ACM Student Research Competition

What IS tHE ACM STUDENT RESEARCH COMPETITION?

The SC Conference hosts the ACM Student Research Competition (SRC) showcasing original research from undergraduate and graduate students. Students must be members of ACM at the time the poster is submitted. ACM Student membership is available for $19 per year. If you are a student who would like to showcase your work and compete for ACM SRC prizes, submit your poster to this track.

All submissions are peer-reviewed.  A set of finalists will be chosen based on poster content and presentation quality, and these finalists advance to compete in the ACM SRC grand finals.

Note: Students who are not ACM members may submit to Research Posters. Students who want to participate in the Doctoral Showcase should refer to Doctoral Showcase Submissions.

preparing your submission

An ACM SRC poster submission has two main components: the poster itself and an 800 word summary in the ACM format.

Authorship

An ACM Student Research Competition submission reflects student research: this work may be part of a larger project, but the poster should only reflect the contributions of a single graduate student or up to two undergraduate students. For graduate student submissions, the final poster must list one student as the only author; for undergraduate student submissions, the final poster must list up to two undergraduate students as the first (and second) author(s).

Students are allowed to list one or more official graduate or undergraduate advisors on their poster. Each advisor must be clearly marked by putting “(advisor)” after the advisor’s name. For example, if Alex Abel is advised by Bruno Banach and Clara Cantor at Durham University in England, then the poster and extended abstract should be authored by: Alex Abel, Bruno Banach (advisor), and Clara Cantor (advisor), Durham University, England.

Poster Format

The SC Conference may provide a poster template as a guideline. Final poster style, layout, font, and content are left to the discretion of the author(s). Poster size should be such that your poster mounts properly on the 4 feet high x 6 ½ feet wide display board that will be provided by SC. Your poster does not need to cover the entire display board; the poster size should be appropriate for your content.

You can embed additional multimedia elements into your poster by placing QR (Quick Response) codes anywhere you want to link to external content. Such elements may include a video narration of the poster by the author, links to results, videos, graphics, datasets, codes, etc. The goal of embedded multimedia elements should be to enhance the presentation of research in the poster. Note that extended versions of the poster or related publications are not considered acceptable multimedia elements in this context.

At the time of submission, the poster does not need to be finalized. You may make changes to your poster after acceptance, but a representative draft of the poster must be submitted for review.

All ACM SRC posters are peer-reviewed by a committee of experts. Poster reviews are single-anonymous: reviewers will see author names, but authors will not see reviewer names.

conflict of interest

Please be aware of, and adhere to, these SC Conference guidelines regarding potential conflicts of interest and disclosure.

A potential conflict of interest occurs when a person is involved in making a decision that:

• Could result in that person, a close associate of that person, or that person’s company or institution receiving significant financial gain, such as a contract or grant, or
• Could result in that person, or a close associate of that person, receiving significant professional recognition, such as an award or the selection of a paper, work, exhibit, or other type of submitted presentation.

Program Committee members will be given the opportunity to list potential conflicts of interest during each program’s review process. Program Committee chairs and area chairs will make every effort to avoid assignments that have a potential COI.

According to the SC conference you have a conflict of interest with the following:

• Your PhD advisors, post-doctoral advisors, PhD students, and post-doctoral advisees;
• Family relations by blood or marriage, or equivalent (e.g., a partner);
• People with whom you collaborated in the past five years. Collaborators include: co-authors on an accepted/rejected/pending research paper; co-PIs on an accepted/pending grant; those who fund your research; researchers whom you fund; or researchers with whom you are actively collaborating;
• Close personal friends or others with whom you believe a conflict of interest exists;
• People who were employed by, or a student at, your primary institution(s) in the past five years, or people who are active candidates for employment at your primary institution(s).

Note that “service” collaborations, such as writing a DOE, NSF, or DARPA report, or serving on a program committee, or serving on the editorial board of a journal, do not inherently create a COI.

Other situations can create COIs, and you should contact the Technical Program Chairs for questions or clarification on any of these issues.

Plagiarism

Please review the ACM guidelines on identifying plagiarism.

Authors should submit new, original work that represents a significant advance from even their own prior publications.

IN-PERSON PRESENTATIONS

SC24 is planning an in-person event and presenting remotely will not be accommodated.

Travel SUpport

If your poster is accepted, ACM SIGHPC will cover expenses up to $600 for U.S. students and up to $1,400 for international students (e.g., transportation and accommodations, but not conference registration). Please contact posters@info.supercomputing.org for details.

registration

If your poster is accepted, the presenter must register for the Technical Program in order to attend the SC Conference and present the poster.

