Visualization Center and Virtual Environments

This proposal seeks to establish a Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments within the College of Engineering. Visualization can be broadly defined in tenns of two categories: depiction of computer generated data of complex scientific or engineering processes and the creation and rendering of virtual environments or the recreation of remote real environments. The proposed Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments will congeal and further basic research in visualization by offering technical staff, equipment, and common test-bed facilities. The proposed center will initially be housed on the eighth floor of the KU building occupying approximately 9,000 square feet of space. Initial funding for the creation of the proposed center stems from a $5M grant from the Office of the New Economy (ONE) via the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDF A). Infrastructure grant opportunities such as the Kentucky EPSCoR program are being aggressively pursued with initial success to leverage these start-up funds. Since the inception of the Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments concept, approximately $2M in new federal funding has been secured for basic and applied research in the area with another $1. 7M expected shortly. Sustained funding for the operation of the center is based upon a conservative model of increased extramural funding activity and use of indirect costs savings by virtue of the proposed center being located off-campus. Core research faculty have been identified in the departments of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering with allied faculty in Mechanical Engineering, College of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Design.