Grass root science

One of the things I love about these big academic conferences are the 'posters'. These are a single large sheet - say A0 in size - displaying information and/or research results to provoke discussion and show delegates what others in the field have been doing. As I understand it a poster is like a mini-paper, releasing brand new research to the academic community. Anyway, the creator of the poster is usually stationed beside their work during the breaks in proceedings and discuss their work with other delegates. Over the course of this conference there are hundreds of posters being displayed and discussed - a new set each day. And wandering round it's impossible not to be inspired by the hundreds of passionate conversations taking place in front of the brightly coloured posters. In this particular conference I wonder if I am watching the Nobel Laureates of the future and perhaps the people who will develop the cure to the Twenty-First Century plague of Alzheimer's Disease that was discussed in the opening public lecture (and frequently referenced in the different sessions I have been taking pictures of since then)? Although the organisers who have hired me probably will only need a handful of pictures of this aspect of the conference, it's difficult to resist taking just one more photograph of another passionate discussion!