REU Site: Sensorimotor Neural Engineering

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

This REU Site award to the University of Washington, located in Seattle, WA, will support the training of 30 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2018- 2020. The scientific theme will focus on the confluence of biotechnology and information technology. More specifically, research will focus on the emerging domain of neural engineering. This research area encompasses the development of concepts and devices used to assist, understand, and interact with neural systems. Because neural engineering is an interdisciplinary topic, students will be assigned to laboratories in several departments including Bioengineering, Biology, Physiology and Biophysics, Psychology, Rehabilitation Medicine, Computer Sciences and Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. In addition to laboratory work, students will participate in a communications course and workshops to improve their presentation and writing skills. All REU participants will complete a Responsible Conduct of Research Training including discussions about the ethical conduct of research (e.g., plagiarism, falsification of data, note keeping, statistics, animal welfare, human subjects). A special workshop will be provided about the definition of ethics and how ethical issues might arise in the field of sensorimotor neural engineering. Talented undergraduates, especially those from under-represented groups and who have completed their freshman and sophomore years, are encouraged to apply. The selection of students is based on the quality of the students' written materials in their application, letters of recommendation and academic record. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, will be trained in the program. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. A common web-based assessment tool used by all REU Site programs funded by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will be used to determine the effectiveness of the training program. Students will be tracked after the program in order to determine their career paths. Students will be asked to respond to an automatic email sent via the NSF reporting system. More information about the program is available by visiting http://www.csne-erc.org or by contacting the PI (Dr. Eric H. Chudler at chudler@uw.edu). This award is supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences (DBI Division) and the Directorate for Engineering (EEC Division). It is also supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.