By Heidi Brett, marketing and public relations director, J Willard Marriott Library
One might wonder how the School of Dentistry and the Marriott Library would be partners. Strange bedfellows you say? Not at all.
TJ Ferrill, assistant head of Creative Spaces, along with other staff members, have been working with assistant professor Mark Durham, DMD, on exploring dental and medical projects involving augmented reality and 3-D scanning and printing. They’ve also toyed with using this technology for staff empowerment and visioning.
Team empowerment
TJ Ferrill, the library’s assistant head of Creative Spaces, tries out a Hololens, which students and faculty are welcome to use.
At the request of Durham, the library team brought virtual reality technology such as the HTC Vive, Microsoft Hololens and the Oculus Rift to the School of Dentistry for top thinkers and leadership to try out. Present at this cross-pollination meeting were the associate vice president for academic affairs for Health Sciences, the vice chair of Medical and Dental Education, the director for Strategy and Workforce Planning and many other influencers.
“Because of this resource influence, we are now seriously rethinking technology’s new role in education,” said Durham. “This wouldn’t have happened without the vision and leadership of the Marriott Library.