Student Support for the Eighth International Brain-Computer Interface Meeting

脑机接口（BCI）研究探索了直接从大脑信号控制设备的途径。 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（如肌萎缩性侧索硬化症（ALS），脑干中风，脑瘫和脊髓损伤）的人的潜在通信选项，这些人可能很少甚至没有肌肉控制，因此没有与外部世界通信的手段。 国际脑机接口（IBCI）会议是该领域的旗舰会议。 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，IBCI会议是技术传播、新合作和学生教育机会的关键催化剂。 IBCI会议由BCI协会主办，鉴于在恢复通信和移动性方面取得的重大进展，2020年国际BCI会议将重点关注新兴应用和技术，主题为“BCI：下一个前沿”。“NSF的资助将使另外25名学生，包括本科生、研究生和博士后研究员，能够参加这次会议。 学生们在之前的IBCI会议上的参与是非常富有成效的;这些学生中的许多人现在已经毕业，是BCI领域的杰出研究人员。 主办方正在积极努力从传统上代表性不足的群体中招募学生与会者。今年的会议预计将有400名或更多的与会者参加，其中包括来自至少100个BCI研究小组的研究人员，这反映了BCI研究领域的增长。所有与会者承诺参加整个会议。 会议的一个主要目标是为学生提供BCI领域的重要教育和专业经验，并为他们提供深入了解其特定兴趣领域的机会。为此，在2018年IBCI与会者调查反馈的指导下，会议将包括互动活动，如研讨会和海报会议，沿着7个全体主题演讲，并将辅以研究会议和大师班，BCI用户论坛以及BCI教学会议，该奖项反映了NSF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。

Brain-computer interface (BCI) 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. Effective BCI research requires interdisciplinary interactions involving neuroscience, psychology, engineering, mathematics, computer science, and clinical rehabilitation, and the IBCI meetings serve as critical catalysts for technology dissemination, new collaborations, and educational opportunities for students. The IBCI conferences are under the auspices of the BCI Society, and in light of the significant progress that has been made towards restoring communication and mobility the 2020 International BCI meeting will focus on emerging applications and techniques with the theme "BCIs: The Next Frontier." NSF funding will enable an additional 25 students, including undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, to participate in the conference. Student participation in previous IBCI meetings has been very fruitful; many of those students have now graduated and are prominent researchers in the BCI field. The organizers are actively working to recruit student attendees from traditionally underrepresented groups.Reflecting the growth of the field of BCI research, 400 or more participants are expected to attend this year's meeting, including investigators from at least 100 BCI research groups. All attendees commit to the entire meeting. 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. To these ends, and guided by feedback from a survey of 2018 IBCI attendees, the conference will include interactive events such as workshops and poster sessions along with 7 plenary keynote talks which will be complemented by research sessions and master classes, a BCI users forum as well as BCI didactics sessions, and a Women in BCI social.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.