How can academic libraries partner with student researchers through makerspaces and innovation labs? At the USC Libraries' Ahmanson Lab, a program of the USC Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study, collaboratories bring students together with distinguished faculty, far-thinking artists, library resources, and cutting-edge technologies. By the end of each yearlong, interdisciplinary lab, students will have designed and fabricated a new piece of software, work of art, or other unique artifact.
A new article in College & Undergraduate Libraries showcases a recent Ahmanson Lab collaboratory that explored the idea of terraforming Mars. The article, written by Ahmanson Lab director Curtis Fletcher, recounts in detail how students worked with library staff, Brian Cantrell of USC’s World Building Media Lab, and creative technologist Erik Loyer to create a speculative, virtual reality experience of a transformed Red Planet.
