CSC News

May 18, 2011

NSF Provides Supplement for Young's Research

Dr. R. Michael Young, associate professor of computer science at NC State University, has been awarded $16,000 in supplemental funding by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his research proposal titled “Plan-Based Models of Narrative Structure for Virtual Environments.” The award specifically supports undergraduate research assistants to work on the CIRCUS project, an effort lead by Young targeting the development of computational models of conflict and intentionality in narratives.  The funds will support the salaries of two undergrads that will be working on the CIRCUS team during the 2011-2012 academic year.

NSF is providing these funds as part of their Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. The REU program seeks to expand student participation in all kinds of research - whether disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or educational in focus - encompassing efforts by individual investigators, groups, centers, national facilities, and others.  The program seeks to attract a diversified pool of talented students into careers in science and engineering and to help ensure that they receive the best education possible.  This supplement will bring the number of undergraduates that Young has supported in REU programs to 26, and brings the total funding for this project to $513,860. The award runs through August 31, 2012.

Abstract - An increasing number of applications are set within narrative-oriented 3D virtual worlds. Current research on the generation of activities within these worlds holds the promise of tailored experiences customized to individual user’s needs. The work described in this project seeks to expand the computational models of narrative being used to AI researchers, specifically to explore formal, plan-based models of actions to create stories that demonstrate complex conflict, rising action, dynamism and intentionality. The work will proceed both formally and empirically, with models being developed motivated by work from narrative theory and cognitive psychology and evaluated using experimental methods.
 
For more information on Dr. Young, click here.
 
~coates~

 

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