Projects and Grants per year
Grants and Contracts Details
Description
We request funds for 8 undergraduate students to engage in field and laboratory work
that will prepare EduceLab for its ultimate commissioning as a Heritage Science user
facility. EduceLab consists of four operational clusters – BENCH, MOBILE, FLEX, and
CYBER – each of which will provide unique scientific and technical capabilities for
studies in Heritage Science. Students will participate in activities designed to test the
usage, integration, and synergy of the four clusters under development.
MOBILE (1 Student)
Workflow Development The student will work with Co-I Bailey the workflow required to
merge magnetometer, ground penetrating radar, lidar and photogrammetry surveys of
the same area to produce geo-referenced imagery characterizing the surface and
subsurface topography of an area of interest. These data sets will be acquired using
fixed wing and rotorcraft uncrewed aerial vehicles, conducting surveys using different
instruments which each use proprietary software to process data for the user. The
objective of the work will be to identify tools and resources which can be used to
integrate these disparate data types into a single navigable data set which can be used
to connect and identify signatures produced by features of interest. In addition, students
will build initial datasets for use in training other personnel within Educe Lab. This will
include personnel of different backgrounds ranging from archaeology and anthropology
to computer science and engineering.
BENCH (2 Students)
Equipment Integration and Data Synthesis Students will engage in the development
of additional capabilities that leverage recently acquired instrumentation within the
BENCH cluster of EduceLab. Both students will focus on the complementarity of
available techniques within the BENCH cluster as applied to a variety of samples
between the projects. The first student will focus on image acquisition and processing at
multiple length scales, primarily using optical and electron microscopy focused on
archaeological mussel shells derived from several sights within the Green River Valley of
Kentucky. Growth and chemical variability across the shell band structure will be
investigated as markers of environmental conditions at the time of shell growth. Optical
imaging as well as electron-based imaging will be used to measure growth band widths.
Composition of the shell will be analyzed using EDS and XRF techniques. Sample
preparation techniques for the study of shell cross-sections will also be emphasized.
Instrumental capabilities gained in this core study may also be leveraged to study
additional artifacts as part of the Educe Lab mission. The second student will focus on
the study of ceramic materials, including pottery sherds and stone tools and fragments of
tools. This project will focus on studying production techniques of these materials
through 3-D imaging, surface imaging, and compositional analysis. Datasets generated
with these various techniques will be integrated to grant additional insights into the
artifacts under study.
Similar samples will be studied with a variety of techniques and the data will be
correlated to provide additional insights into the artifacts. Students will work to
synthesize the data acquired using various imaging and analytical techniques into
unified datasets and figures. In addition, students will survey a variety of materials to
build a broad dataset within Educe Lab. This will include a range of samples relevant to
archaeology and anthropology covering inorganic materials (minerals, pottery) and
organic materials (shells, paper, fabric, wood). Such a dataset will serve for future
reference in the study of unknown artifacts.
BENCH+MOBILE+CYBER (2 Students)
Inter-Cluster Integration Students will engage in field and laboratory work that will test
integration of mid-scale infrastructure instrumentation and software within the BENCH,
MOBILE, and CYBER clusters of EduceLab. The summer research program will comprise
field survey season in Georgetown, Kentucky and an archaeological excavation in Surigao
del Norte, Philippines. The former will document historic African-American cemeteries
while the latter will document pre-Hispanic occupation of indigenous communities. The
academic year research program will comprise analysis of data gathered during the
summer and will test the synergy of three of the four clusters being developed at
EduceLab.
During the summer season, one student will work with Co-PI Reyes-Centeno in
field excavations at Surigao del Norte and the application of site-wide optical 3D scanning
and photogrammetry through MOBILE instrumentation. During the academic year, the
student will use BENCH image processing software and experiment with algorithms and
parameters that maximize site renderings for metrical analysis. The second student will
assist Senior Personnel Crothers and Sesma in data collection in Georgetown during the
summer. During the academic year, the student will test and experiment with capabilities
for data integration and data sharing of the KY public LIDAR database with EduceLab’s
CYBER cluster.
FLEX (3 Students)
System Development Students will assist PI Seales with the development of the FLEX
micro-CT and non-radioactive imaging environments. One student will help determine
desired specifications of the X-ray sensor-source-detector setup for the micro-CT hutch.
Tasks will also include equipment testing, data collection, and integration of the micro-
CT equipment with the other clusters, CYBER in particular. Student 2 will manage the
setup of the spectral photography and photogrammetry environment. Tasks will include
developing protocols for the controlled lighting environment, identifying desired locations
of cameras for optimal image quality, installation and testing of hardware, establishing
working volumes, and identifying imaging constraints. The third student will assist with
the installation of MechDyne data visualization tools including testing and deploying the
visualization system and integrating with the other EduceLab clusters.
Status | Active |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 10/1/21 → 9/30/26 |
Funding
- National Science Foundation
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Projects
- 1 Active
-
Mid-scale RI-1 (M1:IP) EduceLab - Infrastructure for Next-Generation Heritage Science
Seales, W. (PI), Bailey, S. (CoI), Balk, J. (CoI), Crothers, G. (CoI), Griffioen, J. (CoI), Reyes-Centeno, H. (CoI), Sama, M. (CoI), Sesma, E. (CoI), Baker, C. (Former CoI) & Smith, S. (Former CoI)
10/1/21 → 9/30/26
Project: Research project