Student Support for the Sixth International Brain-Computer Interface Meeting

脑机接口研究探索了直接从大脑信号控制设备的途径。因此，脑机接口技术是神经假肢的强大控制选择，也是严重运动障碍或疾病（如肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）、脑干中风、脑瘫和脊髓损伤）患者的潜在交流选择，这些患者可能很少甚至没有肌肉控制，因此无法与外界交流。国际脑机接口（IBCI）会议是该领域的旗舰会议，第六届会议将于2016年5月30日至6月3日在加利福尼亚州的Asilomar举行。有效的脑机接口研究需要跨学科的互动，包括神经科学、心理学、工程学、数学、计算机科学和临床康复，而IBCI会议是技术传播、新合作和学生教育机会的关键催化剂。会议的主要资金来源是美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）。这笔NSF资助将使另外20名学生，包括本科生、研究生和博士后，参加并参加会议。这20名学生中有5名是少数族裔学生，他们将获得全额奖学金，而其余15名奖学金中的一半将给予女性学生。所有的NSF资金将用于学生的旅行、注册和学生专用的活动费用。学生参加了前五次IBCI会议，成果丰硕；这些学生中有很多已经毕业，成为脑机接口领域的杰出研究人员。《脑机接口杂志》已同意将会议记录作为一系列同行评议的论文发表在一期特刊上，这将进一步传播会议的结果。组织者正积极从传统上代表性不足的群体中招募学生参加者。有关会议的更多信息可在http://bcisociety.org/meetings/bci-meeting-2016-welcome/网站上找到。由于脑机接口研究领域的发展，预计将有300名或更多的与会者参加本次会议，其中包括来自至少100个脑机接口研究小组的研究人员。从5月30日（周一）晚上的开幕酒会和晚宴，到6月3日（周五）早上早餐时的最后总结讨论，所有与会者都承诺参加整个会议。会议的主要目标是为学生提供在脑机接口领域的重要教育和专业经验，并为他们提供在他们特定兴趣领域深入学习的机会。在正式会议开始之前，会议将在下午以专门的学生座谈会开始，届时将有BCI领域的知名专家进行讲座。这将为学生们理解会议的其他内容打下坚实的基础。还将有一个学生海报会议和最佳学生研究项目的奖励，以及让学生在每天结束时与研究负责人进行非正式的问答环节。学生们也将充分参与主要会议。接触脑机接口领域的杰出研究人员将使学生获得宝贵的工作反馈，并建立可能导致新的研究方向的联系；它还将为学生提供接触潜在导师、委员会成员和专家的机会，以审查他们未来的工作。您可以在会议网站上找到完整而详细的会议和活动计划时间表，以及任何更新。所有的参与者都住在现场，所有的参与者都在现场吃饭，将有充足的机会进行非正式的讨论。这为学生和受训者创造了一个独特的机会，可以与知名研究人员交流并向他们学习。

Brain-computer interface 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, the sixth of which will be held May 30-June 3, 2016, in Asilomar, California. Effective BCI research requires interdisciplinary interactions involving neuroscience, psychology, engineering, mathematics, computer science, and clinical rehabilitation, and the IBCI meeting serves as a critical catalyst for technology dissemination, new collaborations, and educational opportunities for students. The primary source of funding for the meeting is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This NSF funding will enable another 20 students, including undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, to attend and participate in the conference. Five of these twenty will be minority students who will receive full scholarships, while half of the remaining fifteen scholarships will be given to students who are women. All of the NSF funding will be used for student travel, registration, and student-only event costs. Student participation in the five previous IBCI meetings has been very fruitful; a large number of those students have now graduated and are prominent researchers in the BCI field. The Brain-Computer Interface Journal has agreed to publish the conference proceedings as a series of peer reviewed papers in a special issue, which will further disseminate the results of the meeting. The organizers are actively recruiting student attendees from traditionally underrepresented groups. More information about the conference may be found online at http://bcisociety.org/meetings/bci-meeting-2016-welcome/. Because of the growth in the field of BCI research, 300 or more participants are expected to attend this meeting, including investigators from at least 100 BCI research groups. All attendees commit to the entire meeting, from the opening reception and dinner on the evening of Monday, May 30 through the final summary discussion at breakfast the morning of Friday, June 3. 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. The conference will begin with a specialized student colloquium on the afternoon before the full conference starts, which will provide lectures from prominent experts in the BCI field. This will give the students a solid foundation for understanding the rest of the conference. There will also be a student poster session and prizes for the best student research projects, as well as giving students access to research leaders for informal question-and-answer sessions at the end of each day. The students will participate fully in the main conference as well. Exposure to prominent researchers in the BCI field will allow students to receive invaluable feedback on their work, and to make connections that may result in new research directions; it will also provide students with access to potential mentors, committee members, and experts to review their future work. A full and detailed schedule of planned conference sessions and events, along with any updates, can be found on the conference website. With all participants housed on site and all meals for all attendees taken together on site, there will be ample opportunity for informal discussions. This creates a unique opportunity for students and trainees to mingle with and learn from established researchers.