Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of New Hampshire, under the National Science Foundation's Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences program (CFDA 47.075), received a $511,753 Project Grant awarded July 15, 2026, with completion targeted for June 30, 2029. The grant funds research investigating how the human brain learns to categorize information when exposed to multisensory stimuli—combining auditory, visual, and integrated sensory inputs. The research delivers controlled human experiments and behavioral data analysis designed to identify when multisensory experience strengthens category learning versus when it creates interference or distraction. The deliverables include empirical findings and theoretical insights comparing unisensory and multisensory learning processes using Bayesian analytical approaches, with outcomes intended to directly advance understanding of two competing cognitive mechanisms: multisensory integration and encoding variability.

The research outputs are designed to produce practical applications informing more effective educational and workplace training practices, while simultaneously generating findings applicable to artificial intelligence system development. By examining category learning in naturalistic multisensory environments—rather than restricting analysis to single sensory modalities as prior research has done—the project addresses a fundamental gap in cognitive science understanding and contributes foundational knowledge to the NSF's Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences portfolio. The research was conducted at the University of New Hampshire's facilities in Lee, New Hampshire.