabs.org by August 26, 2002.  Electronics files are due by August 26, 2002.  Please name the file with the paper number, the last name of the author, and the letter 'S'.  An example would be: B2_Katz_S.ppt.   These slides will be printed in black and white, reduced to one-half size, and distributed to all conference attendees at the start of the conference and appear in the Proceedings on CD-ROM.  Please be careful, especially with the use of shading in blocks with text, as these do not print out well on all black and white printers.  On each page, please include the following in the footer:

Left Side - Last name of the author

Center - Page Number

Right Side - The paper number.

An electronic copy of your paper should be submitted to mapld2002@klabs.org or on floppy disk or CD-ROM by the start of the conference.  ZIP drives or tapes can not be accepted at this time.  Final corrections will be accepted until October 7.  It is recommended that one printed copy be submitted to ensure proper formatting for Contributed Papers.  Please name the file with the paper number, the last name of the author, and the letter 'P'.  An example would be: B2_Katz_P.doc.   The papers will appear both in their native format and will be converted to .pdf format.  If possible, please submit in both formats.  Care should be taken so that when printed in black and white, graphs and figures are readable.  Contributed papers normally should be from 6 to 10 pages in length.   Extra pages can be made available if required for the CD-ROM Proceedings.  An example of this might be an Appendix consisting of a large data set that is useful for a reference.  On each page, please include the following in the footer:

Left Side - Last name of the author

Center - Page Number

Right Side - The paper number.

For Select Papers, please follow the AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets instructions below as they take precedence over the instructions above.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS: Open sessions will be held in a relatively large facility.   The classified session will be held in a separate room.  It is recommended that your open presentation be in either PowerPoint, or .pdf.  Postscript formatted presentations are acceptable provided that they are submitted on-time and any technical problems can be resolved [last year we did successfully use postscript but it took several iterations for some of the presentations].  Viewgraphs are acceptable but please notify us in advance.  All presentations for the 2001 MAPLD were electronic and it worked very well.  Classified talks should be on view graphs only.  It is mandatory that viewgraphs be brought as a backup and should be carried with you, not handed in.  We will have several backups of the electronics presentations so problems are not expected.  Only those using viewgraphs for a presentation should submit the viewgraphs.  Electronics files, as stated above, are due by August 26, 2002.   Video formats can be supported but will require a special request and verification of equipment availability and compatibility.  Since your slides will be distributed in hardcopy format to all attendees, the inclusion of detailed information on your slides is acceptable.  All open presentations will be shown from a projection booth behind and above the audience.  Please mark your presentation with the primary author's last name and the talk number.  For example, B2_Katz.   You should download the presentation scenario and fill it out before the conference if your presentation is not simple [i.e., multiple slide projectors].  At conference check-in, please hand in your scenario and viewgraphs in the drop-box provided.  This will save the conference staff time trying to find you.   PC presenters should carry their viewgraphs with them, so that we can proceed safely and without confusion in the event of a PC failure (we will have a backup machine preloaded).

PresentationScenario.PDF

 

POSTER PRESENTATIONS: It is strongly recommended that you setup your poster on Monday, September 9, before the start of the conference, between the hours of 12 noon and 6 p.m.  Conference check-in and the reception is starting at 4 p.m. on Monday, the 9^th.  This will minimize disruptions to the other presentations and simplify the logistics.  Your poster will be displayed throughout the conference.  Each session of the conference on Tuesday and Wednesday (each session will last approximately one-half of a day) will include a period of approximately 45 minutes for poster paper presentations and discussions.  During the Wednesday afternoon session, there will be a period of approximately 45 minutes dedicated to the posters where you are required to have your poster manned (by either yourself or a co-author).  You will be supplied a posterboard that is made of two three-foot wide panels that are joined together for a horizontal area of approximately six feet.  The panels are approximately seven feet high and have a border of approximately 1/2".  Your poster will be held up with Velcro fasteners (provided by MAPLD) that are affixed to the back of your presentation.  Push pins will not work well with our posterboards.  For inclusion in the Conference handouts, Electronics files of your presentation are due by August 26, 2002.  

 

Link to additional information on manuscript preparation:

For Contributed Papers: InstructionsForProceedings.htm

For Select Papers (JSR): Prepare according to the Journal requirements.

Instructions for submission of MAPLD 2002 papers to the AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets (JSR)

• Deadline - November 1^st, 2002

• Submit to: Mr E. Vincent Zoby, Mail Stop 366, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681-0001

1. Original manuscript and four duplicates with five sets of illustrations (copies, not originals) prepared according to the Journal
   requirements.
2. Cover letter should include a reference to MAPLD 2002 and the names and addresses of five suggested referees

• Submit 1 copy with MAPLD Session and Paper number to:

  Kevin Hames
  Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
  National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  Code EV2
  2101 NASA Road 1
  Houston, TX 77058  

• Follow the detailed instructions at: InstructionsForAIAA_JSR.htm
  

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Last Revised: June 28, 2002
Digital Engineering Institute
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