Student Support for the Sixth International Brain-Computer Interface Meeting

脑机接口研究探索了直接根据大脑信号控制设备的方法。因此，BCI技术是神经假肢的强大控制选项，也是患有严重运动障碍或疾病(如肌萎缩侧索硬化症(ALS)、脑干中风、脑瘫和脊髓损伤)的潜在沟通选择，这些人可能很少或甚至没有肌肉控制，因此无法与外部世界沟通。国际脑机接口(IBCI)会议是该领域的旗舰会议，第六届会议将于2016年5月30日至6月3日在加利福尼亚州阿西洛马市举行。有效的BCI研究需要涉及神经科学、心理学、工程学、数学、计算机科学和临床康复的跨学科互动，而IBCI会议是技术传播、新的合作和学生教育机会的关键催化剂。会议的主要资金来源是美国国立卫生研究院(NIH)。NSF的这笔资金将使另外20名学生，包括本科生和研究生以及博士后研究员，参加这次会议。这20个奖学金中有5个将是少数族裔学生，他们将获得全额奖学金，其余15个奖学金中的一半将给予女性学生。NSF的所有资金将用于学生旅行、注册和仅限学生参加的活动费用。学生参加之前的五次IBCI会议非常有成效；其中许多学生现在已经毕业，是BCI领域的知名研究人员。《脑机接口杂志》已同意将会议记录作为同行评议的系列论文发表在一期特刊上，这将进一步传播会议的结果。组织者正在积极地从传统上代表人数较少的群体中招募学生参与者。欲了解更多有关这次会议的信息，请访问http://bcisociety.org/meetings/bci-meeting-2016-welcome/.。由于BCI研究领域的增长，预计将有300人或更多人参加本次会议，其中包括来自至少100个BCI研究小组的调查人员。所有与会者都承诺参加整个会议，从5月30日星期一晚上的开幕招待会和晚宴到6月3日星期五上午早餐时的最后总结讨论。会议的一个主要目标是让学生在BCI领域获得重要的教育和专业经验，并为他们提供机会在他们感兴趣的特定领域获得深入。会议将在全体会议开始前的一个下午举行专门的学生座谈会，届时将有来自脑-机接口领域知名专家的演讲。这将为学生理解会议的其余部分奠定坚实的基础。还将有学生海报环节和最佳学生研究项目的奖励，以及让学生在每天结束时与研究负责人进行非正式的问答环节。学生们也将充分参与主会议。接触BCI领域的知名研究人员将允许学生收到关于他们工作的宝贵反馈，并建立可能导致新研究方向的联系；它还将为学生提供机会，让他们接触潜在的导师、委员会成员和专家，以审查他们未来的工作。计划的会议会议和活动的完整和详细的时间表，以及任何最新情况，可以在会议网站上找到。由于所有与会者都在现场住宿，所有与会者的所有餐饮都集中在现场，因此将有足够的机会进行非正式讨论。这为学生和实习生创造了一个独特的机会，可以与知名研究人员打成一片，并向他们学习。

Brain-computer interface research explores avenues of controlling devices directly from brain signals. Thus, BCI technology is a powerful control option for neuro-prosthetic limbs, as well as a potential communication option for people with severe motor disabilities or disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), brainstem stroke, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injury, who may have little or even no muscle control and therefore no means of communication with the external world. The International Brain-Computer Interface (IBCI) meeting is the flagship conference for the field, the sixth of which will be held May 30-June 3, 2016, in Asilomar, California. Effective BCI research requires interdisciplinary interactions involving neuroscience, psychology, engineering, mathematics, computer science, and clinical rehabilitation, and the IBCI meeting serves as a critical catalyst for technology dissemination, new collaborations, and educational opportunities for students. The primary source of funding for the meeting is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This NSF funding will enable another 20 students, including undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, to attend and participate in the conference. Five of these twenty will be minority students who will receive full scholarships, while half of the remaining fifteen scholarships will be given to students who are women. All of the NSF funding will be used for student travel, registration, and student-only event costs. Student participation in the five previous IBCI meetings has been very fruitful; a large number of those students have now graduated and are prominent researchers in the BCI field. The Brain-Computer Interface Journal has agreed to publish the conference proceedings as a series of peer reviewed papers in a special issue, which will further disseminate the results of the meeting. The organizers are actively recruiting student attendees from traditionally underrepresented groups. More information about the conference may be found online at http://bcisociety.org/meetings/bci-meeting-2016-welcome/. Because of the growth in the field of BCI research, 300 or more participants are expected to attend this meeting, including investigators from at least 100 BCI research groups. All attendees commit to the entire meeting, from the opening reception and dinner on the evening of Monday, May 30 through the final summary discussion at breakfast the morning of Friday, June 3. A main objective of the conference is to give students a significant educational and professional experience in the BCI field, and to provide opportunities for them to gain depth in their specific interest areas. The conference will begin with a specialized student colloquium on the afternoon before the full conference starts, which will provide lectures from prominent experts in the BCI field. This will give the students a solid foundation for understanding the rest of the conference. There will also be a student poster session and prizes for the best student research projects, as well as giving students access to research leaders for informal question-and-answer sessions at the end of each day. The students will participate fully in the main conference as well. Exposure to prominent researchers in the BCI field will allow students to receive invaluable feedback on their work, and to make connections that may result in new research directions; it will also provide students with access to potential mentors, committee members, and experts to review their future work. A full and detailed schedule of planned conference sessions and events, along with any updates, can be found on the conference website. With all participants housed on site and all meals for all attendees taken together on site, there will be ample opportunity for informal discussions. This creates a unique opportunity for students and trainees to mingle with and learn from established researchers.