What does DeLTA do?

Got an Idea?

DeLTA's activities are driven by our members! If you've got an idea, we've got resources, connections and an engaged audience. Get in touch with us today and let's discuss.

delta-center@uiowa.edu

DeLTA is first and foremost a scholarly center. We promote interactions between basic and applied researchers, help to training and develop the next generation of collaborative scientists, and actively engage with community partners. To achieve this mission, we:

Sponsor internal and external speakers for interdisciplinary colloquia and in depth round table discussions.
Support interdisciplinary research by our trainees that seek to bridge labs or integrate exciting ideas.
Offer grants to support community engaged research.
Sponsor innovative and exciting "extracurricular" activities like Bold Assertion Night, and Developmental Speed Dates.

DeLTA is a hub that helps break down walls and build bridges among departments, scientists and studies. We

Help like-minded researchers find each other
Directly support hiring and retaining interdisciplinary developmental and learning scientists.
Offering an intellectual community for students and trainees to hone their ideas and their skills.

DeLTA Engages: Roundtables

DeLTA members are uniquely committed to engagement. External speakers come to present their best and most exciting work. And then... the roundtable.

The next day, DeLTA members sit around for an hour and a half with the speaker... and just talk. Questions, answers, debates and exploration. Its a new and old model of scientific engagement. Come join us!

DeLTA Creates

DeLTA is a hub, bringing together like minded scientists from throughout campus to exchange ideas and build a more robust science.

Every so often, those ideas gel into something bigger than any one lab. The result: amazing intellectual products. Together, we've written papers, sponsored webinars and edited special sections.

Got something in the works? Let us know so we can feature it here.

Child and adult undergoing simultaneous brain imaging while reading a book

DeLTA Discovers

DeLTA member labs come from many fields and work on every area of developmental and learning science, with anything that develops, using every conceivable method to advance discovery in both basic and applied science.

Infants, Children, Adults and Aging
Non-human animals
Eye-tracking, MRI, fNIRs, EEG, Electrophysology, Psychological Methods
Motor control, Language, Vision, Audition, Spatial Awareness, Mathematics, Cognitive Control, Behavioral Regulation, Learning and Teaching, Reading
Cognitive Psychology, Clinical Science, Speech Pathology, Audiology, Neuroscience, Education, Computer Science and Psychiatry
Developmental Language Disorder, Speech Sound Disorder, Movement Disorders, Hearing Loss, Dyslexia

DeLTA Challenges: Bold Assertions

DeLTA members challenge each other to think new, think differently and think big. This happens at our roundtables and regular meetings. But the heart of this challenge is Bold Assertion Night.

DeLTA members gather over snacks and drinks to think together about challenging problem. One or two people make a bold assertion and defend it. Then comes the discussion. No slides, no movies, and no holds barred.

Got a bold assertion? Let us know.

DeLTA Supports: Interdisciplinary Grants

Each year, DeLTA funds small grants to our student and post-doctoral members. Grants are intended to support exciting work on learning and development that bridges two labs, two fields, or two big ideas!

Grants are reviewed by the students using the NIH model. This proivdes an incredible learning experience for both applicants and reviewers.

To learn more:

Check out our most recent Call for Proposals.
Read about some of the amazing work that has being funded.

DeLTA Develops Faculty and Students

DeLTAs mission is to help develop and nurture developmental scientists... both senior and junior. To do this:

We provide an intellectual home for developemntal and learning scientists from throughout campus.
Provide innovative programing for students to make new connections, learn new skills and engage with the science.
Participate in recruitment and retention of new faculty and students. Let us help you tell the story of what an amazing intellectual environment this is.