If you have not confirmed your participation as session chair, please contact our Science Program Administrator, Sherrie Brown.
Check the Block Schedule and make a note of your session date and time (time zone: EDT)
Ensure you've received a "panelist" email with the private access link for your session. If you have not received the panelist email, please contact our Senior Meetings Manager, Rita Braxton
Session Chair Information
Regular contributed oral talks are 10 minutes.
(5 minutes for talk + 3 minutes for questions and answers + 2 for changeover)
Dissertation contributed oral talks are 20 minutes
(15 minutes for talk + 3 minutes for questions and answers + 2 for changeover)
Special Session talks vary in length.
As the Chair and Session Organizer, you will control the length of each presentation.
Invited talks are 50 minutes.
(40 minutes + 10 minutes for questions and answers)
The Responsibilities of Session Chairs
Session Chairs are responsible for the implementation of the rules governing the oral presentations established by the AAS Board of Trustees and the success, defined broadly, of the session they are chairing. Along with the fair application of the time limits for presentations and questions, session chairs must be familiar enough with the audiovisual equipment and support resources to assist individual presenters. Staff or volunteers will be provided in each Zoom webinar to assist session chairs with getting assistance or solving minor problems, yet the session chair must also familiarize themselves with the tools being used before their session begins to ensure success. It is recommended that session chairs attend a Speaker Prep Webinar (schedule below) to get acquainted with the system.
Additionally, session chairs are responsible for ensuring a professional atmosphere in each session, consistent with the AAS professional ethics guidelines and anti-harassment policies. All communication will take place in Slack. Each session has a slack channel. Session chairs will monitor the Q&A from the audience in Slack and determine the best questions to ask the presenters. Questions may be addressed directly to the presenter using the @FirstNameLastName or to the session chair directly using @FirstNameLastName while in the slack channel.
Session chairs should especially be wary of harassment of early-career speakers in the form of overly challenging or humiliating questioning by session attendees. If a question is inappropriate or unprofessional, it is appropriate for the session chair to intervene or take another question.
Finally, Session chairs are expected to attend a practice session 15 minutes before their session starts, where they will have a chance to see the technology used in the sessions, to meet the tech staff, and to discuss how to handle situations that may arise. A brief summary of key points is given here.
SESSION CHAIR GUIDELINES
- Keep the program on schedule to facilitate the parallel sessions, and
- Help coax the discussion of papers with a question of your own, should none come from the audience.
- Talks are not to be rearranged nor are presentations to be added unless approved by the AAS Office. Be sure to check the online program or mobile app for any withdrawn presentations.
Plan to attend one of the following Speaker Prep webinars (recordings of these sessions will be posted here):
(Time zone indicated: ET, Eastern Time)
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DAY
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DATE
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TIME
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ZOOM LINK
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TUE
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1 June 2021
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11:30 AM – 12:00 PM ET
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TBA
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WED
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2 June 2021
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2:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
|
TBA
|
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THU
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3 June 2021
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3:30 PM – 4:00 PM ET
|
TBA
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