"As disciplines draw together, the need to integrate research with education is more urgent than ever... Only through this synthesis will the knowledge at the frontiers of discovery become available to everyone who wants to learn." Rita Colwell, Director NSF
Mission
PRISM is the focal point at Arizona State University for interdisciplinary research in modeling and visualization to permit intelligent analysis and create spatial and dynamic knowledge.
Executive Summary
PRISM was established in 1996 to foster research and application of 3D modeling and visualization to interdisciplinary research at ASU. Funding from the Vice Provost for Research and Deans of Architecture and Environmental Design, Fine Arts, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Business, and Liberal Arts combined to support PRISM and create a foundation for obtaining external funding and achieving national and international recognition. PRISM directly supports the Arizona Board of Regents research initiatives related to information science and Information Technology, and has significant potential to extend and assist research in biomedicine/biotechnology, materials research/nanotechnology, manufacturing technology, and technology transfer.
The Story of the Origin of PRISM:
The story goes like this. In '93 Dan Collins, professor of sculpture, was experimenting with use of Cyberware laser digitizer data sets. His quest for visualization, modeling and converting it to a tactile form (sculpture) led to Gerald Farin and Anshuman Razdan in the department of computer science. Around the same time Mark Henderson was experimenting with an emerging technology called Rapid Prototyping. Other researchers like Mary Marzke from Anthropology were excited about the possibility of collaboration with computer scientists and incorporating visualization and modeling of bones. Over a breakfast meeting in summer '95, the Vice-Provost for Research and the five deans approved the notion of an interdisciplinary lab at ASU. PRISM was formally established in February '96. Since then many exciting events and projects have happened at PRISM. Find out more about the people behind PRISM in this section.
