[5] Sarter earned bachelor's and master's degree in psychology at the University of Hamburg in Germany, in 1981 and 1983 respectively.
[6] She worked in human factors and ergonomics in Germany for several years before emigrating to the US with her husband,[3] psychologist Martin Sarter,[4] and returning to graduate study in engineering.
[3] She completed a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering at Ohio State University in 1994,[6] under the supervision of David Woods.
[6][4] Sarter is a coauthor of the book Behind Human Error (Ashgate, 2011),[7] and a coeditor of Cognitive Engineering in the Aviation Domain (CRC Press, 2020).
[9] She was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2019 in recognition of her "innovation in the design and use of tactile displays for improved safety in aviation, automobiles, and healthcare".