1 / 19

Exploring Virtual Reality in Chemistry Education: Insights from Dr. Tim Coombs

Discover how virtual reality (VR) transforms the teaching of chemistry through Dr. Tim Coombs' insights. Jointly developed by George Mason University, the University of Houston, and NASA, three immersive VR worlds—Newton, Maxwell, and Pauling—allow students to engage with complex scientific concepts in a more interactive and impactful manner. Evaluations show that VR enhances understanding of molecular interactions, boosts 3-D comprehension, and aids in modeling proteins. Embrace VR as a game-changing teaching tool for scientific exploration and innovation.

winter
Télécharger la présentation

Exploring Virtual Reality in Chemistry Education: Insights from Dr. Tim Coombs

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Virtual Reality in Chemistry • Dr Tim Coombs

  2. A short science lesson(you lucky people!)

  3. Mystery Object

  4. Any better?

  5. “In place of pencil and paper, the main working tools were a set of molecular models resembling the toys of preschool children.” - James Watson, “The Double Helix”

  6. Crick and Watson

  7. So, why use VR?

  8. ~ 80 μm

  9. Science Space • Joint venture between George Mason University, University of Houston and NASA. • 3 VR worlds set up to teach and explore different areas of science. • Newton World (kinetics and dynamics). • Maxwell World (electrostatics) • Pauling World (chemistry) • http://www.virtual.gmu.edu/

  10. Pauling World

  11. Evaluation - VR vs. 2D • Maxwell World evaluated against EMF. • Students tested post-lesson and 5 months later • Results : -Concepts - higher in VR post lesson, similar 5 months later.2-D understanding - similar for VR and EMF in both instances.3-D understanding - higher for VR in both instances.

  12. Exploring using CAVE • CAVE – Cave Automatic Virtual Environment. • Allows scientist to explore how molecules interact. • Simulation can be stopped at any point for further exploration. • Gives new perspective and appreciation of molecules. CAVE at Argonne National Laboratory

  13. New drug treatments • Used to develop new treatments for Chagas’ disease. • Current drugs kill parasites but are toxic to humans. • Using CAVE researchers modified existing drugs and looked at the effects.

  14. Modelling Proteins

  15. Examining HIV

  16. Sculpt • Run using standard computer hardware. • Much more accessible than CAVE based simulations. • Users pull molecules about to see how they interact. • The whole molecule is continually reshaped to lowest energy configuration.

  17. Virtual reality is a useful tool for modelling things that are too small to be seen. Scientists can use VR to get more of a feel of how molecules interact. Useful as a teaching tool. Ultimately VR can be used to advance scientific knowledge that would be able to improve our lives and hence augment reality. Limitation - Quantum Mechanics!! Conclusions

  18. References Argonne National Laboratory Website: http://www.anl.gov/ Cruz-Neira, C., Sandin, D. J. and DeFanti, T. A. (1993) Proc. SIGGRAPH 93, ACM: New York, pp. 135. Disz, T., Papka, M., Pellegrino, M., Stevens, R. and Taylor, V. Proc. (1995) 1995 Simulation Multiconference Symposium, Society for Computer Simulation; Phoenix: 1995, pp. 483. Ihnlenfeldt, W-D. (1997) Virtual Reality in Chemistry. Journal of Molecular Modeling, 3, 386-402. Lent, G. E., Rowlan, J., Bash, P. and Cruz-Neira, C. (1994) 223. SIGGRAPH Visual Proceedings, Computer Graphics Annual Conference Series, pp. 223. Salzman, M.C., Dede, C., Bowen Loftin, R. (1996) The development of a virtual world for learning Newtonian mechanics. Multimedia, Hypermedia and Virtual Reality, 1077, 87-106 Salzman, M.C., Dede, C., Bowen Loftin, R., Chen, J. (1999) A model for understanding how virtual reality aids complex conceptual learning. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 8 (3), 293-316 Surles, M., Richardson, J., Richardson, D., Brooks, F. (1994) Sculpting proteins interactively: Continual energy minimization embedded in a graphical modeling system. Protein Science, 3, 198. Watson, J. (1970) The Double Helix: a personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA. Harmondsworth: Penguin Wood, F.; Brown, D., Amidon, R. A., Alferness, J., Joseph, B., Gillilan, R. E. and Faerman, C. (1996) WorkSpace and the study of Chagas' disease. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 16, (4) 72-78;

More Related