Ph.D. in Informatics - Virtual Heritage Track

Bring history to life with virtual heritage

The Virtual Heritage track lets you explore how technology can help preserve and share cultural heritage. You’ll learn to use 3D tools to discover, record, restore, analyze, and interpret human creations from the past.

In this track, you’ll get hands-on training with 3D technologies and develop skills to create innovative solutions for real-world challenges in cultural heritage fields such as:

Anthropology
Archaeology
Conservation
Exhibition design
Egyptology
Art and architectural history

You’ll work on digitizing 3D objects, including restoring them to their original condition using professional standards and traditional restoration principles. You’ll also learn how to share your 3D models online, 3D print them, and create interactive virtual reality experiences to make these objects more accessible to researchers.

What you'll learn

The Virtual Heritage track explores how technology can help preserve and understand cultural heritage. You’ll study 3D human creations, from small objects like seals and statues to large sites like buildings and landscapes. The program offers hands-on training with 3D tools like PhotoScan, AutoCad, 3D Studio Max, Unity, and Zbrush. You’ll also learn how to use these tools to create innovative solutions for challenges faced by professionals in fields such as Anthropology, Archaeology, Conservation, Exhibition Design, Egyptology, and Art and Architectural History.

Student in vintage-style Indiana University t-shirt

Learn about related research

3D technologies have become a new and powerful form of scholarly expression and communication. The mission of the Virtual World Heritage Laboratory is to apply these new tools both as interactive illustrations and also as tools of discovery.

Visit the Virtual World Heritage Lab

Track faculty

Track Director

Gabriele Guidi

From 1999 Gabriele Guidi began to do research on 3D imaging technologies applied to Cultural Heritage, leading the digitization of important artworks from Donatello and Leonardo da Vinci. He developed methods for integrating active and passive 3D devices, for 3D equipment characterization and for large-scale 3D digitization in museums.He is now involved in the application of 3D Digitization to cultural heritage, industrial design, mechanical engineering, and art.

Bernard Frischer

Theory and practice of Virtual Heritage, use of game engines for historical simulation, virtual archaeoastronomy, application of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in museums and on cultural heritage sites, digital reconstruction of the monuments of ancient Rome and other sites of the classical world.

Affiliated faculty

Victor H. Yngve Professor of Information Science

Katy Borner

3D collaborative Virtual Environments; data modeling; visualization, computer vision and graphics.

Informatics

Michael Chabin

Use of the game engine Unity for scientific simulations.

Anthropology

Stacie King

Mesoamerican archaeology.

Anthropology

Judith A. Kirk

Museum exhibition design.

Art History

Giles Knox

Renaissance and Baroque art and architectural history.

Art History

Julie Van Voorhis

Classical art and architectural history.

NELC

Steven Vinson

Egyptology.

Track guide

A student must successfully complete ninety (90) credit hours of graduate-level coursework. The specific track requirements are listed below.

Required courses

All required courses provided by faculty in Virtual Heritage are open to students from other tracks and programs.

I501: Introduction to Informatics
I502: Human-Centered Research Methods in Informatics (3 cr.)

INFO I587 Introduction to Virtual Heritage (3 cr.)
INFO I588 Advanced Topics in Virtual Heritage (3 cr.)
INFO I698 Research in Informatics: Virtual Heritage Laboratories (3 cr.)

INFO I609 Seminar I in Informatics (3 cr.)
INFO I709 Seminar II in Informatics (3 cr.)

NOTE: A student must take I609 and/or I709.

INFO I790 Informatics Research Rotation (3 cr.)

NOTE: A student must complete two rotations of I790. A third rotation will not count for course credit.

NOTE: These courses must be appropriate for a Ph.D. in Informatics.

NOTE: Typical minors include Archaeology, Art History, Anthropology, Egyptology.

INFO I890 Thesis Readings and Research.

In addition to required courses, students are encouraged to take the following courses:

INFO I590 Topics in Informatics Virtual World Design
CSCI B657 Computer Vision

Typical minors

Archaeology, Art History, Anthropology, Egyptology.

Qualifying exam

Written and oral examinations decided by program committee based on bibliography from the two introductory courses in Virtual Heritage and specific research interests of candidate. Typical written exam: three papers or one-week take home exam.

Luddy School of
Informatics, Computing, and Engineering