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THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE
UNIVERSITY
The University Faculty
Senate
AGENDA
Tuesday, April 24, 2001, at
1:30 PM in
112 Kern Graduate Building
[In the case of severe weather
conditions or other emergencies, you may call the Senate Office
at (814) 863-0221 to inquire if a Senate meeting has been
postponed or canceled. This may be
done after normal office hours by
calling the same number and a voice mail announcement can
be heard concerning the status of
any meeting. You may also leave a
message at that time.]
A. MINUTES OF THE PRECEDING MEETING -
Minutes of the March 27, 2001, Meeting
in The Senate Record 34:6
B.
COMMUNICATIONS
TO THE SENATE - Senate Curriculum Report (Blue Sheets) of April 10, 2001
C. REPORT OF SENATE COUNCIL - Meeting of April 10, 2001
D. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE CHAIR -
E.
COMMENTS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY -
F.
FORENSIC
BUSINESS –
G.
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS –
H.
LEGISLATIVE
REPORTS –
I.
ADVISORY/CONSULTATIVE
REPORTS –
Computing and Information
Systems
Virtual Reality Technology at Penn State
Research
Courseware Policy
J. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS -
Faculty Affairs
Report of the Working Group on Part-Time Faculty 2001
Faculty Benefits
AY2000/2001 Faculty Salaries of Academic Units Within
Penn State
University Planning
Status of Construction at Penn State, Spring 2001
Strategic Planning: The Next Cycle, Rodney A. Erickson,
Executive
Vice President/Provost of the University
Report of Senate Elections
Senate Council
Senate Committee on Committees and Rules
University Promotion and Tenure Review Committee
Standing Joint Committee on Tenure
Faculty Rights and Responsibilities Committee
Faculty Advisory Committee to the President
Senate Secretary for 2001-2002
Senate Chair-Elect for 2001-2002
Comments by Outgoing Chair Schengrund
Installation of Officers
Comments by Incoming Chair Nichols
K.
NEW LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS -
L.
COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE GOOD OF THE UNIVERSITY -
-----------------
Note:
The next regular meeting of the University Faculty Senate will be held
on Tuesday,
September 11, 2001, at 1:30 PM in Room
112 Kern Building.
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
The University Faculty Senate
101 Kern Graduate Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 863-1202 – phone (814) 865-5789 – fax
Date: April 16, 2001
To: Cara-Lynne Schengrund, Chair, University Faculty Senate
From: Louis F. Geschwindner, Chair, Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs
The
Senate Curriculum Report, dated April
10, 2001, has been circulated throughout the University. Objections to any of the items in the report
must be submitted to the University Curriculum Coordinator at the Senate
Office, 101 Kern Graduate Building, e-mail ID sfw2@psu.edu,
on or before May 10, 2001.
The Senate Curriculum Report is available on the web. It can be accessed via the Faculty Senate home page (URL http://www.psu.edu/ufs). Since the Report is available on the web, printed copies are not distributed to the University community. An electronic mailing list is used to notify individuals of its publication. Please contact the Curriculum Coordinator at the e-mail ID indicated above if you would like to be added to the notification list.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Virtual Reality Technology at Penn State
(Advisory/Consultative)
[Implementation Date: Upon Approval by the President]
INTRODUCTION
In today's computing and communications climate, Virtual Reality (VR) tools and interface techniques are becoming increasingly relevant within many research, instruction and communication contexts. Ever-increasing amounts of data are becoming available to academics and the public; greater graphics and computing power are becoming more widely distributed in the marketplace; and the convergence of formerly disparate media forms is occurring at breakneck speed (rich multimedia, video and 3D graphics content on the internet, for example). In such a milieu, support for VR facilities and investigations may be critical for Penn State to maintain its competitive position in research, to provide opportunities for inter-institutional collaboration, and to offer a rewarding educational experience for our students.
Several VR initiatives are emerging at Penn State. The Center for Academic Computing offers a Visualization and Immersive Environments Testbed, the centerpiece of which is an Immersadesk R2 large-format, stereoscopic, interactive VR display system. CAC Visualization Group staff investigates VR techniques and support the use of various programming methods, applications and devices in the facility. The facility is freely available to faculty and students who are interested in exploring the application of VR techniques within their respective disciplines. Since its inception in July of 1998, the CAC facility has provided a context for VR investigations in geographic and climatological data visualization, undergraduate architectural design education, visualization of human movement, visualization of molecular dynamics and structure, psychological study of 3D spatial awareness in children, cross-platform and networked programming development environments, VR telecollaboration and independent graphical programming projects by students in computer science.
The Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) offers the Synthetic Environment Applications Laboratory (SEALab), a multi-use testbed facility providing access to advanced visualization, simulation, and collaboration technologies. The SEAlab is directed by Richard Stern, Deputy Director of ARL. The lab's equipment includes a CAVE-like Immersive Projection Display (IPD) that permits the generation of a 360- degree, room-size, 3D visual and audio immersive environment where users can interact collaboratively with simulations and data in real-time. The SEALab will be used for ARL research on defense-related projects, communications, materials, and manufacturing, as
well as on computational mechanics, electromagnetics, acoustics, information science and technology, and simulation and training. All colleges within the University have access to the SEALab.
Hershey Medical Center has an active program of research and development for use of VR in surgical simulation and training, under the direction of Randy S. Haluck, M.D. Existing commercial systems are being evaluated for efficacy in training surgeons in basic navigation and manipulation skills using laparoscopic instruments, and for training in performing bronchoscopies and sigmoidoscopies. HMC also is developing lower-cost surgical simulation systems using standard PCs and haptic feedback devices. HMCs in-house development has addressed laparoscopic navigation, haptic simulation of lumbar punctures, and haptic suturing simulations; providing the basis for development of more complex or richly featured surgical simulation systems in the future.
VR labs currently are under development in three University Park locations within the Colleges of Science and Engineering, under a recent NSF Major Research Instrumentation award. The project is being led by Lyle Long of Aerospace Engineering and Paul Plassmann of Computer Science and Engineering. Each lab contains a single wall RAVE display system (large-screen stereoscopic display with supporting interactive devices) and a complement of graphics workstations for driving the display and for off-line development. The proposal involves researchers from seven departments, who have overlapping interests in computational simulation, related visualization techniques for understanding resulting data, and the underlying computer science for design and programming of systems employing multi-modal human computer interaction. The MRI facilities will be used for both research and education.
Networked VR holds the promise of highly interactive, experiential collaboration among students or researchers at remote locations or from different institutions. For example, computational chemists could get together in VR space to review the results of their most recent dynamics simulation, or architecture students could hold collaborative design review sessions in which remote participants get together within a shared virtual architectural space. There is an active and open national research community involved in telecollaborative VR applications, a community with which the CAC and Penn State faculty from Geography and Architecture have already begun participation in explorations of networked VR. The availability of multiple VR facilities at Penn State, combined with high-performance networking among these local facilities and between Penn State and potential collaborators at distant institutions, will be invaluable for Penn State researchers to participate in this growing collaborative research community, and can position Penn State well for funded participation in inter-institutional collaborations or research consortia.
VR is inherently interdisciplinary and people intensive. The above initiatives point to the opportunity to grow a significant community of VR developers and researchers at Penn State. Numerous research areas, in addition to those already mentioned above, can contribute to or benefit from the further development of VR facilities and expertise at Penn State (e.g. many scientific studies, design disciplines, media communications studies, and Information Science and Technology all come readily to mind). An open, active, and inter-disciplinary user community can foster
relationships and teamwork that can contribute to a rewarding educational experience for appropriate students, improvements in the overall quality of related research, and a better competitive position for Penn State researchers to attract further funded research in this area.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The University Faculty Senate approves the following three (3) recommendations:
Recommendation #1
The University should form user groups, coordinating committees, and/or other appropriate vehicles to facilitate interdisciplinary cooperation, collaboration and coordinated effort among various Penn State groups involved in VR related research and instruction, within available resources.
Recommendation #2
The University should develop multi-faceted academic programs or minors (majors) to more fully realize the educational potential of existing and future VR facilities and faculty expertise, within available resources.
Recommendation #3
The University should provide student access to appropriate facilities for supporting VR education and research at the undergraduate and graduate levels, within available resources.
Attached: additional information regarding the use of VR facilities in other Big Ten campuses.
Projection Based VR Facilities at Big Ten Universities*
Facilities Identified Organization/Affiliation Comment
ign
3 CAVEs
10 Immersadesks
2 VR Wall National Center for Supercomputing Applications (UIUC) (www.ncsa.uiuc.edu),
Electronic Visualization Lab (UIC) (www.evl.uic.edu).
VRMedLab (UIC) (www.sbhis.uic.edu),
Beckmann Institute (UIUC) (www.beckman.uiuc.edu)
NCSA and EVL both have been involved from the outset in the design and promotion of projection based VR systems and software. Resulting systems and software are licensed by the University of Illinois and marketed by vendors like Fakespace and VRCO.
