Pilot Study to Accelerate Engineering Research Center Preparedness

美国国家科学院（NAS）向工程研究界提出了挑战，要求他们接受并推进新的方法，不仅要实现技术创新，还要为人类福祉和社会繁荣带来广泛的好处。在工程研究中心（ERCs）的背景下，协作、跨学科和融合研究被认为为研究工程师提供了一个特别有前途的机会来应对这一挑战。该试点项目假设工程研究界将从活动中受益，以更好地定位和准备他们迎接NAS挑战，并提出可能具有重大社会效益的创新跨学科ERCs。该项目聚焦于跨学科和融合研究的广泛最佳实践，将帮助研究工程师更好地识别和解决难题，同时也帮助NSF实现其对下一代erc的新愿景。同样，该项目将鼓励伦理委员会将不同的利益相关者的观点和需求纳入研究，从而促进改进问题的解决，并增加传统上代表性不足的群体对科学的参与。因此，试点项目有可能在工程研究界和整个社会产生效益。借鉴国家社会环境综合中心的领导和从其他复杂的跨学科努力中吸取的经验教训，该试点项目将：(1)与工程研究界的主要成员进行互动研讨会；(2)确定参加研讨会是否与增强对确定为工程优先事项的四个关键主题的理解有关。主题包括利益相关者参与的有效方法；融合：创新工程研究解决社会问题的驱动途径有效的跨学科团队研究过程；此外，反思和适应性的中心设计促进了融合研究和社会影响。为了评估理解程度，将在研讨会之前和之后对参与者进行调查。这些结果将被认为是初步的，并将用于为未来关于如何在研究界建立进行跨学科、融合研究的能力的潜在研究提供信息。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。

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has challenged the engineering research community to embrace and advance new approaches that not only enable technological innovation but result in broad benefits to human well-being and social prosperity. Collaborative, transdisciplinary, and convergence research within the context of Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) is thought to provide a particularly promising opportunity for research engineers to meet this challenge. This pilot project hypothesizes that the engineering research community will benefit from activities to better position and prepare them to meet the NAS challenge and propose innovative transdisciplinary ERCs that are likely to have major societal benefits. With a focus on a wide array of best practices in transdisciplinary and convergence research, this project will prepare research engineers to better identify and solve difficult issues, while also helping NSF fulfill its new vision for the next generation of ERCs. This project will similarly encourage ERCs to integrate diverse stakeholder perspectives and needs into research, and thus facilitate improved problem-solving and increased involvement of traditionally underrepresented groups in science. Therefore, the pilot project has the potential to produce benefits within the engineering research community and for society at large.Drawing on lessons learned by leaders at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center and those learned from other complex transdisciplinary efforts, this pilot project will: (1) conduct an interactive workshop with leading members of the engineering research community; (2) determine if participating in the workshop is associated with enhanced understandings of four key topics identified as engineering priorities. The topics include effective methods for stakeholder engagement; convergence as a driving approach for innovative engineering research to solve societal problems; effective transdisciplinary team-based research processes; and, reflective and adaptive center designs that foster convergent research and societal impact. To asses understanding, participant surveys will be administered prior to and following the workshop. The results will be considered preliminary and will be used to inform potential future studies on how to build capacities in research communities to conduct transdisciplinary, convergence research.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.