[vslist] NSF-IGERT graduate training in Visual Cognition

Tue Oct 22 11:44:01 2002

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NSF-IGERT graduate training in Visual Cognition 
Michigan State University 
 
The Cognitive Science Program at Michigan State University is seeking
graduate student applicants for an NSF-funded Integrated Graduate
Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. The focus of the MSU
IGERT program is the integrated, interdisciplinary study of cognition in
humans, animals, and intelligent machines. We offer trainees
opportunities to pursue a range of research topics including visual
cognition, language, spatial navigation, memory, attention, and executive
control. The program stresses the integration of computational modeling
with the empirical study of human and animal systems. The IGERT program
complements and extends the degree programs provided within students'
home disciplines in Psychology, Computer Science, Zoology, and
Linguistics. 
 
Students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. with a concentration in Visual
Cognition are strongly encouraged to apply. Current research in visual
cognition focuses on face, object, and scene recognition, visual memory,
and spatial navigation, and combines behavioral and psychophysical
methods, eyetracking, functional neuroimaging, computational modeling,
and hardware implementation. Participating laboratories include the
Visual Cognition Lab
(<a href=3D"http://eyelab.msu.edu/" eudora=3D"autourl">http://eyelab.msu.edu=
/</a>),
the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, the Computational Cognitive
Vision Lab
(<a href=3D"http://www.msu.edu/~aoliva/" eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.msu.e=
du/~aoliva/</a>),
the Face and Scene Processing Lab
(<a href=3D"http://www.cogsci.msu.edu/fasp/" eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.c=
ogsci.msu.edu/fasp/</a>),
and the Sequential Information Gathering in Machines and Animals (SIGMA)
Lab
(<a href=3D"http://www.cogsci.msu.edu/sigma/" eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.=
cogsci.msu.edu/sigma/</a>).
Facilities include two table-mounted eyetrackers and two portable
free-movement eyetrackers; 1.5 and 3.0 Tesla magnets for fMRI; PC, Mac,
and Sun workstations for image processing, stimulus construction, data
collection and analysis, and computational modeling; two
software-controlled pan-tilt cameras for artificial gaze control studies;
stereo glasses for 3D scene perception; and image capture hardware and
software. Additional facilities on campus include the Pattern Recognition
and Image Processing Lab in the Department of&nbsp; Computer Science
(<a href=3D"http://www.cse.msu.edu/rgroups/prip/" eudora=3D"autourl">http://=
www.cse.msu.edu/rgroups/prip/</a>)
and the VR Lab
(<a href=3D"http://www.mindlab.org/"=
 eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.mindlab.org/</a>). 
 
NSF-IGERT Trainees are awarded a generous support package consisting of a
yearly stipend for 5 years, tuition waiver, and health benefits. Trainees
are also eligible for research and travel funds to supplement resources
available through their home departments and their advisors' labs.
Michigan State University has recently made a major commitment to
cognitive science, including additional faculty lines, graduate student
stipends and research funds, and dedicated office and lab space for the
IGERT program. Opportunities are also available for post-docs. Further
information about the NSF-IGERT program can be found at:
<a href=3D"http://www.cogsci.msu.edu/IGERT/" eudora=3D"autourl">http://www.cogsci.msu.edu/IGERT/</a>.
 
 
Students interested in studying visual cognition as an NSF-IGERT Trainee
should contact John Henderson (john@eyelab.msu.edu), Aude Oliva
(aoliva@msu.edu), or Fred Dyer (fcdyer@msu.edu) for additional
information. 
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