BSOS Joins Multidisciplinary Partners for Brain-Behavior Initiative Workshop

More than 160 faculty members from 50 disciplines across the University of Maryland gathered in the Riggs Alumni Center on Sept. 19 for a full-day Brain-Behavior Initiative Workshop, organized by the Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science (NACS) and the Institute for Systems Research. The event connected multidisciplinary researchers who worked to outline the creation of a boundary-crossing brain-behavior initiative.

Along with NACS, many of the participating units are housed by the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS), including: Hearing and Speech Sciences, the Maryland Neuroimaging Center, Psychology and Sociology. This strong BSOS presence underscores the College’s position at the heart of the brain-behavior field.

Provost Mary Ann Rankin welcomed the participants via video, and three University of Maryland deans—Darryll Pines, Clark School of Engineering; Jayanth Banavar, College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences; and Greg Ball, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences—spent large parts of the day at the event. Representatives from the University of Maryland’s Division of Research and the University of Maryland School of Medicine also were in attendance.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"1319","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"249","style":"width: 250px; height: 173px; margin: 5px; float: left;","width":"360"}}]]The morning featured 80 one-minute presentations by participants who introduced themselves and their research. These exciting presentations were the catalyst for impromptu meet-ups and discussions among faculty who had never before met or had the opportunity to discuss what collaborative ideas might be possible between their areas of research.

In the afternoon, participants worked together in small groups facilitated by staff from the Center for Leadership and Organizational Change. Here, faculty pondered strengths, needs and possibilities for the future. A final plenary session gave everyone the chance to distill what was learned during the day.

Participants remarked how amazed they were at the breadth of brain-behavior related research being done across so many different fields. “Physicists are talking about behavior, engineers are caring about the nervous system—something special is happening here,” remarked Dean Ball at the end of the proceedings.

The initiative is receiving a lot of attention at both the University of Maryland and the University of Maryland Baltimore, noted Dean Pines. In the coming weeks, the initiative’s organizing committee will review and organize the comments, ideas and suggestions from the workshop, and prepare a report and proposal about the initiative for Provost Rankin.

Published on Tue, Sep 23, 2014 - 1:22PM