Indiana University
1 CAVE
1 Immersadesk Advanced Visualization Lab, (www.avl.iu.edu).
AVL is a unit of the Research and Academic Computing Division of Indiana’s University Information Technology Services. CAVE is located at IU Bloomington Campus; Idesk is at Indianapolis Campus.
University of Iowa
3 Immersadesks
1 Workbench
The 3 Idesks are located in Advanced Research Computing Services, the Department of Geography and the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research.
The workbench is being used in perceptual/psychological study.
The Workbench is being used for perceptual study. Key projects on the Idesks have been in Geography and Theatre.
University of Michigan
1 CAVE. The CAVE is located in the Media Union, Michigan State
University
1 Immersadesk Media Interface & Network Design Lab www.mindlab.msu.edu/mweb/splash.htm
University of Minnesota
1 VR Wall Northwestern University
1 Immersadesk
Ohio State University
1 Immersadesk Ohio Supercomputing Center
Interface Lab
The Pennsylvania State University
1 C2 (CAVElike)
1 Immersadesk
3 RAVEs C2 at Applied Research Lab
1 Immersadesk at Center for Academic Computing (CAC).
3 RAVE systems shared among multiple departments in Colleges of Science and Engineering,
Purdue University
1 Immersadesk Identified on CAVERNUS website only.
University of Wisconsin
2 Immersadesks Computer-Aided Engineering Center, I-CAVE Lab (smartcad.me.wisc.edu)
*The above table has been compiled primarily from on-line resources including the CAVERNUS website (http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/VR/cavernus/) and the respective websites of the listed institutions. This information is only as current as the online resources, and only as complete as our search methods (searching for trademarked system names (like CAVE, C2, Immersadesk) and generic terms like “virtual reality.” It is likely that numbers of systems and departments involved have been understated in some cases.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Thomas W. Abendroth
Anthony Ambrose
J. Gary Augustson
Edward R. Bollard, Jr.
Joseph E. Borzellino, V-Chair
Robin Ciardullo
Stephen E. Cyran
John T. Harwood
Pablo Laguna
Kate Neimeister
Barbara L. Power
David R. Richards
Dhushy Sathianathan
Semyon Slobounov, Chair
Mark Strikman
John B. Urenko
SENATE COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH
Courseware
Policy
(Advisory/Consultative)
[Implementation Date: Upon Approval by the President]
The Senate Committee on Research presents the Courseware Copyright Policy report prepared by the Courseware Policy Committee. Underlining is used to highlight significant changes since the Senate Forensic session.
Background
Individuals first considering courseware and courseware policy often initially focus on course-replacement products and often on the imagined riches that may flow to courseware developers or sellers, or be paid by courseware users. The committee that developed this policy was no exception, however, as we continued with our task we became convinced of two points.
· First, although there will be money made on courseware, it is unlikely that either universities or university-based courseware developers will benefit significantly, at least for the foreseeable future.
· Second, the number of individuals at Penn State involved in complete courseware product development, that is, the development of computer-based course replacements, is likely to be quite small for the foreseeable future.
On the other hand, the number of faculty, or other University personnel, likely to be, or that should be, involved in courseware module development, that is, in developing computer-based enhancements to traditional courses, is much larger, and there is great value for the University in encouraging such activity with minimal interference or supervision. Works of this type include slides, computer-based graphics, software applications, or other instructional materials and course enhancements that support classroom lectures but are not integrated into complete courseware products, syllabi and class notes, and computer-based or partially computer-based textbooks. It is the intent of the courseware policy that control of such works, when initiated by Penn State personnel, remain with the Penn State author(s) (as is true for their print equivalents).
The Courseware Copyright
Policy that follows does not attempt to anticipate or cover all possible
scenarios or eventualities. Rather, the
policy provides a broad structure for courseware development and use at Penn
State. Of course, the devil is often in
the details, and the development of guidelines for the application of the
policy will require care. In addition,
the technology and application of computer-based and computer-assisted
instruction is rapidly changing. It is
expected that the Penn State Courseware Copyright Policy will need regular
review and is likely to require modification as Penn State and peer
institutions gain experience in this area.
The Vice-President for Research and the Chair of the University
Faculty Senate will appoint an advisory committee for courseware to handle
these tasks and also to provide guidance for other courseware issues that
arise. The University Faculty Senate
Faculty Affairs and Computing and Information Systems committees will review
Courseware Advisory Committee actions as appropriate.
As an aid to understanding the courseware policy report,
the Senate Committee on Research
Courseware Decision Tree
provides the following courseware decision tree.
The Senate Committee on Research unanimously recommends
that the Senate accept the recommendations of the proposed Courseware Policy.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH