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 doctorate-granting 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 cross-disciplinary 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 programs-- developed by the awardee institutions--in 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 non-academic 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.
Editors: For more details about IGERT see: http://www.nsf.gov/igert/
Attachment: List of Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training Grants
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 | Title | Website |
9972804 | Daniel L. Akins | City Univ. of N.Y. | Nanostructural Materials and Devices | www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/~casi/igert |
(Media contact Charles DeCicco: 212-650-7577, prdcc@cunyvm.cuny.edu ) | ||||
9972759 | Susan L. Brantley | Penn. State Univ. | Biogeochemical Research Initiative for Education | www.essc.psu.edu/BRIE |
(Media contact Andrea Messer: 814-865-9481, aem1@psu.edu ) | ||||
9972762 | Kathleen M. Carley | Carnegie Mellon Univ. | 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 ) | ||||
9972752 | Mariesa L. Crow | Univ. of Missouri-Rolla | Variable Speed Electromechanical Drive Systems | www.ece.umr.edu/~igert |
(Media contact Andrew Careaga: 573-341-4183, acareaga@umr.edu ) | ||||
9972776 | M. David Curtis | Univ. of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Molecularly Designed Electronic, Photonic, and Nanostructural Materials | www.umich.edu/~mater/igert.html |
(Media contact Sally Pobojewski: 734-647-1844, pobo@umich.edu ) | ||||
9972824 | David M. Dooley | Montana State Univ. | 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 ) | ||||
9972790 | Ian Harrison | Univ. of Virginia | Science and Engineering of Laser Interactions With Matter | www.virginia.edu/chem/IGERT/SELIM/ |
(Media contact Fariss Samarrai: 804-924-3778, samarrai@virginia.edu ) | ||||
9972756 | Eve Marder | Brandeis Univ. | Quantitative Approaches to Neuroscience: From Molecules to Behavior | www.bio.brandeis.edu/IGERT |
(Media contact Steve Bradt: 781-736-4203, bradt@brandeis.edu ) | ||||
9972741 | Alexandra Navrotsky | Univ. of Calif.-Davis | Nanophases in the Environment, Agriculture, and Technology | mri.ucdavis.edu/IGERT/igert.htm |
(Media contact Sylvia Wright: 530-752-7704, swright@ucdavis.edu ) | ||||
9972823 | Jeremiah P. Ostriker | Princeton Univ. | Program in Integrated Environment, Agriculture, and Technology | www.cs.princeton.edu/picasso |
(Media contact Steve Schultz: 609-258-5729, sschultz@princeton.edu ) | ||||
9972770 | Nicholas A. Peppas | Purdue Univ. | 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 ) | ||||
9972817 | James N. Petersen | Washington State Univ. | 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 ) | ||||
9972830 | John H. Postlethwait | Univ. of Oregon | Integrated Training in the Evolution of Development | evodevo.uoregon.edu |
(Media contact Ross West: 541-346-2060, rwest@oregon.uoregon.edu ) | ||||
9972747 | Roy E. Ritzmann | Case Western Reserve Univ. | Training Program in Neuro-mechanical Systems | |
(Media contact Susan Griffith: 216-368-1004, sbg4@po.cwru.edu ) | ||||
9972820 | JLeonard W. Schaper, Jr. | Univ. of Arkansas | Electronic Education, High Performance Miniaturized Electronic Devices | www.uark.edu/depts/microep |
(Media contact Allison Hogge: 501-575-5555, alhogge@comp.uark.edu ) | ||||
9972807 | Paul Smolensky | Johns Hopkins Univ. | 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 ) | ||||
9972803 | James A. Teeri | Univ. of Mich.-Ann Arbor | Biosphere-Atmosphere Research and Training | www.wmich.edu/bart |
(Media contact Sally Pobojewski: 734-647-1844, pobo@umich.edu ) | ||||
9972802 | Allan J. Tobin | Univ. of Calif.-Los Angeles | NeuroEngineering Training Program | www.medsch.ucla.edu/som/bri/neuroeng.htm |
(Media contact Warren Robak: 310-794-2271, warrenr@support.ucla.edu ) | ||||
9972653 | Daniel F. Voytas | Iowa State Univ. | Computational Molecular Biology Training Group | www.grad-college.iastate.edu/bioinformatics |
(Media contact Skip Derra: 515-294-4917, ssderra@iastate.edu ) | ||||
9972810 | Amelia K. Ward | Univ. of Alabama-Tuscaloosa | Freshwater Graduate Studies Integrating Ecology, Hydrology, and Geochemistry in Regions With Contrasting Climates | www.as.ua.edu |
(Media contact Cathy Andreen: 205-348-8322, candreen@ur.ua.edu ) | ||||
9972780 | S. David Wu | Lehigh Univ. | Training Program in Manufacturing Logistics | www.lehigh.edu/~inime/igert |
(Media contact Kurt Pfitzer: 610-758-3017, kap4@lehigh.edu ) |