NRT-FW-HTF: Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering (NISE)

神经多样性是一个新兴的概念，通过它，某些神经差异——自闭症、注意缺陷多动障碍、阅读障碍等——被认为是人类神经认知差异的自然组成部分，不仅与损伤有关，而且与独特的优势有关。事实上，许多神经多样性的人拥有许多领域都急需的能力，但他们的潜力仍未得到充分利用。这项授予范德比尔特大学的国家科学基金会研究培训（NRT）奖将通过培养神经多样性启发科学与工程（NISE）这个新的跨学科领域的研究生来解决这一潜力，该领域通过对自闭症的紧密关注，将人类技术前沿（HTF）研究和STEM学科的教育联系起来。该项目预计将为150名硕士和博士学生提供一个独特而全面的培训机会，其中包括45名受资助的学员，他们来自计算机科学、机械工程、数据科学、心理学、组织科学和神经科学。学生将参与的研究目标是：(1)了解与自闭症相关的独特能力，并学习将这些能力与21世纪的劳动力需求相匹配；(2)原型化辅助技术，以实现就业和工作场所的成功；(3)探索有助于利用自闭症患者才能和加强组织创新的组织实践。NISE NRT项目旨在培养一种新型的工程师和科学家，他们可以设计创新，支持自闭症患者的劳动力参与和/或受自闭症能力的启发。基于范德比尔特新成立的第一自闭症与创新中心的优势，该NRT项目将让学员参与HTF方法和设备的开发、部署和商业化，提供在人工智能、数据科学、机器人、虚拟现实和包容性设计方面广泛适用的技能。与临床心理学、特殊教育和商业领域的从业人员合作，将确保学员的项目与临床、教育和/或商业领域的相关性。学员将参加范德比尔特国家科学基金会I-Corps项目以及发明披露和专利。研究项目还将影响NRT学员开展工作的社区的K-12学生和教师。菲斯克-范德比尔特大学的硕士到博士衔接项目是该项目招募、指导和提升女性、代表性不足的少数民族和残疾人计划的核心部分，该项目是STEM毕业生多样性的全国典范。除了常规的研究生课程要求外，学员还将学习NISE的三门新课程、暑期学校、讲习班和实习，最终获得NISE的研究生证书。美国国家科学基金会研究实习生（NRT）计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的、具有潜在变革性的STEM研究生教育培训新模式。该项目致力于通过创新、循证、适应不断变化的劳动力和研究需求的综合培训模式，在高优先级跨学科或融合研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Neurodiversity is an emerging concept through which certain neurological differences - Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyslexia, and others - are considered a natural part of human neurocognitive variation, associated not only with impairments but also with unique strengths. Indeed, many neurodiverse people have capabilities that are in high demand across many sectors, yet their potential remains vastly underutilized. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to Vanderbilt University will address this potential by training graduate students in a new interdisciplinary field of Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering (NISE), which links human-technology frontiers (HTF) research and education across STEM disciplines through a cohesive focus on autism. The project anticipates providing a unique and comprehensive training opportunity for one hundred fifty (150) MS and PhD students, including forty-five (45) funded trainees, from computer science, mechanical engineering, data science, psychology, organizational science, and neuroscience. Students will engage in research that has as its goals: (i) understanding the unique capabilities associated with autism and learning to match these capabilities to 21st-century workforce needs, (ii) prototyping assistive technologies to enable employment and workplace success, and (iii) exploring organizational practices that help leverage the talents of autistic individuals and enhance organizational innovation.The NISE NRT project seeks to train a new type of engineer and scientist, one who can devise innovations that support workforce engagement of individuals with autism and/or that are inspired by autistic capabilities. Building on the strengths of Vanderbilt's new Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, this NRT project will engage trainees in the development, deployment, and commercialization of HTF approaches and devices, providing broadly applicable skills in artificial intelligence, data science, robotics, virtual reality, and inclusive design. Collaboration with practitioners in clinical psychology, special education, and business, will ensure relevance of trainees' projects to the clinical, educational, and/or commercial domains. Trainees will participate in the Vanderbilt NSF I-Corps program as well as invention disclosure and patents. Research projects will also impact K-12 students and teachers in the communities where NRT trainees conduct their work. A central part of the program's plan to recruit, mentor, and advance women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities is the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program, a national exemplar in STEM graduate diversity. Trainees will undertake, in addition to their regular graduate program requirements, a common core of three new NISE courses, summer school, workshops, and internships, culminating in a graduate certificate in NISE. The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.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.