IGERT - Program in Nonlinear Systems

康奈尔大学非线性系统IGERT项目支持复杂非线性系统领域的研究生教育和研究。该计划的研究部分将围绕跨学科小组（IRTG）进行组织，该小组由具有理论，计算和经验科学专业知识的教师组成，他们将共同指导研究生研究员项目。初始IRTG的研究领域，包括应用领域，是(i)网络（社会网络、基因网络、互联网、电网）；（ii）基因调控（细胞信号和基因表达网络）；（iii）移动的机器和有机体（人工灵巧性和运动控制）；（iv）生物模式形成（心脏电生理）。非线性科学一直是跨学科研究的榜样。从动力系统理论中产生的原理揭示了科学和工程领域中看似无关的现象的共同特征。这个项目的智力价值在于扩展了非线性动力学中成功的策略，以面对日益复杂的系统。这项研究的一个主要目标是了解系统，特别是那些在生命科学中出现的系统，如何能够不仅仅是它们各部分的总和。例如，腿的运动和手的灵巧性将通过机械设备，观察人类和动物的行为和计算机模型的组合来研究。这项研究的更广泛的影响将是提高机器人的性能和治疗物理损伤。将探讨的另一个主题是网络架构如何影响系统的动态。小世界网络的概念，是由这个IGERT项目的创始人Steve Strogatz和他的学生提出的，已经影响了生物、社会和通信网络的研究。应用于互联网，本研究的结果促进了高效的网络搜索。总的来说，该计划将在开发预测复杂系统动力学的方法，充分考虑潜在的网络结构和广泛使用实验数据方面产生广泛的影响。IGERT项目的主要机制是博士生在他们学习的早期参与非线性系统研究。该项目让学生参与研究的概念阶段，并鼓励教师发展长期合作，通过他们在IRTG中对学生的联合指导来激励他们。该计划最直接的影响是培养了具有广泛兴趣和专业知识的新一代科学家。用一位前IGERT研究员的话来说，“参加过IGERT项目的研究生可以相当流利地学习两个或两个以上领域的语言，所有的学生都被介绍到一个共同的数学基础，这样即使那些不共享特定领域语言的人也可以进行有意义的互动。”IGERT是一项nsf范围内的计划，旨在满足教育美国博士科学家和工程师的挑战，他们具有跨学科背景，所选学科的深厚知识，以及未来职业需求所需的技术，专业和个人技能。该计划旨在通过建立创新的研究生教育和培训模式，在一个超越传统学科界限的合作研究的肥沃环境中，促进研究生教育的文化变革。在该计划的第六年，奖项将颁发给那些由NSF支持的科学和工程领域的项目的机构。

The Cornell University IGERT Program in Nonlinear Systems supports graduate education and research in the area of complex nonlinear systems. The research component of the program will be organized around interdisciplinary groups (IRTG) comprising faculty with expertise in theoretical, computational and empirical science, who will jointly mentor graduate student fellow projects. The research areas of the initial IRTG, including areas of applications, are (i) networks (social networks, gene networks, internet, electric power grid); (ii) gene regulation (cell signaling and gene expression networks); (iii) moving machines and organisms (manual dexterity and control of locomotion); and (iv) biological pattern formation (cardiac electrophysiology).Nonlinear science has been a role model for interdisciplinary research. Principles arising from dynamical systems theory have revealed common features in seemingly unrelated phenomena across the breadth of science and engineering. The intellectual merit of this project lies in the extension of successful strategies employed in nonlinear dynamics to confront increasingly complex systems. A primary goal of the research is to understand how systems, especially those arising in the life sciences, can be more than the sum of their parts. For example, legged locomotion and manual dexterity will be studied through a combination of mechanical devices, observation of human and animal behavior and computer models. The broader impacts of this research will be in improving the performance of robots and the treatment of physical injuries. Another theme that will be explored is how network architecture influences dynamics of a system. The concept of small world networks, developed by the founder of this IGERT Program, Steve Strogatz and his students, has already influenced research on biological, social and communication networks. Applied to the internet, the results of this research facilitate efficient web searches. In general, the program will have broad impact in developing methods to predict the dynamics of complex systems, taking full account of underlying network structures and making extensive use of experimental data. The primary mechanism of the IGERT program is the engagement of Ph.D. students in nonlinear systems research early in their studies. The program involves students in the conceptual phases of research, and it encourages faculty to develop long term collaborations, stimulated by their joint mentorship of students in the IRTG. The most direct impact of the program is in training a new generation of scientists with broad interests and expertise. In the words of a former IGERT fellow, "graduate students who go through the IGERT program learn to speak the language of two or more fields with considerable fluency, and all students are introduced to a common mathematical foundation so that even those who do not share the language of a specific field can interact meaningfully."IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In this sixth year of the program, awards are being made to institutions for programs that collectively span the areas of science and engineering supported by NSF.