Student Support for the Eighth International Brain-Computer Interface Meeting

脑机接口(BCI)研究探索了直接根据大脑信号控制设备的方法。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(如肌萎缩侧索硬化症(ALS)、脑干中风、脑瘫和脊髓损伤)的潜在沟通选择，这些人可能很少或甚至没有肌肉控制，因此无法与外部世界沟通。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，而IBCI会议是技术传播、新的合作和学生教育机会的关键催化剂。IBCI会议是由BCI协会主办的，鉴于在恢复通信和机动性方面取得的重大进展，2020年国际BCI会议将以“BCI：下一个前沿”为主题，重点讨论新兴的应用和技术。NSF的资助将使另外25名学生，包括本科生和研究生以及博士后研究员，参加会议。学生参加以前的IBCI会议非常有成效；其中许多学生现在已经毕业，是BCI领域的知名研究人员。组织者正在积极地从传统上代表性不足的群体中招募学生与会者。反映出脑-机接口研究领域的增长，预计将有400名或更多的参与者参加今年的会议，其中包括至少100个脑-机接口研究小组的研究人员。所有与会者都全力以赴参加整个会议。会议的一个主要目标是让学生在BCI领域获得重要的教育和专业经验，并为他们提供在自己感兴趣的特定领域获得深入的机会。为此，根据对2018年IBCI与会者的调查反馈，会议将包括互动活动，如研讨会和海报会议，以及7次全体主旨演讲，并将由研究会议和大师班、BCI用户论坛和BCI教学会议以及BCI社会中的女性进行补充。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.