PLANETARY TOOLBOX
Dr. Steven A. Hauck, II, the chair of CWRU's Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences was also a Participating Scientist on the MESSENGER Mission to Mercury. During his work with NASA, he was able to collect high resolution topographical data that is now visible as a hologram.
Meet the
IC Fellows
Our first IC Fellows Cohort members come from wide-ranging fields of the university – from art history to macromolecular science.
LAURA BRUCKMAN PhD
Department of Materials Science & Engineering (CSE)
3-D DataViz
A tool that displays data visualizations in 3-D as they are coded live from a web-based platform.
MAGGIE POPKIN PhD
Department of Art History & Art (CAS)
Sanctuary of the Great Gods at Samothrace
A holographic reconstruction of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods at Samothrace in Greece.
MICHAEL HORE PhD
Department of Macromolecular Science & Engineering (CSE)
HoloPolymer
A 3-D visualization of a polymer chain with encoded dynamic calculations of its movement and flexibility.
3-D Symmetry
An interactive 3-D symmetry game. Users place balls onto a grid to satisfy different symmetry conditions.
MICHAEL MARTENS PhD
Department of Physics (CAS)
Physics Playground
A multi-part interactive experimental space where analog instruments display holographic forces.
STEVEN A. HAUCK, II PhD
Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences (CAS)
Planetary Toolbox
A 3-D visualization of the planets in our solar system including planetary motion and topographic maps.
TIFFANY MCNAMARA MBA
Sears think[box]; Department of Design & Innovation (WSM)
Creativity Engine
A collaborative mixed reality module whereby students move from an abstract creative process to prototyping.
SUDHA CHAKRAPANI PhD
Department of Physiology & Biophysics (SOM); Cleveland Center for Membrane & Structural Biology
HoloMolecule
A 3-D nanoscale viewer of any molecule and its cryo-electron microscopy map for research into drug binding.
SANCTUARY OF THE GREAT GODS AT SAMOTHRACE
Dr. Maggie Popkin has spent many summers at the archeological site of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods at Samothrace, Greece. Now she is able to bring her students along by walking them through the reconstructed model of the site as it looked thousands of years ago.
IC Fellows
Cohort
We are looking to our brilliant and diverse community for the next big idea in mixed reality for higher education.
The IC Fellow Cohort is designed for instructors at CWRU who want to build their own mixed reality apps to use in class, under the mentorship of the IC and TLT. There is no fee to participate and the group is limited to eight members.
The cohort meets weekly for lunch and covers a variety of topics about the transition to teaching in 3-D. Each IC Fellow will create a storyboard and class plan, which will ideally be fully developed and launched the following academic year.
Mixed reality can be an effective tool in both the humanties and sciences. The IC has developed applications for classics, dance, art history, physics, anatomy, crystallography, and more. Check out our projects page to see what else we've done.
Grow your
idea
Here are some thoughts on the benefits of mixed reality as a teaching tool, and how to make a great class in MR.
Mixed reality: the integration of digital content superimposed onto our real-world environment as holograms. Users continue to see the people and the room around them, the 3-D object(s), and remotely-connected users.
Microsoft's HoloLens: a standalone holographic computer that users wear on their heads to experience 3-D content. The IC is Microsoft's premier partner for developing mixed reality applications for higher education.
First, it's important to play to the technology's strengths. One of the most impactful features of mixed reality is its capacity to show the invisible (e.g., the structure of an atom, the subterranean environment of the Earth, or a building located thousands of miles away.)
Professor Mike Martens using mixed reality to teach electromagnetism.
Second, it's important for mixed reality classes to be shared experiences, where everyone sees the same thing in the same place at the same time. This allows for active and natural collaboration, discussion, and discovery — just like in a great, traditional learning environment.
Medical students using HoloAnatomy® Software at the CWRU SOM.
Third, this is an Active Learning tool, not a 3-D chalkboard. Mixed reality classes work best when students and instructors are together, standing up and moving around to explore the holograms’ breadth, depth, relationships, and interiors. Chairs should be pushed aside.
Dr. Martin Nweeia's Narwhal exhibit that was featured at the Smithsonian.
Future
of learning
Connected. Accessible. Fast. Seamless. Physical. Interdisciplinary. Empathetic. Exploratory. Visual.
We believe that shared experiences are transformative.
