NRT-UtB: Graduate Training Program in Sensory Science: Optimizing the Information Available for Mind and Brain

人类的感官向大脑提供有关我们周围世界的信息。视觉、听觉或其他感官输入的缺陷对生活质量有重大影响，包括教育、就业和社会参与，这反过来又给美国经济带来了重大负担。这个问题的规模很大：根据世界卫生组织（WHO）和美国国立卫生研究院的报告，大约有500万美国人有视力障碍，大约3600万美国人有某种形式的听力损失。人们广泛认识到需要跨学科合作来进行关于残疾的转化研究。研究开发更有效的辅助技术和环境改造需要跨学科的专业知识，将对基本感官科学（视觉、听觉、运动控制、语音和语言）的基本理解与工程、计算机科学和其他相关领域的深厚技术专业知识结合起来。这项授予明尼苏达大学的国家科学基金会研究培训（NRT）奖将通过明尼苏达大学认知科学中心和应用与转化感官科学中心的联合力量，使感官科学领域形成一个综合的跨学科培训项目。该项目的目标是培养未来的科学家，将工程方法与科学知识和方法结合起来，使他们能够开发下一代的感官辅助设备，从而提高美国感官丧失患者的生活质量。该计划将通过课程、研究机会、医疗设备行业实习和公共宣传活动，为计算机科学、工程学、运动学、心理学和语言听力学科的学生提供服务。在5年的时间里，共有49名不同的博士生将被纳入该计划，其中18人将获得NRT奖学金。该项目创建了一个新的跨学科研究生培训计划，包括以下主要目标：以研究生辅修课程的形式建立一个学术课程，通过该课程，学生将获得重点突出的多学科教育背景，他们将需要解决感官丧失辅助技术发展中的关键挑战。2. 通过发展支持跨学科研究团队形成的结构机制，推进转化感官科学的跨学科研究。3. 通过补充机制为学员提供课外培训和交流机会，包括每周期刊俱乐部、夏季和冬季讲习班、春季和秋季研究专题讨论会以及每年秋季的务虚会。学生还将参与公众参与，如准备有关利益相关者感兴趣的研究主题的播客。4. 通过与本地和国内公司的个性化联系，提供实际的职业发展机会。许多受训者最终将寻求在工业中就业，而那些继续在学术界学习的人应寻求与工业伙伴合作工作。为了给学生提供现实世界的经验，为他们的研究和毕业后的职业选择提供参考，该项目将为学员提供8-10周的暑期实习机会，从事基于行业的应用研究。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。通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求相一致的综合培训模式，培训项目致力于在高优先级跨学科研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。

The human senses provide the information to the brain about the world around us. Deficits in visual, auditory or other sensory inputs have a major impact on quality of life, including education, employment and social engagement, which in turn places a major burden on the US economy. The scale of this problem is large: According to reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institutes of Health, there are approximately 5 million Americans with vision impairment and around 36 million Americans with some form of hearing loss. There is broad recognition of the need for interdisciplinary collaboration for translational research on disabilities. Research into the development of more effective assistive technologies and environmental modifications requires interdisciplinary expertise that unites a fundamental understanding of the basic sensory science (vision, audition, motor control, speech and language) with deep technical expertise in engineering, computer science, and other related fields. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to the University of Minnesota will enable the formation of an integrated and interdisciplinary training program in sensory science through the joint strengths of the university's Center for Cognitive Sciences and Center for Applied and Translational Sensory Science. The program's goal is to prepare future scientists to combine engineering approaches with scientific knowledge and methods so that they are in a position to develop the next generation of sensory aids that will improve the quality of life for Americans with sensory loss. The program will serve students from computer science, engineering, kinesiology, psychology, and speech-language-hearing disciplines through courses, research opportunities, internships in the medical-devices industry, and public outreach activities. A total of 49 different PhD students will be enrolled in the program over the course of the 5 years, 18 of whom will receive NRT fellowships.This project creates a new interdisciplinary graduate training program that encompasses the following key aims: 1. Establish an academic program in the form of a graduate minor through which students will receive the focused, multi-disciplinary educational background they will need to address critical challenges in the development of assistive technologies for sensory loss. 2. Advance interdisciplinary research in translational sensory science through the development of structural mechanisms that support the formation of interdisciplinary research teams. 3. Provide extra-curricular training and networking opportunities to the trainees through supplementary mechanisms, including weekly journal clubs, summer and winter workshops, spring and fall research symposia, and an annual fall retreat. Students will also participate in public engagement such as preparation of podcasts on research topics of interest to the stakeholders. 4. Provide practical career development opportunities through personalized contacts with local and national companies. Many trainees will eventually seek employment in industry, and those who continue in academia should seek to engage in collaborative work with industry partners. In an effort to provide students with real-world experience that can inform their research and post-graduation career choices, the program will offer the trainees 8-10 week summer internship opportunities in industry-based applied research.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 Traineeship Track is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary research areas, through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.