.::::. A VUELO DE UN QUINDE® - EL BLOG !!!!! .::::.: nsf.gov - National Science Foundation - National Science Foundation is dedicated to support for The BRAIN Initiative

Hola amigos: A VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., la Fundación Nacional de Ciencia de Los Estados Unidos, empeñado en : "La Iniciativa BRAIN: sostiene que ..:" es verdaderamente un esfuerzo emocionante y potencialmente cambia el juego para desbloquear los secretos de uno de los misterios más perdurables de la humanidad", dijo el director de NSF France Córdova, quien habló en el evento. "En última instancia, nuestras inversiones en descubrimiento cerebro transformarán nuestra visión de quiénes somos, cómo nos relacionamos con los demás y cómo nos relacionamos con nuestro entorno siempre cambiante."

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=132882&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click

During a White House conference, NSF encourages new partnerships and announces a new funding opportunity to advance fundamental brain research

NSF awarded $10.8 million in early-concept grants for brain research in August.
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September 30, 2014

Today the White House announced its continued support for The BRAIN Initiative and revealed new commitments from non-federal agencies as part of the call to action to advance brain research. Government leaders also highlighted the progress that has been made since the initiative was first announced on April 2, 2013.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded approximately $20 million in BRAIN-related projects and activities in fiscal year 2014. This included the recently awarded 36 Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research to enable new technologies to better understand how complex behaviors emerge from the activity of brain circuits.

"The BRAIN Initiative is truly an exciting and potentially game-changing effort to unlock the secrets of one of humankind's most enduring mysteries," said NSF Director France Córdova, who spoke at the event. "Ultimately, our investments in brain discovery will transform our view of who we are, how we relate to one another and how we interact with our ever-changing environment."

Today, as part of The BRAIN Initiative, NSF announced a new funding opportunity to support transformative and integrative research to accelerate our understanding of neural and cognitive systems. The competition focuses on two research themes: neuroengineering and brain-inspired concepts and designs, and individuality and variation--the first of which is one of NSF's key BRAIN thematic areas.

The program will support 15 to 25 grants for up to $12 million in total for fiscal year 2015.

NSF also announced the intention to expand its Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) program to encourage new industry-university partnerships as part of The BRAIN Initiative. The I/UCRC program has fostered long-term partnerships among academe, industry and government in various technology sectors via these centers for more than 30 years.

For these centers, NSF serves as catalyst to bring together different parties with mutual interests in specific fields to advance research and economic potential.

In a letter to the research community, NSF underscored the need for new collaborations to focus on identification of links between brain structure and function.

NSF plans to engage the neuroscience community in the coming year with several more activities--such as a BRAIN-focused "ideas lab," an intensive workshop focused on finding innovative solutions to grand challenges.

"NSF has proposed to significantly increase our investments in new interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and workforce development, as well as exploration of brain-inspired technologies, novel materials and components, and advanced manufacturing techniques," said Joanne Tornow, deputy assistant director for NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences, who also spoke at the event.

Advancing great brain science

NSF is one of three federal agencies, along with the National Institutes of Health and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, with significant investments in brain research that helped to jumpstart The BRAIN Initiative.

While BRAIN began as a largely government-supported initiative, more private sector and academic institutions have become involved.

Today's event included commitment statements from new federal agency partners such as the Food and Drug Administration and Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, as well as from a wide range of industrial, private and academic partners to advance the initiative's long-term goals--the development of new neurotechnologies that will help researchers better understand how the brain works.

"We fully support the president's call for private sector companies, research universities, foundations and philanthropies to partner with government agencies in pursuing the BRAIN Initiative," Tornow said. "We must leverage all of our collective resources and skills to pursue this daunting scientific and technological challenge."

Other NSF-funded BRAIN-related activities in fiscal year 2014 included a series of workshops sponsored by multiple scientific directorates, and multiple awards from core programs across the foundation. The MIT-based Science and Technology Center for Brains, Minds and Machines was also established in 2014.

Visit NSF.gov/brain for more information about NSF's support for The BRAIN Initiative.

-NSF-

Media Contacts Sarah Bates, NSF, (703) 292-7738, sabates@nsf.gov
Lily Whiteman, NSF, (703) 292-8070, lwhitema@nsf.gov

Related WebsitesUnderstanding the Brain:

http://www.nsf.gov/brain
NSF BRAIN Initiative YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/NSFbraininitiative
Brain power: Bright ideas and smart tools for neuroengineering:

http://nsf.gov/brainpower
White House BRAIN Fact Sheet:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/04/02/fact-sheet-brain-initiative
NIH BRAIN website:

http://www.nih.gov/science/brain/

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2014, its budget is $7.2 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly.