Cognitive, Neural, and Social S&T Division (Code 342)

Core Program Areas

The Cognitive, Neural and Social Science and Technology (CNS S&T) Division's programs invoke three principal areas of scientific discovery and invention in support of several technological product lines. The Division's three program areas are 1) Cognitive science, 2) Computational neuroscience, neural engineering and biorobotics, and 3) Social and organizational science. Social Science is related to (but not derivable from) Cognitive Science, just as Cognitive Science is constrained and supported by Neuroscience. Cognitive, Neural and Social Science and Technology are seen as an interdependent and mutually supporting hierarchy. In all three core areas of discovery and invention, ONR programs have been distinguished by their computational approaches.

Cognitive Science

Computational Neuroscience

The second scientific program area, implements a reverse-engineering approach to discover novel design principles using neural information-processing architectures, strategies and mechanisms. Our objective in neuroscience is an understanding of the brain and of the neural bases of training and cognition. The direct technological products of this discipline are human enhancements (e.g., speech translators, prostheses, remotely-piloted vehicles) and human substitutes (e.g., autonomous vehicles, detector/classifiers, and monitoring and self-organizing systems).

Social Science

Selected CNS Technology Products

In addition to its reputation as a leader in support of scientific research in the cognitive, neural and social sciences, the Division has an enviable record of providing technology products to its constituency. The CNS S&T Division at ONR is part of the Human Systems S&T Department. The Department supports the S&T needs of Navy and Marine Corps human systems leadership.

In 1996, the Division won the first Bisson Award for excellence in technology transition to the operating forces. That first award was for a sonar training system, IMAT. It also won the most recent Bisson Award, for Virtual At Sea Training, a substitute for training ranges such as Vieques. The Division conducted the now-famous team-training and information-display technology-development program titled TADMUS, Tactical Decision Making Under Stress. TADMUS became of concern after the Vincennes incident in 1988. The training technologies resulting from TADMUS have revolutionized Navy team training, especially for air defense. A third Bisson Award came to the Division for training technology developed during the TADMUS project. Support by this Division for Daniel Kahneman resulted in his Nobel Prize award for Prospect Theory. This is an example of cognitive science powered by ONR.

Not all the Division's projects have won awards, but nonetheless many have created significant value. The information display technologies spawned by TADMUS have fundamentally changed deployed naval command and control systems. These command, control, communication and intelligence concepts transitioned by CNS S&T Division are also reflected in plans for Air Force, White House and other systems for similar purposes. The Division's Smart Ship concepts have provided rational approaches to reduced manning aboard Navy ships. A Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative on Computer-Based Tutorial Dialogue shows promise of making all sailors and marines above average, with improvements to schoolhouse training and training embedded in deployed systems. Walking, flying and swimming robots have been developed by the Division. Neurally-inspired concepts transitioned from CNS S&T Division are in use by operational forces for purposes such as two-way voice-to-voice translation, multi-spectral low-light vision enhancement, and control of autonomous and remotely-piloted vehicles .

Current Research Interests