Finalizing Accepted Submissions

Once your poster is accepted, you may make updates to the poster content and the 800 word summary.

Your ACM SRC poster will be included in the online SC Schedule provided you upload your final poster to the SC submissions website before September 30, 2024.

Archives

ACM SRC posters are made available in the Technical Program Archives, upon submission of the final poster to the SC submissions website before September 30, 2024.

schedule & location

ACM SRC posters will be displayed Tuesday–Thursday, November 19–21, 2024.

ACM SRC posters must be mounted between 2 pm and 5 pm on Monday, November 18, 2024 and should remain mounted until 5 pm on Thursday, November 21, 2024. This allows conference attendees to browse posters outside the Posters sessions.

ACM SRC finalist presentations take place at a special Poster Presentation session on Wednesday.

infrastructure

Each poster is given a designated space with a display board. Before the conference, poster authors are sent a directory that maps assigned display boards.

The display board includes a designated space for a QR code. This QR code links the poster to the Technical Program Archives, where each poster has its own web page and the most updated version of the material. Hiding or removing the QR code will prevent attendees from easily accessing your poster in the SC Technical Program Archive. You do not have to generate these QR codes. We generate one QR code for each poster that links to your submitted content. This code is attached to the display board by the time you arrive at SC.

Pushpins are provided for affixing all poster materials to display boards. Mounting your poster on foam core is not recommended.

The conference does not provide any support for printing posters. Typically, authors print their posters ahead of the conference at their home institution or via a commercial printing company (e.g., a Fedex office). The convention center’s business office may offer printing services.

POSTERS Reception

ACM SRC poster authors should be available to talk with attendees and answer questions about their poster research at the Posters Reception on Tuesday evening.

ACM SRC posters are judged during the reception by an ad-hoc committee. Up to five finalists will be invited to present their posters in the second round of competition on Wednesday at the Poster Presentation Session. Selected finalists will be notified by email after the Posters Reception. 

POSTERS Presentation Session

ACM SRC finalists will be invited to present their work at this Wednesday session. Finalists will give a ten-minute presentation (with slides) followed by a five-minute question and answer period. Finalists should arrive at the session room 10 minutes before the session begins to test their presentation source. 

This session will be attended by the committee of judges as well as any interested conference attendees. The top three graduate and undergraduate finalists will be chosen based on these presentations.

AWards

The ACM Student Research Competition is a national competition involving many ACM-sponsored conferences. Each participating conference runs its own round of the competition, with the winners proceeding to the national competition. Awards are presented to both graduate and undergraduate students at the conference level and the national level.

The SC ACM SRC committee selects three graduate and three undergraduate finalists. The finalists of the SC ACM SRC will each receive a medal and prizes of $500, $300, and $200 for first, second, and third place in the undergraduate and graduate competition. The first placed undergraduate and graduate winners will go on to compete in the ACM SRC grand finals.

Is the Artifact Description Appendix required in order to be considered a finalist in the ACM Student Research Competition?

No. The appendix is not required in order for a poster to be considered a finalist in the ACM Student Research Competition.

Which poster track is right for my work?

See this chart to clarify the proper poster track for your work.

Can I change from one poster track to another?

No. Authors are required to select the type of poster at the time of submission. Authors can select either Research Posters, ACM Student Research Competition (Graduate or Undergraduate), Doctoral Showcase, or The Art of Science from the SC submissions website.

Do posters have allocated space, or is space first-come-first-serve?

Each poster is given a designated space with a display board. Before the conference, we will send authors a poster directory that maps assigned display boards.

When do I need to be at my poster location to present it?

All presenters must be available at their posters/videos to answer questions and discuss their work for the duration of the Posters Reception on Tuesday evening. In addition, each poster track has a separate presentation session for selected posters. Exact days and times will be available once the program is finalized. 

• Best ACM SRC Poster Candidates
• Best Research Poster Candidates
• Doctoral Showcase

Is my poster archived?

Yes, all posters are archived and can be accessed after the conference from the Proceeding & Archives page on the conference website.

I noticed QR codes next to every poster at the conference. Do I have to generate that QR code for my poster?

No, you do not have to generate those QR codes. We generate one QR code for every poster that points to your submitted content. This code is attached to the poster pedestal by the time you arrive at SC. Conference attendees can scan these QR codes and access all of your material easily.

Where do I place the QR codes on my poster?

QR codes can be placed anywhere you want to link to external content on your poster; for example, to point to a video narration of the poster by the author, links to results, movies, graphics, datasets, codes, etc.

Are posters peer-reviewed?

ACM SRC, Research Posters, and Doctoral Showcase are peer-reviewed by a committee of experts.