Conference: Object Perception, Attention, and Memory meeting

Our daily functioning relies on our ability to recognize objects, control our attention, and encode events in memory, although much is still unknown about these critical mental processes. The Object Perception, Attention, and Memory (OPAM) conference is a nationally-recognized venue for early-career scientists to present cutting-edge research on these very topics, employing a variety of experimental techniques such as behavioral methods, neuroimaging, computational modeling, animal models, and more.

Research on these cognitive processes is essential for developing a better understanding of the human mind and brain, and the OPAM conference has over 30-years of history as a leader in this area. The current project aims to amplify OPAM's impact on the field by broadening who is participating in the meeting, by providing critical networking and career guidance, and by offering easily-accessible professional training.

All of these initiatives are free of charge to the scientific community, and help prepare early-career scientists to study these important topics effectively in the future.

The OPAM conference is held as an affiliate meeting of the Psychonomic Society’s annual conference. The current project increases financial support available for conference presenters, particularly to reach the "missing millions" in STEM. Principal Investigators and conference organizers also engage in a series of outreach efforts to narrow the gap between the demographics of the research community at OPAM and in the cognitive sciences more broadly and the demographics of the whole nation.

A new keynote speaker format has been adopted in which the speaker shares experiences from their early-career stage that will inspire and guide other early-career researchers. A “Lunch with an Expert” event allows attendees to learn about scientific topics and receive career guidance from established experts in a friendly setting. Outside of the conference itself, OPAM hosts online workshops throughout the year, focusing on topics critical to the professional development and technical skill-building of early-career researchers.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.