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Embargoed until: 2:00 P.M., EDT
NSF PR 99-48 - August 4, 1999
This material is available primarily for archival
purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information
may be out of date; please see current contact information
at media
contacts.
NSF Generates "New Breed" of Scientist & Engineer
Nature does not align itself neatly into the pigeonholes
of biology, chemistry, math, physics or engineering.
Rather, the natural world crisscrosses disciplinary
boundaries with complex abandon. And as our body of
knowledge of this complexity increases, so does the
requirement for a higher threshold of scientific competency
and greater interdisciplinary skill among researchers
and educators.
Today, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training
(IGERT) awards to 21 doctorategranting institutions,
totaling $54.5 million over five years, specifically
to stimulate and cultivate more well-rounded scientists
and engineers with greater interdisciplinary competence.
"NSF has long recognized the demand for a high level
of crossdisciplinary knowledge and expertise and is
cultivating a 'new breed' of scientist and engineer
through the IGERT program," said NSF’s Assistant Director
for Education and Human Resources, Luther S. Williams.
This is the second year for these NSF training grants.
Their intent is to produce scientists and engineers
who are well-prepared for a broad spectrum of emerging
career opportunities in industry, government and academe.
IGERT allows students an in-depth, multidisciplinary
education through coursework and research experience.
A high priority is placed on students' communication
and teamwork skills, international awareness, experience
with modern instrumentation and responsible conduct
of research.
Rita Colwell, NSF director, says that the IGERT program
is generating a culture change and new perspectives,
for both students and faculty, on the role of researchers
and their career opportunities.
"The interdisciplinary programs, and student internships
in industry, government and abroad, provide new opportunities
for students, faculty and institutions," Colwell told
IGERT grantees at a recent meeting at NSF. "By building
on the strengths of different departments and institutions,
we are making graduate education more useful to students
and more responsive to national needs," she said.
"IGERT is the first program to integrate education
and research at the graduate level," Williams said.
In 1998, the National Science Board recommended changes
to the federal government-university partnership in
graduate education, including tightening the integration
of research and education, in part, to broaden the
career options of graduates to extend beyond traditional
academic positions. The National Academy of Science’s
Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy
(COSEPUP), also recommended repairing the "misalignment"
between how graduate students are trained and what
employers seek. COSEPUP's 1995 report, Reshaping the
Graduate Education of Scientists and Engineers, also
recommended that communication and teamwork skills,
multidisciplinary and applied research experience,
and adaptability, be essential elements in training.
Graduate students supported under IGERT will be exposed
to multidisciplinary graduate programsdeveloped by
the awardee institutionsin emerging areas of science
and engineering, areas that percolate through traditional
boundaries and unite faculty from several departments
or institutions. Supported projects are based upon
a multidisciplinary research theme and are organized
around a diverse group of investigators. The projects
will also offer experiences relevant to both academic
and nonacademic careers by linking graduate research
with research in industry, national laboratories and
other non-academic settings.
All NSF directorates are participating in support of
the IGERT program, as well as NSF's Office of Polar
Programs and the EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research) program office.
Attachment: List of Integrative
Graduate Education and Research Training Grants
Editors: For more details about IGERT see: http://www.nsf.gov/igert/
Attachment
Integrative Graduate Education & Research Training
Grants (1999)
This listing of the second round of IGERT awards includes
award number, principal investigator, institution,
and title. Abstracts can be accessed by award number
on the world-wide web at: http://www.nsf.gov/verity/srchawdf.htm
