Meeting: 13th International Congress of Neuroethology, Brisbane, Australia, July 15 through July 20, 2018

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This award will provide support to US-based students and post-doctoral fellows and junior scientists to attend the 2018 International Congress on Neuroethology. This five-day conference is recognized as the major, mid-size meeting in Neuroethology, bringing together outstanding senior and junior scientists for discussions of the recent advances in the field. Invited speakers across many areas of neuroethology, will present their findings on how the activity of animal brains give rise to natural behaviors. The comparative approach that is at the heart of neuroethology, facilitates the identification of common principles of brain organization as well as detecting mechanisms that enhance behavioral performance, which can then be implemented computationally or technologically. The meeting features sessions that will showcase how biological solutions inform new conceptual and technological advances in bio-inspired robotics, smart machines and neural modeling. The results presented at the meeting will have the potential to guide future developments in multiple areas, including neurally inspired design of engineered systems that will have considerable societal benefits. The intellectual merit of this meeting derives from its small size, which promotes interactions between participants, and the assembly of many top scientists whose research spans neurobiology, engineering and neuropathology. It spans a wide variety of experimental systems and focuses on areas of exceptional activity or promise. This combination leads to fruitful comparative analyses, raises new questions about underlying mechanisms and often leads to new collaborations. By maximizing both formal discussion and informal interactions, the International Conference on Neuroethology will highlight exciting new developments in neuroethology and engineering approaches in neurobiology. With respect to broader impacts, this meeting will benefit the larger community in multiple ways. First, it will help train and inspire the next generation of scientists, by exposing students and postdoctoral fellows to exciting science and scientists. Second, mentoring sessions, both formal and informal, will be organized for the benefit of junior researchers to help them make informed choices about scientific careers in academia and beyond. Finally, a concerted effort will be made to recruit scientists from under-represented groups.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.