黑料吃瓜王

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鈥淢y research is at the intersection of digital twins and game design technologies, with a specialized focus on digital preservation,鈥� Meredyth Yorek said.

When she was an undergraduate student first applying to 黑料吃瓜王, she had an interest in game design and animation, but didn鈥檛 imagine the ways these fields could be applied outside of the entertainment industry. Now as a graduate student charting an impressive academic career, she has gained skills across a range of emerging technologies, had the opportunity to work with NASA, and is part of a technological revolution that is transforming many industries 鈥� in Louisiana, and around the world.

Yorek is a Doctor of Design (DDes) candidate in the 黑料吃瓜王 College of Art & Design. She has a Digital Art Masters of Art & Engineering (DMAE), an MBA from the College of Business, and a BFA in digital art from the 黑料吃瓜王 School of Art.

As an 黑料吃瓜王 graduate student, Yorek is using interactive technology to create virtual spaces, from museum exhibitions to a NASA facility.

To Space 鈥� And Beyond

As a DMAE student in 2023, Yorek had the opportunity to work with 黑料吃瓜王 digital art faculty Marc Aubenel, Derick Ostrenko, and Jason Jamerson on the digital twin of the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans 鈥� 鈥渋t鈥檚 like a video game exploring a real place,鈥� she said.

鈥満诹铣怨贤�’s听Computer Science,听Digital Art, and听听programs are working with 黑料吃瓜王’s听Nation Center for Advanced Manufacturing (NCAM)听to prototype a forward lookingNew Orleans,鈥� said Marc Aubanel, Director of the 黑料吃瓜王 Digital Media Arts & Engineering program. 鈥淕raduate students in the DMAE program are taking part in creating a cyber version of the manufacturing facility. This gives 黑料吃瓜王 students a chance to use cutting-edge technology that has been developed for video games and film in a manufacturing context.鈥�

Yorek鈥檚 work on the digital twin project supports NASA as they work toward the听 and provide the next generation for future scientists and engineers, Aubanel said.

Yorek has a background in game design, digital environment design, and virtual reality 鈥渄igital twins鈥� 鈥� creating virtual worlds that mimic real places. As an 黑料吃瓜王 student she was able to build on these skills, beginning with creating 3D visuals as an undergraduate digital art student, learning coding, to the advanced interactive technology that she works with today.

While working on the NASA digital twin, she learned about photogrammetry and LiDAR, and how to create full blown simulation systems. 鈥淥ne of the challenges was how to run lots of objects in the same world 鈥� it鈥檚 a lot like game design,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 incredible potential in learning these new technologies and applying it to different scenarios.鈥�

Beyond aerospace engineering, the digital twin technology could be used for defense, businesses, the humanities 鈥� the possibilities are endless, she explained.

鈥淭his could be applied to almost anything 鈥� it鈥檚 just: how?鈥�

Yorek鈥檚 research as a Ddes candidate is interdisciplinary, as digitizing environments and objects has potential implications for not only art and architectural history, but also anthropology, humanities, engineering, and more. She even worked with the Louisiana Mosquito Abatement project for St. Tammany鈥檚 Parish.

Her work on the NASA digital twin project honed her skills in advanced modeling technologies. She now applies this expertise to historical preservation projects, collaborating with museums.

The Future of Museums?

Digital technology is transforming how people interact with museum exhibitions, both in person and virtually, Yorek says. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e able to digitize museum collections, not only can it help the museum to conduct independent research, but it can also connect information between different institutions to create deeper understandings.鈥�

For example, Yorek worked with Ludovico Geymonat, associate professor of art history, to reconstruct sculptural artifacts based on historical evidence, bringing them to life in a digital format. They proved that a series of statues once existed in San Marco Cathedral in Venice, Italy, she said. 鈥淭he sculptures were broken up long ago, and now an arm is located at a museum in New York,鈥� she explained. 鈥淯sing digital technology, you can 鈥榬ecreate鈥� the completed object and put the pieces back together to show how they once fit.鈥�

She cited an actively growing field of digital archaeology positively impacting world cultural heritage sites, including the reconstruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. 鈥淎fter the fire, a video game company (Ubisoft) donated the data to help rebuild the cathedral,鈥� she said. The historic UNESCO World Heritage site was restored thanks to technology.