NSF Award # |
Investigator |
Institution |
9972804
Nanostructural Materials and Devices
www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/~casi/igert
(Media contact Charles DeCicco: 212-650-7577,
prdcc@cunyvm.cuny.edu) |
Daniel L. Akins |
City Univ. of
New York |
|
9972759
Biogeochemical Research Initiative for
Education
www.essc.psu.edu/BRIE
(Media contact Andrea Messer: 814-865-9481,
aem1@psu.edu) |
Susan L. Brantley |
Pennsylvania
State Univ. |
|
9972762
Multidisciplinary Training Program in
Computational Analysis of Social and Organizational
Systems
www.ices.cmu.edu/casos
(Media contact Teresa Thomas: 412-268-3580,
ts2h@andrew.cmu.edu) |
Kathleen M. Carley |
Carnegie Mellon Univ. |
|
9972752
Variable Speed Electromechanical Drive
Systems
www.ece.umr.edu/~igert
(Media contact Andrew Careaga: 573-341-4183,
acareaga@umr.edu) |
Mariesa L. Crow |
Univ. of Missouri-Rolla |
|
9972776
Molecularly Designed Electronic, Photonic,
and Nanostructural Materials
www.umich.edu/~mater/igert.html
(Media contact Sally Pobojewski: 734-647-1844,
pobo@umich.edu) |
M. David Curtis |
Univ. of Michigan-Ann Arbor |
|
9972824
Education and Research Training in Structure
and Function of Complex Biological Systems
www.cbs.montana.edu
(Media contact Annette Stevens: 406-994-5607,
annettet@montana.edu) |
David M. Dooley |
Montana State Univ. |
|
9972790
Science and Engineering of Laser Interactions
With Matter
www.virginia.edu/chem/IGERT/SELIM/
(Media contact Fariss Samarrai: 804-924-3778,
samarrai@virginia.edu) |
Ian Harrison |
Univ. of Virginia |
|
9972756
Quantitative Approaches to Neuroscience:
From Molecules to Behavior
www.bio.brandeis.edu/IGERT
(Media contact Steve Bradt: 781-736-4203,
bradt@brandeis.edu) |
Eve Marder |
Brandeis Univ. |
|
9972741
Nanophases in the Environment, Agriculture,
and Technology
mri.ucdavis.edu/IGERT/igert.htm
(Media contact Sylvia Wright: 530-752-7704,
swright@ucdavis.edu) |
Alexandra Navrotsky |
Univ. of Calif.-Davis |
|
9972823
Program in Integrative Computer and Application
Sciences
www.cs.princeton.edu/picasso
(Media contact Steve Schultz: 609-258-5729,
sschultz@princeton.edu) |
Jeremiah P. Ostriker |
Princeton Univ. |
|
9972770
Training Program on Therapeutic and Diagnostic
Devices
BME.www.ecn.purdue.edu/BME/PTDD/
(Media contact Emil Venere: 765-494-2096,
emil_venere@uns.purdue.edu) |
Nicholas A. Peppas |
Purdue Univ. |
|
9972817
Integrative Education of the Next Generation
of Environmental Scientists and Engineers
www.cmer.wsu.edu
(Media contact Nancy Hilliard: 509-335-5095,
hilliard@wsu.edu) |
James N. Petersen |
Washington State Univ. |
|
9972830
Integrated Training in the Evolution of
Development
evodevo.uoregon.edu
(Media contact Ross West: 541-346-2060,
rwest@oregon.uoregon.edu) |
John H. Postlethwait |
Univ. of Oregon |
|
9972747
Training Program in Neuro-mechanical Systems
(Media contact Susan Griffith: 216-368-1004,
sbg4@po.cwru.edu) |
Roy E. Ritzmann |
Case Western Reserve Univ. |
|
9972820
Electronic Education, High Performance
Miniaturized Electronic Devices
www.uark.edu/depts/microep
(Media contact Allison Hogge: 501-575-5555,
alhogge@comp.uark.edu) |
Leonard W. Schaper, Jr. |
Univ. of Arkansas |
|
9972807
Problem-centered Research Training: Integrating
Formal and Empirical Methods in the Cognitive
Science of Language
www.cog.jhu.edu/IGERT
(Media contact Dennis O’Shea: 410-516-7109,
dro@jhu.edu) |
Paul Smolensky |
Johns Hopkins Univ. |
|
9972803
Biosphere-Atmosphere Research and Training
www.wmich.edu/bart
(Media contact Sally Pobojewski: 734-647-1844,
pobo@umich.edu) |
James A. Teeri |
Univ. of Mich.-Ann Arbor |
|
9972802
NeuroEngineering Training Program
www.medsch.ucla.edu/som/bri/neuroeng.htm
(Media contact Warren Robak: 310-794-2271,
warrenr@support.ucla.edu) |
Allan J. Tobin |
Univ. of Calif.-Los Angeles |
|
9972653
Computational Molecular Biology Training
Group
www.grad-college.iastate.edu/bioinformatics
(Media contact Skip Derra: 515-294-4917,
ssderra@iastate.edu) |
Daniel F. Voytas |
Iowa State Univ. |
|
9972810
Freshwater Graduate Studies Integrating
Ecology, Hydrology, and Geochemistry in
Regions With Contrasting Climates
www.as.ua.edu/IGERT
(Media contact Cathy Andreen: 205-348-8322,
candreen@ur.ua.edu) |
Amelia K. Ward |
Univ. of Alabama-Tuscaloosa |
|
9972780
Training Program in Manufacturing Logistics
www.lehigh.edu/~inime/igert
(Media contact Kurt Pfitzer: 610-758-3017,
kap4@lehigh.edu) |
S. David Wu |
Lehigh Univ. |
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