2018 RETA Breeze Jan-Feb.indd

conference CORNER GET READY TO BE AN EXPERT!

by Mary Hendrickx, Conference Manager This year RETA will be opening its doors and accepting Conference white paper abstracts from anyone interested in presenting at RETA 2018 taking place November 6-9 in Dallas, Texas. In the past, most presenters and white papers were invited. While we will still be inviting specialists in the field of refrigeration, compliance, and safety, we would like to give an opportunity for you to introduce your work to the RETA community. Before describing how this process will work, I would like to explain what a Conference paper is and the benefits of submitting one. Conference papers also known as “contributed papers” which differ from papers requested by invitation otherwise known as “invited papers”. Contributed paper abstracts are written with the goal of being accepted to a Conference after review by a Committee of peers. In RETA’s case, this would be for our annual National Conference. If accepted, the author would be expected to present their research by oral presentation to the Industrial Refrigeration community in Dallas come November.

There are many reasons why an abstract for a paper might be eliminated. Here is a short list of possible reasons: • The abstract duplicates other work/ does not report anything new • The abstract is poorly written • The abstract has been poorly prepared (inconsistencies, spelling or grammatical errors) • The abstract contains content that is perceived as promoting a business • Does not meet the guidelines or best practices for writing an abstract Should a contributed paper be declined, the author will be notified along with the reason for non-acceptance. Is all this really worth my time? Absolutely! Here are some noteworthy advantages that you may want to consider when deciding on whether to participate in submitting and ultimately speaking at a RETA National Conference. Attending and speaking at a Conference at a professional level is a great way to get in touch with your target audience and utilize the opportunity to communicate effectively with them. Speaking at a RETA National Conference

How does it work? The Technical Conference Committee will send out a “Call for Abstracts” which is a request for original research, innovative projects, collaborations, or other professional activities of interest to the Industrial Refrigeration community. The process of presenting a contributed paper begins with the submission of an abstract beginning in February. Abstracts should be 300-600 words in length and accurately convey the subject of the paper, its scope, and conclusions. The Technical Program Committee reviews the abstracts and decides which ones should be expanded into papers and presented at the Conference. The Committee also reviews the papers and determines which one it considers the best of the group. Accepted contributed abstracts will be published in a collection called “proceedings”, which is then sent or given out to all attendees. Abstracts will be scored on evidence of scholarship, methodology, originality, timeliness of the topic, and compatibility with a 45-minute presentation relevance to the areas of manufacturing, compliance, engineering, and operations.

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