Skills Workshop #1: Technical Writing and Presentation

Speaker: Dr. Margaret Kupferle, Associate Professor and Program ChairEnvironmental Engineering Program, School of Energy, Environmental, Biological,

and Medical Engineering, University of CincinnatiDate: May 21, 2013

Time: 1:00 – 3:00 PMVenue: Swift 820

Prepared by:Jenna Simandl, Civil Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Cuong Diep, Chemical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OHSidney Stacy, Biomedical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

CEAS REU Project #1: “Formaldehyde Detection and Removal in Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell Effluent”

Dr. Margaret Kupferle Presenting (Left) and REU Students Improving Sentences (Right)

Dr. Margaret Kupferle, an Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati and a master scholar in Environmental Engineering was invited to come speak to the REU group and share useful tips, skills, and suggestions for technical writing and formal presentations.

Dr. Kupferle is now the Environmental Engineering Program Chair for the university, after being tenured in 2004. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degree from Purdue University, in Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering, respectively. Her experience in water pollution and environmental lab testing for Proctor & Gamble motivated her to do her Ph.D. studies at the University of Cincinnati. She also won a very prestigious award, the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2008 for her research work in wastewater treatment. From student and researcher, lab manager, and contract

staff manager to program chair holder, Dr. Kupferle is highly qualified in the engineering profession.

Dr. Kupferle enlightened the REU participants with a better understanding of the technical writing process, techniques, and format, as well as proper presentation guidelines for research. First, she explained that research is an ongoing process, a conversation of sorts. Reports and articles must be published efficiently and effectively in order to keep the conversations growing. In order to do this, the first and foremost step is preplanning. The audience, venue, and purpose of the report must be taken into consideration. Dr. Kupferle swears by The 4-S Formula: Short, Simple, Strong, Sincere.

More basics for technical writing that Dr. Kupferle stressed include using precise language, consistent verb tense, a professional tone, and the usage of active voice. Some of the more developed writing skills that she conveyed were to avoid turning verbs into nouns and to cut unnecessary words. Dr. Kupferle delivered several examples of difficult and confusing passages of published work for the students to attempt to correct and improve.

Dr. Kupferle continued to guide the students of the REU program with information on presentations. She gave a general presentation format order of title slide, introduction, tasks, methods, results, conclusions, relevance, and timeline. She spoke of visual appeal versus bullet lists and colors that are difficult to look at. She then expressed the importance of the ASCE journal formatting requirements for the REU program.

Technical writing and presentations take practice. Dr. Kupferle discussed many techniques and suggestions for one to develop and make improvements. This workshop was great in getting all the REU students prepared and ready to practice.