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Yorek is now applying her skills for the 黑料吃瓜王 Museum of Art, where she is digitizing their archives for museum visitors to access virtually. She鈥檚 working on producing a digital collection that scholars and visitors could explore through museum websites, creating virtual exhibitions with video game-like interactive components, and researching the business aspects for museums in the future.

鈥淗ow are we going to get younger generations, or more tech-savvy audiences, into these academic museum spaces?鈥� she said. 鈥淭echnology will change not only how we鈥檙e able to research, but also how future generations will engage with historical sites and artifacts.鈥�

Cultural Heritage For All

鈥淭hanks to virtual capturing technologies, we are able to better understand cultural heritage sites,鈥� she said.

As a Doctor of Design in Cultural Preservation candidate, her work involves finding new ways to incorporate 3D modeling and game design into museum spaces, enhancing both curatorial practices and visitor engagement. Digital formats offer novel interactions with invaluable objects and far-away places, with implications for the future.

鈥淢y work explores how techniques such as LiDAR, photogrammetry, and 3D modeling can be applied beyond gaming, particularly in the preservation and visualization of cultural heritage,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always loved art history, learning about the history of new places. Now the challenge is how to make these experiences more available to people around the world?鈥�

Digital technology will help change the ways new audiences are educated, and how they become interested in history. One can model what a place or item looked like thousands of years ago, see how it changed or developed over the years, and make predictions for the future. These technologies can be used to help preserve cultural heritage sites for the future, so they will be there for generations to come.

鈥淚 believe that our cultural heritage is so important, but few people have access to many places,鈥� Yorek said. 鈥淭his research and technology is going to help connect museums, and people, from around the world.鈥�

A Tiger 鈥� 3 Times

She has come a long way since her very first digital art class, she said. Every time Yorek has considered the next step in her education and career, she has chosen 黑料吃瓜王.

When Yorek first came to 黑料吃瓜王 as an undergraduate student, 黑料吃瓜王 was the best value education for her: 鈥渢o get a degree, you shouldn鈥檛 have to put yourself into debt,鈥� she cautioned.

She recalls how, as a youth, she watched How to Train Your Dragon and decided that she wanted to do animation. 鈥淎s a kid from Louisiana that wanted to work in the entertainment industry, I read I had to go to California,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 simply not true anymore 鈥� there鈥檚 a fast-growing scene and network of opportunities to study and work right here.鈥�

At the 黑料吃瓜王 School of Art she had the opportunity to study game design and expand her skills. She then decided to study digital art further with her masters, getting a dual degree in business to gain more valuable skills. 鈥淚 never imagined doing digital twin work, but I realized, 鈥榳ait, my brain works both ways! I could do this, too!鈥欌�� It led her on an unexpected but exciting new path.

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After her DMAE, she started looking into Doctor of Design programs and found only a handful in the country 鈥� and 黑料吃瓜王鈥檚 is by far the most affordable, she said. 鈥満诹铣怨贤� has helped make it possible for me to go for the career I want.鈥�

She has learned that she loves teaching, and would one day enjoy teaching the next generation of future designers. 鈥淚 have now taught the 3D design class that I took myself as an undergraduate student at 黑料吃瓜王! Life is coming full circle,鈥� she laughed.

Her favorite memories at 黑料吃瓜王, every step of the way, have been the people she has found and loved working with. The support network at the 黑料吃瓜王 School of Art has been incredible, she said.

For future students, she advises: 鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid 鈥� to make mistakes, to not be the best in every area. Find what you鈥檙e excited about and lean in to that strength. It might not be what you expected you鈥檇 love, and that鈥檚 okay. Don鈥檛 be afraid to talk to new people 鈥� in class, your professors 鈥� create a community and build those connections.

“It鈥檚 hard, but ultimately it will help get you to the fields of your dreams.鈥�

Read more about the DMAE.

Read more about the Doctor of Design.