Kurt Thoroughman, PhD
Faculty Fellow for Research Development, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Kurt Thoroughman is an Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering. He reverse engineers the human brain, using robotics, virtual reality, psychology, and computational modeling. His research team discovered ways that learning itself can be shaped by recent experience. He also led the interdisciplinary neuroscience training program Cognitive, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience, then directed undergraduate education for at the department and school. He researched and developed holistic learning and diversification of educational systems, locally and through national consortia.
Dr. Thoroughman recently rotated to the National Science Foundation, where he served as Program Director for Cognitive Neuroscience and for Science of Learning. He led interdisciplinary neuroscience solicitations and organized merit review for behavioral, cognitive, biology, engineering, and educational research. He served as a program officer for NSF INCLUDES, to improve STEM diversity and inclusion on a national scale.
Dr. Thoroughman newly serves as a Faculty Fellow for Research Development. He builds connections, between faculty and appropriate funding organizations; across departments and schools; and to research partners, locally and nationally. He aspires to grow research funding and to expand the depth and breadth of our research activity.
