REU Site: Language, Cognition and Computation

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This project is funded from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the SBE Directorate. It has both scientific and societal benefits in addition to integrating research and education. Cutting edge research in cognitive science and artificial intelligence requires interdisciplinary training that is not available at all universities, especially those that serve minorities typically under-represented in research. The Language, Cognition, and Computation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at Stanford University aims to address this challenge. It provides talented undergraduates from diverse backgrounds with an opportunity to do mentored cognitive science research in top laboratories, paired with a supportive program framework that includes technical training, professional development, and academic discussion. The goals of this program are to: 1. Train the next generation of researchers in the study of language, computation, and cognition; 2. Help promising students discover the excitement and value of research; 3. Develop new, innovative, ambitious student-led projects in member labs; and 4. Support the interdisciplinary cognitive science research community at Stanford and beyond.Cognitive science and its core disciplines – psychology, linguistics, and computer science – are seeing a major convergence around themes of uncertainty and learning. As psychology and linguistics are becoming more computational, computation is returning to its cognitive roots. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the recent artificial intelligence boom: AI techniques developed in psychology decades ago have undergone a resurgence in machine learning. Students in the REU program will contribute to research in these areas through mentored research via cognitive experiments with adults and children, theoretical development, use of artificial intelligence models, and statistical analysis of pre-existing datasets.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.