Aleksandra Sherman - US grants

Scientists are increasingly using neural recording techniques to study how and when perceptual, cognitive, and emotional processes unfold in the brain over time. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive technique for measuring electrical activity of the brain, with extraordinary temporal precision. With the support from the Major Research Instrumentation Program, the investigators will purchase a state-of-the-art high-density, mobile EEG system for shared use by the faculty and students at Occidental College. The mobility of the EEG system provides an exciting opportunity to investigate perception and cognition both within a laboratory and in naturalistic settings outside of the laboratory. The acquisition of this system will also allow the investigators to foster unique research opportunities for a diverse group of students at the undergraduate level. Faculty and students will be involved in a dynamic, interdisciplinary research program, with investigations of topics such as multisensory perception, time perception, art perception, attention, emotional processing, language processing, and music cognition. The system will also serve as a key instrument for establishing undergraduate training in the cognitive neurosciences at Occidental College and will be integrated into coursework. Participating students will develop a broad range of skills relevant for both graduate study and participation in the STEM workforce, including strong data analytic and computational skills. As the student population at Occidental College is very diverse, the investigators aim to broaden participation of underrepresented groups in the sciences.

The investigators involved will launch several research programs in a broad range of areas within the cognitive sciences, with the goal of expanding opportunities for student research and for multi-disciplinary collaboration across the College. Research project 1 aims to understand how sound can be used to synchronize neural activity across a pair of individuals and whether and how neural synchronization causally influences behavioral coordination. Research project 2 will investigate art perception to understand a) how internal states such as current mood may systematically drive attention toward specific features of an artwork, b) what type of neural response is associated with profound aesthetic experiences from viewing art compared to viewing non-art, and c) the extent to which the neural response associated with aesthetic experience is similar across art modality (e.g. visual art, music, literature). Research project 3 will explore mechanisms underlying temporal perception and how information is transferred across sensory modalities, to address fundamental questions about the multisensory organization of the brain, and will help provide a better understanding of how the brain represents time. Research project 4 will compare the time course of language processing and syllabic stress encoding in English and Spanish speakers to examine processing differences between heritage speakers and monolingual speakers of Spanish. Research project 5 aims to understand the role of consciousness in emotional processing by simultaneously measuring skin conductance response, cortical event-related potentials, and conscious expectancy of an unconditioned stimulus in a backward masking paradigm.

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Occidental College, a private liberal arts college. It will do so by providing financial, academic, and personal support to academically high-achieving students with financial need majoring in Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics and Physics. Over its five-year duration, the project will support two annual cohorts of ten second-year students with scholarships of up to $10,000 per year for up to three years. The project builds upon a successful prior Track 1 S-STEM award and will provide Scholars with opportunities for scientific research, internships, intellectual growth, and professional skill development. The project will generate and disseminate knowledge about promoting student success and increasing students? perception of belonging in STEM.

The overall goal of the project is to increase STEM degree completion of low income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The plan to achieve this goal includes recruiting, inspiring, and developing a diverse group of low-income, academically high-achieving STEM majors to identify as scientists and leaders in STEM. The project will complement and strengthen support services at the College by creating and implementing five initiatives: 1) a new first-year, writing-intensive STEM-focused seminar course; 2) a new third-year seminar course for STEM majors centered around scientific communication, career readiness, and professional development; 3) providing guaranteed opportunities for scholars to participate in undergraduate research, internship experiences, and disciplinary conferences; 4) enhanced advising and strategic mentoring; 5) multiple leadership opportunities in various settings and modalities, including peer-to-peer, community-based, role-modelling, volunteer, and direct assistance. The efficacy of the project components will be evaluated both formatively and summatively using multi-modal approaches to collecting and analyzing data associated with the project?s stated goals and objectives. The project has a robust research agenda that centers on determining barriers in STEM, their effects on retention and persistence, and how STEM identity evolves as students traverse their academic trajectory. The research plan includes closely tracking two entire classes of entering first-year college students through graduation to monitor how an age-structured cohort may provide younger students with inspiration and mentorship and older students with leadership skills and a deepened understanding of scientific practices that will inform their subsequent careers and education. This project is funded by NSF?s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.

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.