Nadine Sarter

Nadine Sarter is the Richard W. Pew Collegiate Professor Emeritus of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan, where she served from 2004 until her retirement in August 2024. She earned her B.S. and M.S. degrees in psychology from the University of Hamburg in 1981 and 1983, respectively, followed by a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from Ohio State University in 1994. Prior to joining Michigan, she held a faculty position at Ohio State University starting in 1999 with joint appointments in industrial, welding, and systems engineering and psychology. Earlier, she was an assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the Institute of Aviation. She also worked in human factors and ergonomics in Germany after her master's degree. At Michigan, Sarter directed the Center for Ergonomics, oversaw the THinC Lab focused on multimodal interfaces, and held affiliations with the Robotics Institute and Department of Aerospace Engineering. She taught courses in cognitive ergonomics and organizational safety and served as Associate Editor for Human Factors.

Sarter's research specializes in human-automation and human-robot interaction, design of tactile and multimodal interfaces, human error and error management, attention and interruption management, and decision support systems, with applications in aviation, military operations, automotive cockpits, medicine, and space operations. Her pioneering contributions include developing tactile displays to enhance safety and multimodal cues to support operators in complex, high-stakes environments. Key publications include 'How in the World Did We Ever Get into That Mode? Mode Error and Awareness in Supervisory Control' (Human Factors, 1995, with D.D. Woods) and 'An Experimental Study of Pilots' Model and Awareness of the Flight Management System' (Situational Awareness, 2017, with D.D. Woods). She received major honors such as election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2019 for innovations in tactile displays for aviation, automobiles, and healthcare; Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society in 2017; appointment to the Richard W. Pew Collegiate Professorship in 2019; election to the National Academies Board on Human-Systems Integration in 2023; and the FAA Excellence in Aviation Research Award in 2012. Her work has significantly influenced human-systems integration and safety-critical interface design across industries.

Professional Email: sarter@umich.edu