RAPID: Collaborative Proposal: Development of Digital Models of Minerals and Rocks for Online Geoscience Classes

West Virginia University Research Corporation, Morgantown WV

Investigators

Abstract

The sudden shift to remote online teaching due to the COVID-19 crisis has especially impacted laboratory classes. Petrologists and mineralogists have created three-dimensional models of rock and mineral specimens, which are available online. The commercial site that hosts these does not include a searchable database. This project will create a searchable database and copy the models to a university-hosted server. Additional specimens will be added. Image-processing has become routine, which has made it practical to create visually and topologically accurate representation of geologic specimens. Teachers have been creating these images and putting them on a commercial website for the use of the wider community. The problem is that this collection of hundreds of virtual specimens is not searchable. The PIs will create a searchable database with the specific metadata that will be useful to science teachers. Moreover, the virtual specimens will also be copied to a university-hosted server, which will assure access for years. Additional specimens will be imaged. This virtual collection has become vital in the time of COVID-19 and a shift to widespread online instruction. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.