Understanding speech processing using EEG

Although the application date for this project is past, the project is still ongoing. You may still wish to contact this professor about other ways of getting involved with this work. Please attend an info session or contact email for more information.

For Summer and Fall 2022, the Hamilton Lab at UT Austin is looking to work with a limited number of undergraduate volunteers who are interested in speech processing in the brain using electroencephalography (EEG). This is an in-person opportunity to help with data collection using scalp EEG at the UT Austin campus. This will involve working with young adults with and without different forms of hearing loss or hearing difficulties. Data collection will be performed during normal business hours (selected between 9-5pm M-F). Usually this would translate to 1-3 EEG sessions per week, where each session lasts 2-3 hours including setup and clean up. You will be trained by our team in best practices for EEG data collection. If you choose to participate in this opportunity, you should sign up for Independent Study through SLH378K, UGS 320K, or NEU377. 

If you are interested in this opportunity, please fill out the Volunteering Questionnaire.

This study is led by Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences faculty member Dr. Liberty Hamilton and PhD student Maansi Desai, MA. 

Duties

As a volunteer, you will be expected to:



(1) Spend ~9 hours a week in the lab working on data collection or other research support items. These hours will be scheduled so that research volunteers overlap and can support each other in teams of 2-3. You will also work together with other researchers in the lab, including graduate students and research assistants. We will train you on data collection procedures, with the aim to allow you to gain enough proficiency to run EEG studies with a small group. 



(2) Faithfully attend a ~1 hour weekly lab meeting where we discuss relevant papers and give updates on lab projects



(3) Work collaboratively with others (either Dr. Hamilton directly, graduate students in the lab, research assistants, or other undergraduates)



(4) Be detail-oriented, professional, and tenacious! Research often involves troubleshooting why something went wrong -- don't be afraid to ask questions, but also show initiative and look for answers on your own wherever you can (google is your friend!)



(5) Communicate! Be communicative about your achievements and your failures!  We are all here to help each other to do good work.



(6) Learn a lot and have fun :)

Typical Time Commitment
10
Desired Length of Commitment
At least 1 semester, preferably 2

I'M INTERESTED IN THIS PROJECT. WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT?

The Office of Undergraduate Research recommends that you attend an info session or advising before contacting faculty members or project contacts about research opportunities. We'll cover the steps to get involved, tips for contacting faculty, funding possibilities, and options for course credit. Once you have attended an Office of Undergraduate Research info session or spoken to an advisor, you can use the "Who to contact" details for this project to get in touch with the project leader and express your interest in getting involved.

Have you tried contacting professors and need more help? Schedule an appointment for additional support.