The Informatics Research Institute

FACULTY and STAFF news from the campuses of Indiana University

The Informatics Research Institute

An interdisciplinary research mission

Chichen Itza

IRI's first project entails building a digital archive of the world's most endangered archaeological sites.

The Informatics Research Institute (IRI) serves as the interdisciplinary center of activity that unites the IU School of Informatics with its affiliated faculty. By highlighting high-risk, high pay-off research and development projects, the IRI also will provide a focus of partnerships between Indiana University informatics research and private sector organizations and industries. Most importantly, the IRI provides a place for informatics students to participate in research activities at the earliest possible stage of their education. The Informatics Research Institute co-directors are John C. Huffman, IU senior scientist in chemistry, IUB, and Mathew Palakal, professor and chair, computer and information science, IUPUI.

Project CLIOH (Cultural Digital Library Indexing Our Heritage) is the IRI's first major project and demonstrates the multidisciplinary nature of informatics. It is funded in part by an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) one-year grant for $250,000. Bringing together researchers in computer science, archaeology, new media and many others, Project CLIOH is a massive project dedicated to building a digital archive of the world's most endangered archaeological sites. CLIOH, named after the Greek goddess of history, will include virtual tours, streaming media and CAVE (Computer Automated Virtual Environment) immersive environments.

Two Mayan sites, Chichen Itza and Uxmal, are the first to be digitally archived. Using a list of ruins endangered by weather, development or war established by the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization, CLIOH organizers have picked eight additional sites they hope to archive.

Other research projects include a self-sustaining distributed database of molecular structures available over the Internet using servers located in research laboratories throughout the world. The project recently received National Science Foundation funding, $900,000 over two years.

Visit CLIOH:
http://www.cs.iupui.edu/~clioh

E-mail: informat@indiana.edu

http://informatics.indiana.edu/

http://www.informatics.iupui.edu/

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Publication date: November 9, 2001
Comments: homepgs@indiana.edu
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