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Friday, June 22, 2018
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Watson 104

Applied Physics Seminar

How to Write a Good Journal Paper (or Thesis)
Raymond Boxman, Professor, Tel Aviv University,

Abstract: The tutorial will present a recipe for writing good "research reports", including theses, internal reports, and especially journal papers. The critical elements of each section of the "research report" will be reviewed, and content, organization, and style conventions will be discussed. The research report should be centered on a well defined "research question". In the Introduction, the importance of a clear gap sentence and statement of purpose will be emphasized. The requirement for providing sufficient detail in the Methodology section for duplicating results will be explained. The differences in theoretical papers will be explained. The proper order for presenting Results – location, presentation, and comment - will be explained. The principle of heads-up display in technical drawings will be presented. The need to differentiate between results and interpretation will be emphasized. The organization of the discussion, from narrow comments to broad implications, will be presented, and appropriate language to express the relative certainty of explanations, i.e. from speculation to proof, will be explained. Answering the "research question" and summarizing the key results and their implications in terms of 3 points the author wishes the reader to remember will be suggested as the organizational mode for the Conclusions. The difference between an indicative and an informative Abstract will be explained, as well as the need for the latter. Finally, suggestions for interacting with journal editors and responding to reviewers' comments will be presented.

Bio: Raymond L. Boxman received his BS, MS and PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Boxman worked as a Senior Research Engineer at GE where he investigated the behavior of vacuum arcs in high current switches from 1973 to 1975, at which time he took up a position on the Faculty of Engineering at Tel Aviv University. For 16 years, Boxman taught a course on Technical Writing in English which was required for all engineering PhD students at Tel Aviv University. In 2000, Boxman was presented with the Walter Dyke Award by the Permanent International Scientific Committee of the International Symposia on Discharges and Electrical Insulation in Vacuum, for "his outstanding body of work in the field of electrical discharges in vacuum, in particular for his contributions to the physics, technology, and applications of vacuum arc plasmas". Boxman was named as a Fellow of the International Microwave Power Institue in 2018.

 

**Lunch will be provided at 11:45am in the Watson Lobby.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Blankenship by phone at 626-395-8124 or by email at [email protected].