
Welcome to the home page of the NSF-NRT Graduate Training Program in Sensory Science website!
This was a grant that ran from 2018 to 2023. This website was designed to connect the broader community in Minnesota with the research and science outreach conducted by the graduate students who were a part of the training program, as well as to advertise the program to interested students. Below, you can learn about the key details of our training program and see our social media feed. Elsewhere on the site, you can learn more about our curriculum, our membership, and our outreach events. You can also listen to our podcast!
Interdisciplinary research opportunities for members of the University in the field of sensory science remain available through the Center for Applied and Translational Sensory Science (CATSS). Please visit the CATSS website for more details.
What was NRT @ UMN?
NRT was short for the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship. NRT was a grant program administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) which aimed to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate students pursuing cutting-edge, interdisciplinary science. NRT @ UMN is short for the NSF-NRT Graduate Training Program in Sensory Science at the University of Minnesota, a training program at the University that was funded through the NRT grant up until 2023.
What did NRT @ UMN do?
NRT @ UMN was a multidisciplinary training program designed to support graduate students at the University of Minnesota who wanted to study translational sensory science. These students sought to combine basic sensory science (i.e., vision, hearing, motor control, and speech research) with cutting-edge technical expertise (e.g., programming, engineering, statistics) to apply sensory science to solve real-life problems like vision loss, hearing loss, and vestibular dysfunction.
Our trainees came from many departments at the University of Minnesota, including psychology, speech and hearing, engineering, computer science, neuroscience, and kinesiology. The trainees supplemented their regular coursework with a unified set of courses related to sensory science and its applications. They also attended regular seminars and workshops, developed research collaborations, and participated in science outreach events to connect with the broader Minnesota community.
Who was able to be a part of NRT @ UMN?
Everyone, in different ways. Graduate students at the University of Minnesota were able to attend our public events and take the affiliated classes, and those who were eligible (see the Apply for funding page for criteria) could apply to join our trainee cohort. Members of the community were able to attend our outreach events and get in touch with us about ways to help the program and collaborate.
How to get involved with interdisciplinary research following the end of NRT @ UMN?
Now that the program has ended, it is no longer possible to get involved with NRT @ UMN. However, you can still get involved with CATSS by attending our center events such as our annual Fall Symposium, our annual Spring Research Day, or one of our invited guest talks. See the CATSS events page for upcoming and past events!
Where was NRT @ UMN located?
Members of the NRT trainee cohort were located all over the University of Minnesota campus, but most of our activities took place at the Center for Translational and Sensory Science Research (CATSS). CATSS is a research center located in Elliott Hall on the East Bank of the UMN Twin Cities campus. CATSS focuses on translating basic research in sensory science to real-life problems like hearing and vision loss. The facilities at CATSS include multiple soundproof booths for audiovisual experiments, EEG systems for measuring brain responses, and more.
