Gibb’s PhD Student and CNS Faculty Awarded Research Enhancement Funding

PhD student Abhay Chavan and Construction Science faculty Dr. Somik Ghosh were recently awarded funding as a part of the Gibb’s College of Architecture’s Program for Research Enhancement. Each year, this merit-based program grants funds to Gibb’s faculty members in order to increase their research and creative activities. 

Chavan and Ghosh received this grant to pursue research on the application of virtual reality (VR) in Design and Construction education. Using VR to complement traditional teaching practices provides visuospatial learning and also reduces the logistical barriers of taking students to active construction sites. 

However, the current VR content typically requires students to navigate through virtual spaces using devices such as a mouse or joystick. These devices require the users to focus on the operating system for navigation in addition to learning the content. On the other hand, the advanced VR headsets eliminate the need for any devices like a mouse/joystick by allowing students to navigate virtual spaces with natural human movements such as neck movement and walking. 

The researchers will develop course content using advanced VR technology and will measure their effectiveness in Design & Construction education.