Research Discovery Room

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The Research Discovery Room (Level 3, LIB-311) is prioritized for faculty research and interprofessional data exploration.  A regular program for interdisciplinary discovery and problem-solving is being implemented, with this facility as a centerpiece.  Requests for use of the room should be sent to the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Development.  

The Research Discovery room has been designed for up to 30 participants to work on collaborative projects. The space is equipped with furniture that is especially adaptive, using reconfigurable tables and chairs to facilitate group interaction. One wall of the room features an 82” multi-touch sensing LCD display developed by Perceptive Pixel, Inc.  This is the technology seen used on major national news programs such as CNN, which supports story boarding, data visualization, and multi-touch collaboration.  Technical information and demonstration videos are available at www.perceptivepixel.com. 

Another wall in the room provides floor-to-ceiling whiteboard space for use in planning and developing projects.  A third wall contains six liquid crystal wall panels that are clear but, with a flip of a switch, turn opaque -- secluding the room as needed.

Additional technology, such as tools to provide data visualization and analytics for complex data relationships in large data sets, will be added in the future.  A bioinformatician is available to work with groups to program the Perceptive Pixel software for analysis and display of campus research data sets.  Integration of tablets/slates and other developing technology is planned as well to advance the use of flexible collaborative tools, to explore new ways to explain and share concepts, and to extend technology beyond the standard models.  The Research Discovery Room will be a resource for many areas of the University’s funded research programs.