The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT) program recently awarded 17 projects, totaling $51 million, to develop and implement graduate education traineeship models in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The awards will help train the next generation of scientific leaders to develop the skills necessary to tackle complex societal problems.
"Innovative approaches are vital to transforming STEM graduate education," said Jim Lewis, acting assistant director for NSF's Education and Human Resources Directorate. "By supporting approaches that utilize evidence-based learning practices, immersing students in interdisciplinary research and providing students with opportunities to develop career-aligned skillsets, NRT projects are helping change the landscape of graduate education and better prepare future STEM scientists for diverse careers."
The NRT program aligns with NSF's 10 Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments : 10, bold process ideas that identify areas for future NSF investment at the frontiers of science and engineering. Three NRT awards target Big Ideas research focused on Harnessing the Data Revolution , and three awards focus on the Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier .
The awards also cover other areas of national importance. Seven funded projects focus on Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems . Notably, broadening participation strategies for six of the awardees utilize links with NSF INCLUDES projects.
Additionally, the awards promote convergent research by addressing complex challenges facing society that require expertise and perspectives from multiple disciplines and stakeholders. NRT projects train students to work in these convergent spaces. Examples of specific areas of research include: integrating technology and computational approaches at the nexus of food, energy and water systems; building stakeholder-engaged natural resources management approaches; increasing the resiliency of rural areas and agricultural systems; designing user-centered, smart engineering solutions; and fostering discovery and innovation in cyber-physical systems.
Titles, principal investigators and institutions for the new NRT awards are:
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