Get Your Thinking Caps on for the AWS Poster Competition
The contest promotes research, creative thinking, and communication skills By Katie Pacheco, associate editor of the Welding Journal Reprinted with permission: The Welding Journal Most people picture flying sparks, loud machinery, and safety gear when they think of a competition held by AWS. Contrary to that imagery, the AWS Poster Competition puts welders’ research, creative thinking, and communication skills to the test. The competition is designed to advance the science, technology, and application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes through a poster-length communication of investigative work undertaken to address a technical challenge. The posters show the results of the competitors’ investigation through colorful photomicrographs, tables, system architectures, and other illustrative material.
According to Gentry Wood, who mentored a second-place winner in 2015, “The Poster Competition is an excellent way to distill a project down into a problem statement, steps taken to achieve a goal, and the outcomes in a visually interesting way.”
How to Join the Competition
Those interested in joining this competition must submit their poster online in PDF or PowerPoint format at awo.aws.org/resource-library/aws-competitions/posters-abstract. This year’s deadline for submissions is Sept. 18.
Rules and Guidelines
Any technical topic relevant to the welding industry is acceptable for this competition. Popular topics include welding processes and controls, welding procedures, weld design, structural weld integrity, weld inspection, and metallurgy.
The poster should be a visual presentation of information, and should not simply reproduce a written paper at poster size. It should also provide a clear flow of information from introduction to conclusion. Additionally, it should be concise enough to be read in less than five minutes.
Requirements pertaining to the poster’s design; basic structure; size and layout; lettering; as well as figures, graphs, and other illustrative material are available at aws.org/events/detail/posters-competition. These requirements must be met for the poster to be eligible for awards.
Judging Criteria
Posters are judged based on four criteria: technical content (40 points), delivery (25 points), presentation (20 points), as well as image and figure quality (15 points).
However, judges place emphasis on different skills and outcomes depending on the competitor’s experience and education. The competition is split up into five categories in order of ascending difficulty: Category A, students in a high school welding program; Category B, students in a two-year college or certificate program; Category C, undergraduate students; Category D, graduate students; and Category E, professionals.
For Category A, judges place great emphasis on the competitor’s ability to demonstrate a clear understanding of technical concepts and subject matter. In contrast, judges expect those in Category E to showcase original and novel contributions to the industry.
To the Victor Goes the Spoils
First-place winners receive $750, second-place winners receive $500, and third-place winners receive $300. First-, second-, and third-place winners also have their posters displayed for all to see during the annual FABTECH show. This year, the winning posters will be showcased Nov. 6–9 at McCormick Place, Chicago, Ill.
Beyond the Competition
There are benefits to this competition that extend beyond the cash prizes. According to Thomas Lienert, AWS vice president and chair of the Technical Papers Committee, to be successful in the welding industry, welders should possess the ability to effectively work with others and present information in a clear and legible manner. This competition is designed to bolster those essential communication skills and increase welders’ marketability.
“Welders think they just need to know how to weld. I tell them they’re wrong,” explained Lienert. “What if your boss asks you to justify purchases and give a presentation? If you don’t have strong communication skills, you may not get the tools you need. Also, Certified Welding Inspectors need to write reports and give them to customers.”
According to Lienert, the necessity of these skills within the welding industry has led several schools to include the AWS Poster Competition as part of their curriculum. For example, The Ohio State University and the Colorado School of Mines use the competition as a capstone project for graduating students.
Lienert also affirmed that the competition enhances career opportunities. “Sometimes a company will say, ‘We didn’t expect that kid from Ohio to do so good. Maybe we should give this kid a chance at an interview,’” he said.
Genevieve Lee, 2016 second-place winner, concurs. “Winning second place has given me great talking points for job interviews,” she said. Competitors also mentioned gaining confidence from their wins, as well as a greater understanding of welding-related topics.
“The award was a real confidence booster,” said Nathan Switzner, who received an honorable mention in 2015 in the undergraduate category. “The process of preparing the poster itself helped me crystallize and refine my thoughts about the concepts involved in solid-state joining research.”
Winning can also reinforce the competitors’ ties with the welding industry.
“Being involved in the work leading up to the competition has strengthened my relationship with the welding research community and helped increase my interest in continuing to be a part of that community,” proclaimed Amanda Dubrule, 2015 first-place winner in the professional category. “It has also furthered my interest in welding as a career option.”
Recommendations from Past Winners
There are several things students and professionals can do to increase their chances of winning. For example, Dubrule recommends setting realistic goals to finish the project. “You have to make sure you have enough time to account for things not always going your way as welding is apt to do, and make sure you are able to manage what you have taken on,” she said.
Dubrule also recommends being as concise as possible. “The biggest challenge I faced when making the poster was figuring out how to include the most pertinent information, and to format it in a way that allowed me to include everything I felt was needed while making sure it didn’t look messy or overcrowded. I also had to include visual elements,” she explained. “Ultimately, competi-tors will need to think about how they can maintain the fine balance of visual and written information.”
Switzner agrees. “Posters provide viewers a quick overview of your ideas, which they can browse at their leisure. The key is to optimize, maximize, and focus on visuals,” he said. “Keep text to a minimum — only what is necessary to understand the story line of the artwork.” Switzner also suggests using examples and gaining as much feedback as possible.
“Get ideas from AWS winning posters. Review your poster with coauthors, mentors, and professors,” he said. Switzner further recommends following the AWS guidelines and including your contact information on the poster so viewers can send you their comments.
For More Information
To learn more about the AWS Poster Competition and view samples of the winning posters from previous competitions, visit aws.org/events/detail/posters-competition. 
