O'Neil at Digital Humanities Conference

Dr. Maryvelma O’Neil, GCP faculty at Webster, Geneva, participated in the first workshop of The Summer Institute on Objects, Places, and the Digital Humanities at the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina from 19-23 June 2017. Participants focused on using digital tools to research the humanities in a new way, and delved into the theory and practice of digital work for topics in art, architecture, urban history or material culture. “Hands-on” training introduced digital tools for geospatial mapping, 3D modeling, photogrammetry, as well as data collection and visualization.

An unforgettable highlight of the week was the visit to the Duke University immersive Visual Reality Environment, a research and education facility dedicated to exploring techniques of immersion and interaction. Dr. O’Neil, pictured outside the six-sided DiVE cube, was provided with a special wand and goggles to enter the immersive 3-D world of digitally created spaces - an ancient Roman villa, a medieval church, a neuro-chemical pathway. Virtual reality offers extraordinary opportunities in the fields of teaching, learning, and research.