This conference grant is seeking to bring together researchers working within the field of psychology of deafness who focus on the impact of deafness on cognition. The organizing committee is composed of the PI, Diane Clark from Shippensburg University, Marc Marschark from NTID at RIT, and Michael Karchmer from Gallaudet University. The primary goal of the conference is to facilitate the development of networks among researchers in order to optimally utilize research resources and funding. The conference is structured to encourage discussion about current paradigms and to develop new paradigms involving collaborative teams of researchers. Collaborate interactions are important for interdisciplinary fields as they provide ways to develop programmatic research as well as serve the role of mentoring junior faculty. Three keynote speakers will address the participants, emphasizing issues and related problems. Highly respected individuals within the field have agreed to participate; Marc Marschark, Patricia Siple, and William Stokoe. Each address will be followed by small break-out groups for brainstorming the issues, with the goal of proposing new research agendas. The final session of the conference is a poster session where all participants will present their own research.
