CSNE is bound for D.C.

Mary Guiden

Washington D.C. Tidal Basin cherry trees, USDA photo by Scott Bauer A group of us is heading to Washington, D.C. this weekend. We'll meet up with researchers and staff from other Engineering Research Centers at our biennial meeting, hosted by the National Science Foundation. Researchers from our partner organizations, MIT and San Diego State University, will join us.

We'll also be reconnected with our director, Rajesh Rao, who has spent the last several months in India on a Fulbright grant.

We'll hear from NSF leaders, including Dr. Keith Roper, leader of the ERC program. We'll take part in several poster sessions, highlighting our education efforts to train "tomorrow's leaders" and our research efforts, including our work with industry and exploring neuroethics.  Administrative directors will meet to discuss sustainability, since all ERCs are charged with becoming self-sustaining as they age. Center directors will lead a discussion about common issues that we all face

Following the ERC confab, we have a few meetings with congressional staffers on Capitol Hill. I'm looking forward to those visits, meeting NSF staff that I know only through email, and learning about what other centers are working on as well as best practices.

The Student Perfect Pitch competition takes place on the first day, with winners announced on Tuesday. Elle O'Brien, graduate student in Neurobiology and Behavior, will represent our center in the competition. She was recently interviewed by KUOW; the story will run after we know who wins and will focus on the importance of being able to explain very complicated topics in a simple way. 

And from what I've seen, the weather looks to be beautiful - 77 degrees and sunny on Tuesday. I thought the accompanying photo was appropriate, though we won't see the cherry blossoms.