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Thoughtcrime Part of Innovation Grant

By RR | March 9, 2006

Had some good news recently: my dissertation director at Western Michigan just landed a pretty sizable grant for creating and developing virtual realities for the study of literature (see the sixth bullet point). The cool part is that the grant is based, at least in part, on the work I did at Western–namely, setting up and developing the Secondary Worlds MOO, the virtual space where we played Thoughtcrime. The innovation grant supports eight English faculty at WMU as they create literary simulations within Secondary Worlds.

Of course, we’re still hoping for a better way to represent these literary worlds than the MOO currently offers, and there are a range of possiblities to explore, including graphically rich media like Everquest (a MMOG). I’m just beginning to explore resources like the MIT Education Arcade. Still, there is something to be said for text-based environments, and I think this grant is going to yield some highly detailed and engaging literary worlds.

WMU News
Seven initiatives funded through President’s Innovation Fund
Feb. 15, 2006

KALAMAZOO–The results of a campuswide search for ideas that are “truly transformational” were unveiled by Western Michigan University President Judith I. Bailey Feb. 15, when she announced the selection of seven proposals to receive support through her President’s Innovation Fund.

Projects to receive funding range from the establishment of a new center focused on career and human resource issues in Grand Rapids to an engineering effort aimed at getting middle school students who are eligible for the Kalamazoo Promise ready to pursue technical careers. Those two initiatives and five others were selected from among the 80 proposals submitted from literally every corner of the WMU campus.

“I am delighted not only with the caliber of the proposals submitted, but with the kind of energy and creativity the competition has sparked campuswide,” says Bailey. “We had 80 teams submit ideas for consideration, and their ideas showed great energy and creativity, as well as a commitment to the University’s goals and mission. Many of the proposals focus on our engagement with the communities we serve. Others use technology in ways that will serve our students and our state and nation.”

The amounts awarded, the names of the project directors and the names of the proposals selected for funding are:

  • $289,448 to Kevin Abbott, a multimedia specialist in the Office of Information Technology, for an effort aimed at using digital media in the performing arts [read more];
  • $245,000 to Dr. Ikhlas Abdel-Qader to establish the WMU-Kalamazoo Promise Partnership: Promoting Engineering Careers to Female, Minority and Disadvantaged Middle School Students [read more];
  • $383,000 to Dr. Subra Muralidharan, professor of chemistry, to establish a Center for Nano-enabled Instrumentation and Nanofabrication [read more];
  • $402,232 to Dr. Marc W. Perkovic, associate professor of chemistry, for a project, dubbed Bronco Biodiesel, which will focus on recycling waste oil to produce an alternative fuel source [read more];
  • $212,304 to Dr. James Schultz, director of WMU-Grand Rapids, to develop a Center for Career Services and Human Resources Development at WMU’s Grand Rapids campus [read more];
  • $116,898 to Dr. Allen Webb, professor of English, to integrate virtual reality environments into teaching and learning on campus [read more]; and
  • $26,512 to Kathleen Wong, assistant professor of communication, to develop an online curriculum module on diversity and engineering [read more].

The announcement marked the completion of a competitive process designed to provide cash awards to turn good ideas into reality. Bailey established the President’s Innovation Fund last fall, using unrestricted gifts to establish a pool of $2 million for a series of one-time awards for work done over the next two years. Work on the funded proposals could begin as soon as next month.

Complete article

Categories: News, Simulations | | 1 Comment »

One Response to “Thoughtcrime Part of Innovation Grant”

  1. That’s great, Mr. Rozema. Although I did not play in Thoughtcrime, I did enjoy the BNW aspect to LogMoo. Thanks for opening up that world to me. Although I do not dabble as much as I once did in the world of MOOs, I do keep up my blog regularly (though sadly, it has been relegated to describe mundane daily tasks most of the time).

    While looking around the internet, I happened on your blog. I hope you do not mind me reading it. If you do, just let me know and I’ll stop; I won’t be offended.

    Emily

    Posted by: Emily Schreur on March 14th, 2006 at 6:41 am

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