/scientific-slides

name: scientific-slides
description: Builds slide decks and presentations for research talks. Used for making PowerPoint slides, conference presentations, seminar talks, research presentations, thesis defense slides, or any scientific talk. Provides slide structure, design templates, timing guidance, and visual validation. Works with PowerPoint and LaTeX Beamer.
allowed-tools: Read Write Edit Bash
license: MIT license
compatibility: Python 3.12+; requests for OpenRouter generation, Pillow for image PDFs, PyMuPDF for rendering, pypdf and python-pptx for validation and template editing. Generation needs network and OPENROUTER_API_KEY. Beamer needs TeX Live/MiKTeX; programmatic PPTX needs Node.js and PptxGenJS; rendering PPTX for review needs LibreOffice.
metadata:
  version: "1.12"
  last-reviewed: "2026-10-01"
  skill-author: K-Dense Inc.
  openclaw:
    primaryEnv: OPENROUTER_API_KEY
    envVars:
    - name: OPENROUTER_API_KEY
      required: false
      description: OpenRouter API key for the skill's LLM-powered steps.

Scientific Slides

Overview

Scientific presentations are a critical medium for communicating research, sharing findings, and engaging with academic and professional audiences. This skill provides comprehensive guidance for creating effective scientific presentations, from structure and content development to visual design and delivery preparation.

**Key Focus**: Oral presentations for conferences, seminars, defenses, and professional talks.

**CRITICAL DESIGN PHILOSOPHY**: Scientific presentations should be VISUALLY ENGAGING and RESEARCH-BACKED. Avoid dry, text-heavy slides at all costs. Great scientific presentations combine:

• **Compelling visuals**: High-quality figures, images, diagrams (not just bullet points)
• **Research context**: Proper citations from research-lookup establishing credibility
• **Minimal text**: Bullet points as prompts, YOU provide the explanation verbally
• **Professional design**: Modern color schemes, strong visual hierarchy, generous white space
• **Story-driven**: Clear narrative arc, not just data dumps

**Remember**: Boring presentations = forgotten science. Make your slides visually memorable while maintaining scientific rigor through proper citations.

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:

• Preparing conference presentations (5-20 minutes)
• Developing academic seminars (45-60 minutes)
• Creating thesis or dissertation defense presentations
• Designing grant pitch presentations
• Preparing journal club presentations
• Giving research talks at institutions or companies
• Teaching or tutorial presentations on scientific topics

Slide Generation with Nano Banana 2

The bundled image helper uses `google/gemini-3.1-flash-image` (Nano Banana 2), with `google/gemini-3.7-flash` for visual review. API contracts, setup, and limitations are in [references/script_reference.md](references/script_reference.md). Generated images are drafts: verify every claim, label, citation, and scientific relationship.

There are two workflows depending on output format:

Image Workflow: PDF Slides

Generate conceptual or overview slides as complete images, then combine them into a PDF. Use editable PowerPoint or Beamer for quantitative results, exact equations, accessible text, or a user-supplied template.

**How it works:** 1. **Plan the deck**: Create a detailed plan for each slide (title, key points, visual elements) 2. **Generate slides**: Call Nano Banana 2 for each slide to create complete slide images 3. **Combine to PDF**: Assemble slide images into a single PDF presentation

**Step 1: Plan Each Slide**

Before generating, create a detailed plan for your presentation:

# Presentation Plan: Introduction to Machine Learning

## Slide 1: Title Slide
- Title: "Machine Learning: From Theory to Practice"
- Subtitle: "AI Conference 2025"
- Speaker: Dr. Jane Smith, University of XYZ
- Visual: Modern abstract neural network background

## Slide 2: Introduction
- Title: "Why Machine Learning Matters"
- Key points: Industry adoption, breakthrough applications, future potential
- Visual: Icons showing different ML applications (healthcare, finance, robotics)

## Slide 3: Core Concepts
- Title: "The Three Types of Learning"
- Content: Supervised, Unsupervised, Reinforcement
- Visual: Three-part diagram showing each type with examples

... (continue for all slides)

**Step 2: Generate Each Slide**

Use the `generate_slide_image.py` script to create each slide.

**CRITICAL: Formatting Consistency Protocol**

To ensure unified formatting across all slides in a presentation:

1. **Define a Formatting Goal** at the start of your presentation and include it in EVERY prompt:

• Color scheme (e.g., "dark blue background, white text, gold accents")
• Typography style (e.g., "bold sans-serif titles, clean body text")
• Visual style (e.g., "minimal, professional, corporate aesthetic")
• Layout approach (e.g., "generous white space, left-aligned content")

2. **Always attach the previous slide** when generating subsequent slides using `--attach`:

• This allows Nano Banana 2 to see and match the existing style
• Creates visual continuity throughout the deck
• Ensures consistent colors, fonts, and design language

3. **Use the supplied presenter name and affiliation**; omit them if unknown.

4. **Include citations directly in the prompt** for slides that reference research:

• Add citations in the prompt text so they appear on the generated slide
• Use format: "Include citation: (Author et al., Year)" or "Show reference: Author et al., Year"
• For multiple citations, list them all in the prompt
• Citations should appear in small text at the bottom of the slide or near relevant content

5. **Preserve scientific figures as original assets**:

• Locate the user's figures and underlying data before composing results slides.
• Embed the original chart unchanged in PowerPoint/Beamer, or regener