Volume 4, Issue 2, 1999
Table of Contents

Vision and Research at Sheridan College

Interactive animation is at the leading edge of computer applications today. And Sheridan College is at that edge. In 1998, Sheridan College established its first research unit, the Visualization Design Institute (VDI), through a research grant from the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund. The VDI provides researchers, scholars and graduate students with the environment and tools to undertake collaborative research ventures. Its educational mission is to produce "imagineers" of the 21st century, knowledge workers who possess a set of interdisciplinary skills in both technology and design.

A multi-disciplinary establishment, the VDI encourages collaborative partnerships in the areas of scientific, medical, engineering, architectural, economic, entertainment and environmental research. The participation of Silicon Graphics Canada in the VDI will provide leading edge powerful graphics super computers, which deliver advanced computing and 3D visualizaiton capabilities. The Institute consists of: the Data Visualization Library, the Northern Digital Motion Tracking Lab, and the Interactive Virtual Environment Lab. The Interactive Virtual Environment Lab has recently been awarded funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Innovation Trust.

The VDI will be undertaking collaborative projects in a wide range of research areas and partners including Immersion Studios, the Hospital for Sick Children, McMaster University, Ryerson Polytechnic University, the Design Exchange, Inago, and the Greater Toronto Airport Authority.

The establishment of the VDI will create in Canada a unique global nucleus for applied research, education and technology transfer in the emerging field of visualization design. As more and more people are able to access and use computer animation technology, they develop more and more uses for the technology itself. With the expertise and vision to be a leading centre of research excellence, Sheridan will, for the first time, be able to make available to the broader research community, the wealth of experience and expertise it has gained through the development of its renowned animation, design and new media programs.