Eileen Kowler - US grants

The proposal is for a 3-day conference at the Royal Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam in September, 2000 on the topic of "Eye movements and vision in natural tasks". The findings of research over the past few years have shown that even apparently simple behaviors, such as looking, reaching, or remembering the contents of a visual scene, are done differently and often better when performed under conditions designed to re-create the demands of natural tasks. The goal of this conference is to bring together researchers who are doing the most innovative work in understanding eye movements and vision under demanding, natural conditions. Natural conditions can be established by allowing freedom of head motion, by providing richly-structured 3-dimensional visual scenes, and by studying eye movements used to accomplish purposeful cognitive or motor tasks. The participants will be charged with the task of both presenting their latest original findings and outlining a vision for the future in a forum that will promote discussion and debate.

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Natural vision is characterized by frequent saccadic eye movements to bring the line of sight to important objects quickly and accurately. Effective use of saccades is crucial for successful performance of everyday life visual tasks, including reading, search, navigation, or any task in which movements of the eye guide movements of the arm. The spatial pattern of saccades is widely believed to be derived from the distribution of attention; however, the relationship between attention and saccades is not understood. This proposal uses dual-task psychophysical methods (concurrent measurement of saccades and visual attention) to investigate the distribution of attention during the execution of sequences of saccades and the consequences of this attentional distribution for vision during intersaccadic pauses. The experiments will determine whether attention must be focused at the target of the next saccade or whether broader distributions are possible with no cost to saccadic performance. Preliminary results indicate that visual attention is distributed to targets of at least the next two upcoming saccades, with an overall suppression of vision during intersaccadic pauses relative to vision during steady fixation. Analytic methods developed in studies of attention shifts during steady fixation will be applied to the pre-saccadic attention shifts to better characterize the nature of the effects of pre-saccadic attention shifts on vision. [unreadable] [unreadable] The long-range significance of this work is that it should lead to a better understanding of the coordination between vision, attention and oculomotor programming in normal performance of complex tasks. This work should also lead to a better understanding of the consequences of attentional disorders for both vision and oculomotor control, better methods of distinguishing attentional and oculomotor dysfunction, and possible development of ways of reducing the functional consequences of these deficits through alternative strategies of task performance. [unreadable] [unreadable]

This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports a new graduate training program at Rutgers University in perceptual science. The past decade of growth in perceptual technologies (automated recognition systems; usable virtual environments) has created the need for a new generation of realistic, comprehensive and innovative perceptual models, applicable to humans and implemented in machines. This IGERT will train students to develop and apply such models by integrating formal and experimental approaches to human and machine perception, bridging the gaps in language, perspective and knowledge that divide technically and behaviorally oriented disciplines. Training is organized around a new core curriculum in perceptual science that begins with foundational coursework in human perception and computer science, including bootstrapping courses to fill in gaps in undergraduate backgrounds. A cornerstone is a new one-year laboratory course, Integrative Methods in Perceptual Science, in which students learn to integrate human and computer perception by working on realistic projects in small teams with faculty mentors in a specialized multi-faceted teaching laboratory. Students will carry out integrative doctoral research, co-advised by faculty in human and computer perception, in one of 6 cross-cutting areas: animate vision, multi-modal cues for perceiving and grasping 3D objects, scanning and searching, visual-auditory integration, visual language, and visual communication. Broader impacts include development of novel perceptual devices and technologies usable in home, educational, clinical or industrial settings. IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the interdisciplinary background, deep knowledge in a chosen discipline, and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.

This project is combining the theoretical perspectives of "communities of practice" and "situated learning" with the innovative research, curriculum, and community best practices developed in four Integrative Graduate Research and Education Traineeship (IGERT) projects. This is done horizontally across the institution's STEM graduate programs and centers, and vertically within the undergraduate research experience programs. This extensive program of activities is improving the quality of undergraduate and graduate students completing STEM degrees. Additionally, the project is using proven methods to increase the participation of groups underrepresented in STEM fields, including first generation, economically disadvantaged, and disabled students. With attention to addressing critical educational junctures, the senior leadership team is creating the Graduate Innovation and Integration Center (GIIC) to enhance the integration of the institution's and research and educational efforts. GIIC center is working with five existing interdisciplinary campus centers to build collaborations and synergistic outcomes. A comprehensive plan is evaluating each aspect of the project including critical junctures as well as the impact of the project on promoting institutional collaboration and synergy. Longitudinal studies are being planned that follow students for three years post graduation. The broader impact of this project is the synergy between a wide array of undergraduate and graduate programs; the broadened participation of undergraduate students in research experiences, particularly students from populations underrepresented in STEM disciplines; the improved retention of a diverse body of graduate students; and a model for student success that can be used at other institutions.

This REU site brings eight undergraduate students to Rutgers each
summer for a ten-week research internship in the area of perceptual
science and technology. This research area centers on the challenges
and opportunities of building novel computational models that systems
may use to understand their environment and act intelligently in it.
The area affords a range of research methods, including designing
algorithms, building systems, gathering and analyzing data, and
understanding intelligence in its human context. Research projects
cover topics such as: computational approaches to the perception and
recognition of objects, faces, scenes, depth and motion; perceptual
categorization and perceptual decisions; data mining and statistical
analysis of perceptual input; search, attention, and visuo-motor
learning; visual experiences in human-computer interaction; and
computational depiction and design. The site strives to recruit and
support interns from underrepresented populations and to foster
collaborative research. Accepted students work closely with a faculty
mentor from drafting a project plan through carrying out and
presenting their research. Each project includes a pathway for two or
more interns to bring different results, data, or methods to bear on a
shared problem. The site holds workshops on research practice,
research ethics, skills for collaboration, and careers in perceptual
science and technology. Social events reinforce the sense of
community. The integrative, collaborative focus of the site offers
interns a deeper sense of range of the different careers, topics and
work environments available to them, and allows them to fine-tune a
match between their research plans and their personal goals,
backgrounds, and interests.

The site is co-funded by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program