Group 4

Michael, Katy, Mo, and Lyn

P. Fender
English 150
8 July 2014
VRAC
Iowa State University was founded on the basis of spreading knowledge and improving
human life. This has been shown by the faculty and students who have been trying to make the world a
better place. One of ISUs colleges that have been trying to make life better is the college of engineering.
The most successful program in the engineering college has been the Virtual Reality Applications Center.
The Virtual Reality Applications Center mission statement is, An interdisciplinary research
center focusing on the rapidly expanding interface between humans and computer. In other words
VRAC wants to connect humans and computers on a different level than it is at today. Some of the
studies in this center focus not only on engineering but psychology and kinesiology. The Virtual Reality
Applications Center is located inside Howe Hall.
A recent research project had students use the psychology of decision making and an interaction
with the research subject and the VRAC center. Students in the project include Kevin Goldby and
Andrew Lija. Kevin Goldby, a graduate student, has been working and researching in VRAC since 2003.
As for how he has used VRAC as a tool in enhancing his learning with computers, Kevin states, it has
forced me to develop my computer programming skills and exposed me to new humancomputer
interactions. Another graduate student named Andrew Lija has been conducting research in VRAC since
2012. Although he has been working with Virtual Reality for a short amount of time, Andrew feels that
he has enhanced his connection with computers. Access to VRAC and its faculty and staff have
definitely enhanced my abilities with computers, not only in working with them but assessing their
value, usage, and usability. Based on these students perspectives and testimonials, VRAC has
undoubtedly reached it goal with teaching and creating human-computer interactions.
In 1990 the Iowa Center for Emerging Technology is established and has a focus on using virtual-
reality technology to solve problems of engineering and science. Professor James Bernard becomes the
director of the center, which would be become VRAC in 1999. In 1996 an advanced computer driven
virtual reality synthetic environment facility, called C2, opens in Black engineering.
Howe Hall was constructed in 1999 and was named after Stanley and Helen Howe, who donated
six million dollars to the first phase of the Engineering Teaching and Research Complex. Helen Howe
attended ISU from 1945-1947 and was committed to engineering, education, and giving back to the
community. Howe Hall was designed by Ellerbe Becket and Brooks Borg Skiles. The building houses the
Department of Aerospace Engineering, and engineering mechanics. It also houses CIRAS and the
Engineering Distance Education. The most amazing part though is the C-6 virtual reality lab, which is the
only one of its kind in the United States.
Walk into Howe Hall and you immediately see a giant funnel. Whats in that funnel? Why is it
there? You close your eyes and smell metal, a tinny smell. The walls are grey and black. Everything is
modern and boring. Suddenly you see a flash of color, look around and see that when the light hits the
funnel just right a rainbow appears on the panels. Seeing this sparks a lot of curiosity so you continue
further into the building. Going down stairs to your right you see a wide open area where the funnel
continues down, to your left a study area that looks like its straight out of star trek. Clear whiteboards
that you can write on, computers, TVs to plug your computers into, futuristic carpet, and of course,
candy machines. Designed by Ellerbe Becket and Brooks Borg Skiles, the building boasts very modern
architecture, somewhat uncommon for the year 1999 in which this building was built.
In 2000 the C6 became the worlds first fully immersive 6 sided virtual reality facility using
wireless tracking, navigation, and control systems. When the technology was refreshed in 2006 the
Virtual Reality Applications Center had the highest resolution immersive environment with over one
hundred million pixels.
The Virtual Reality Applications Center has played a big role in the Iowa State mission and
history. The program and the building display the mission of spreading knowledge, and at the same time
it shows the connections between Iowa State students, faculty, and the mission of the university. The
program does not only show the development of the interactions of humans with computers in the field
of engineering, but also in all the different fields related to human development.