IGERT: Incentive-Centered Design for Information and Communication Systems

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Exponential decreases in computation and communication costs induce marvelous new Internet services and social opportunities. However, new forms of social engagement also create new problems. This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) renewal will advance a principled, multi-disciplinary research method well-suited to make the Internet a place that is safe, fun and sustainable, with corresponding potential for improved social, economic, and political interaction. Incentive-centered design is a science that aligns participants' incentives with system or social goals. Distributed and collaborative system performance depends critically on strategic choices that users make when interacting with the system or each other, yet mismatch between individual interests and system goals is pervasive. This program takes a broad view of individual motivations, drawing on economic, psychological, and sociological theories, and combines these with the design and engineering sciences of artificial intelligence, software and networking.The broader impacts go beyond research contributions to the design of socially-valuable Internet communities and services. The joint Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University (a metropolitan comprehensive institution) will train future scholars and teachers from a diverse array of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. In addition it includes a summer program for undergraduates from underrepresented groups, who in teams together with the IGERT trainees will develop submissions to international research competitions. This program will increase the pool of students from underrepresented groups who are prepared for and motivated to pursue graduate education. 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.