“Leslie, How are you this morning? I am at the U of O helping some people work on this research project about brain dammaged people(folks) relearn somethings that are sometimes difficult!”
Two years ago, this simple e-mail message would have been impossible for Richard Pickering to write. Pickering, a former University art instructor, developed cognitive limitations after his brain was damaged by a tumor, making normal software too complicated for him to operate. But thanks to a simpler e-mail interface developed by a University research team, Pickering can keep in contact with his family and friends and even a pen pal in Africa.
Communication Disorders and Sciences Associate Professor McKay Sohlberg, who headed the team, is just one of 224 principal investigators from the University to earn a record $90.2 million in external research money last year. Computer and Information Science Professor Stephen Fickas worked as a co-principal investigator on the project, which received $450,000 from the National Science Foundation.
Last year’s research funding to the University reflects a 56 percent increase in three years, according to a University release.
Vice President of Research and Graduate Studies Richard Linton said this works out to approximately $150,000 per faculty member.
“The number for the University of Oregon is very competitive with top-ranked universities nationally,” he said.
Linton added that he believed the University’s success in earning research money largely comes from its premier faculty.
“We have a cadre of senior faculty that are very well established and very successful at bringing in funds,” he said, adding that “our younger faculty … has been very successful in attracting external support as well.”
Other factors contributing to last year’s record-breaking figures include declining state funding, which currently makes up about 10 percent of total funding, and the increased budgets of certain federal agencies, Linton said.
Most of the money came from federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Science Foundation.
The University’s research projects range from a study that examines the motor skills of people with traumatic brain injuries to a program in which graduate students help teachers develop marine biology curricula. Many of the projects have a direct impact on the community, such as Sohlberg and Fickas’ project.
Fickas and Sohlberg’s team started the project three years ago when they received a $1.5-million U.S. Department of Education grant. Their goal was to develop e-mail software that could be used by people who suffer from brain damage and have cognitive disabilities. These people often have severe short-term memory loss and vision problems.
“We needed a system where they wouldn’t have to rely on their memory,” Sohlberg said.
Graduate Research Fellow Jim Allen helped develop the interface for the program.
“One of the guiding principles in the design is that you can’t have anything hidden,” he said.
Fickas said that in developing the software, the main glitch was that it was too complicated for the test subjects to use.
“I have the same problem
with the software I use,” he said, somewhat comically. “It’s much too complicated.”
The new interface features a “buddy list,” complete with the names and photos of people the user can correspond with via e-mail. The only other item on the interface is the space where one can write the messages.
Such a program could have a huge impact on people with cognitive disorders because it can help prevent the social isolation that often comes with their disabilities, said Sohlberg.
“Because of disorders they may acquire, it sometimes happens that their friends drop out,” she added. “Our theory is that it would keep them socially connected.”
For Richard Pickering, this has most certainly been the case. Not only has he kept in touch with friends and family, he has also reconnected with his half brother, whom he had not spoken to in many years. He also keeps in touch with people from the project.
Pickering added that he enjoyed the challenge of learning to use the e-mail interface. Even with his disabilities, he seems to have maintained his voracious appetite for learning. He reminisced briefly about his days as a ceramics instructor.
“I always felt like I was one of my own students and there were twenty teachers,” he said.
Pickering said he is optimistic about his progress and looks forward to learning how to use regular software someday.
“It seems important to me to see it as an opportunity, not as a frustration,” he said.
Linton praised the project.
“It is a wonderful example of UO innovation that explores the applications of technology to enhance the quality of life, in this instance for those that may suffer difficulties in memory, attention, and communication,” he said in an e-mail.
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