REU Site: Building Interfaces for Tomorrow's Technology--The Virginia Tech Research in Human-Computer Interaction Program

人机交互(HCI)已经被计算机科学家和相关学科的人公认为一门重要的学科，随着技术越来越融入日常生活，它的重要性将会增加。弗吉尼亚理工大学人机界面中心拥有该地区的12名教职员工和最先进的设施和设备，在开发新的界面以及将建造和使用这些界面的科学家和工程师的教育方面处于领先地位。在漫长而丰富的本科生研究历史的基础上，PI及其附属教员寻求让地区学校的学生参与研究工作--特别是那些来自传统上迎合女性和代表性不足的少数族裔的学校的学生。四所地区学校(该组织曾与它们在其他方面进行合作)作为这项提议的合作机构，举办访问和开放活动，以鼓励他们的学生参加该计划。在为期八周的暑期计划中，至少有十名学生参与其中，目的是让学生对人机交互的学科有一个广泛的了解，并获得与经验丰富的教师就最新技术进行研究的深入经验-最终导致他们做出明智的决定，从弗吉尼亚理工大学或其他地方获得研究生学位继续深造。该网站由国防部与NSF REU计划共同出资。智力价值拟议中的工作将通过整合不同人群的独特观点来推进人机交互领域。人机交互的学科是高度跨学科的，成功地融合了计算机科学、工业和系统工程、心理学、社会学、计算机工程、建筑、艺术等--本提案中列出的教师最近或正在进行的项目的所有领域。通过利用地区性大学的优势和利用通常在计算机科学或人机界面中没有充分代表性的人群的独特经验，该项目将显著推动新兴技术的接口开发。布罗德影响这一提议的核心是对人机界面中新兴领导者的教学、培训和学习。尤其重要的是代表不足的群体的参与：缺乏弗吉尼亚理工大学现有研究项目和基础设施的大学的女性和少数族裔。该提案通过建立和加强外部伙伴关系，利用了我们大学最近对资源和基础设施的几项增强--其中许多是由NSF资助的。随着该项目的发展和成熟，弗吉尼亚理工大学将涌现出一批不同的、训练有素的研究领域的新领导者。

Human-computer interaction (HCI), already acknowledged as an important discipline by computer scientists and those in related disciplines, will increase in importance as technology becomes even more integrated into every day life. With twelve faculty members in the area and state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, Virginia Tech's Center for HCI is a leader in the development of new interfaces and in the education of scientists and engineers who will build and use them. Building on a long and rich history of undergraduate research, the PIs and affiliated faculty seek to engage students from regional schools in research endeavors-particularly those from schools that traditionally cater to women and underrepresented minorities. Four regional schools (with whom the group has partnered on other efforts) serve as partner institutions on this proposal, hosting visits and open house events to encourage their students to attend the program. At least ten students are involved during the eight-week summer program, with the goal of providing the students with a broad look at the discipline of HCI and an in-depth experience conducting research with experienced faculty on the latest technology-ultimately leading to an informed decision to further their education with a graduate degree from Virginia Tech or elsewhere. The site is co-funded by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program.Intellectual meritThe proposed work will advance the field of HCI through the integration of unique opinions of a diverse population. The discipline of HCI is highly interdisciplinary, drawing success from the melding of computer science, industrial and systems engineering, psychology, sociology, computer engineering, architecture, art, and more-all fields in which the faculty listed on this proposal have recent or ongoing projects. By drawing upon the strengths at regional universities and leveraging the unique experiences of populations typically not adequately represented in computer science or HCI, the project will significantly advance interface development for emerging technologies.Broader impactCentral to this proposal is the teaching, training, and learning for an emerging group of leaders in HCI. Particularly important is participation of under-represented groups: women and minorities at colleges lacking the research programs and infrastructure present at Virginia Tech. The proposal leverages several recent enhancements to the resources and infrastructure at our university-many funded by the NSF-by building and enhancing external partnerships. As the program grows and matures, a diverse and well-trained set of new leaders in research will emerge from Virginia Tech.