2022 Annual Report 2022 | Page 14

FACULTY

ROBOTICS , AUTONOMOUS & DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS
Steve Southward Associate Professor
Saied Taheri Professor
Director , Center for Tire Research ( CenTiRe )
Pablo Tarazaga Associate Professor
Zhenhua Tian Assistant Professor NEW HIRE : 2022
Alfred Wicks Associate Professor
Lei Zuo
Robert E . Hord , Jr . Professor

LING LI OPENS STARFISH EXHIBIT AT THE SCIENCE MUSEUM OF WESTERN VIRGINIA

Assistant Professor Ling Li was joined by his family to cut the ribbon on a brandnew virtual reality experience exploring the architecture of starfish skeletons at the Science Museum of Western Virginia ( SMWV ) in Roanoke , Virginia . The exhibit was made possible through funding from Li ’ s NSF CAREER award , and launched with assistance from liaison Phyllis Newbill , Associate Director of Educational Networks for the Virginia Tech Center for Educational Networks and Impacts , and
staff members from SMWV , including former director Rachel Hopkins and the current director Mary R . Baako .
The exhibit gives children the opportunity to explore the structure of starfish skeletons , a ceramic structure that is intricate and lightweight , yet strong . The experience features interactive goggles that allow users to “ fly ” around and through a virtual skeleton , getting up close with the wonders of nature . Physical 3D models and 2D displays are also included to
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