Pilot Study to Accelerate Engineering Research Center Preparedness

试点研究加速工程研究中心的准备工作

• 批准号: 1849257
• 负责人: Margaret Palmer
• 金额: $ 18.42万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-15 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1849257&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Pilot; Study; Accelerate; Engineering; Research

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has challenged the engineering research community to embrace and advance new approaches that not only enable technological innovation but result in broad benefits to human well-being and social prosperity. Collaborative, transdisciplinary, and convergence research within the context of Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) is thought to provide a particularly promising opportunity for research engineers to meet this challenge. This pilot project hypothesizes that the engineering research community will benefit from activities to better position and prepare them to meet the NAS challenge and propose innovative transdisciplinary ERCs that are likely to have major societal benefits. With a focus on a wide array of best practices in transdisciplinary and convergence research, this project will prepare research engineers to better identify and solve difficult issues, while also helping NSF fulfill its new vision for the next generation of ERCs. This project will similarly encourage ERCs to integrate diverse stakeholder perspectives and needs into research, and thus facilitate improved problem-solving and increased involvement of traditionally underrepresented groups in science. Therefore, the pilot project has the potential to produce benefits within the engineering research community and for society at large.Drawing on lessons learned by leaders at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center and those learned from other complex transdisciplinary efforts, this pilot project will: (1) conduct an interactive workshop with leading members of the engineering research community; (2) determine if participating in the workshop is associated with enhanced understandings of four key topics identified as engineering priorities. The topics include effective methods for stakeholder engagement; convergence as a driving approach for innovative engineering research to solve societal problems; effective transdisciplinary team-based research processes; and, reflective and adaptive center designs that foster convergent research and societal impact. To asses understanding, participant surveys will be administered prior to and following the workshop. The results will be considered preliminary and will be used to inform potential future studies on how to build capacities in research communities to conduct transdisciplinary, convergence research.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.

美国国家科学院（NAS）挑战了工程研究界，要采用和推进新方法，不仅可以实现技术创新，而且会给人类的福祉和社会繁荣带来广​​泛的利益。在工程研究中心（ERC）的背景下，合作，跨学科和融合研究被认为为研究工程师提供了特别有希望的机会来应对这一挑战。该试点项目假设工程研究界将受益于活动，以更好地位，并准备应对NAS挑战，并提出可能具有重大社会利益的创新跨学科ERC。该项目着重于跨学科和融合研究的各种最佳实践，该项目将使研究工程师更好地识别和解决困难的问题，同时还可以帮助NSF实现其下一代ERC的新愿景。该项目将同样鼓励ERCS将各种利益相关者的观点和需求整合到研究中，从而促进改善问题解决方案，并增加传统代表性不足的科学群体的参与。因此，飞行员项目有可能在工程研究界和整个社会中产生利益。绘制国家社会环境合成中心领导者所学到的经验教训，以及从其他复杂的跨学科工作中学到的那些试点项目，该试点项目将：（1）与工程研究社区的领导成员进行互动式研讨会； （2）确定参加研讨会是否与对四个关键主题确定为工程优先事项的理解有关。主题包括有效的利益相关者参与方法；作为解决社会问题的创新工程研究的驱动方法；有效的基于跨学科团队的研究过程；以及反思性和自适应中心的设计，以促进收敛研究和社会影响。为了理解，将在研讨会之前和之后进行参与者的调查。结果将被视为初步，并将用于为如何在研究社区中建立能力进行跨学科，融合研究的潜在研究提供信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来通过评估来进行评估的。