Dr. Laura K. Harrison is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida, and the director of Access 3D Lab - a research lab that incubates and supports transformative research in the digital realm. Projects at the lab encompass STEM disciplines, the arts and the humanities.
Originally trained as a Bronze Age archaeologist, Dr. Harrison became interested in 3D virtualization during her research at a threatened site in Turkey. She is an advocate of interdisciplinary approaches in archaeology, as well as open access and digitization in the sciences and humanities. Motivated by an interest in cultural heritage preservation and using 3D in outreach and education, her current research focuses on digital salvage archaeology, virtual museums, and improving digital literacy through hands-on training in 3D methods.
Dr. Harrison has worked on archaeological excavations throughout the United States and Europe for ten years, and served as area supervisor of Bronze Age archaeological excavations in Greece and Turkey during her graduate studies. Her research in Turkey, which has been presented at numerous professional conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals and books, examines how the architecture and spatial arrangement of early cities attests to broader socio-political dynamics. The research integrates methods of spatial and architectural analysis to identify social analogs that connect urban life in the past and present.
Dr. Harrison has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University at Buffalo, as well as an M.A. in Anthropology from the University at Buffalo, and a B.A. in Anthropology and Art History from Ithaca College. She also has over ten years of museum experience, and founded the interdisciplinary, open access journal Chronika in 2010, which publishes peer-reviewed articles about European and Mediterranean archaeology.
Dr. Harrison’s research uses 3D virtualization technologies to advance scientific understanding of past cultures, and to further appreciation and knowledge of this archaeological heritage to non-specialist audiences and children. She works primarily with sites that face imminent threats due to industrialization, urbanization, climate change and armed conflict, utilizing laser scanning and photogrammetry to create high-resolution digital records of these threatened sites. These datasets can be transformed into virtual reality applications for public audiences, and also fuel archaeological and heritage research on a multitude of exciting, interdisciplinary topics.
Many of the same core ideas that guide Dr. Harrison’s work in archaeology and heritage also underpin her work in the museum field; namely, an interest in increasing the accessibility of cultural heritage, encouraging multivocal interpretations of objects and places, and fostering a critical understanding of the role of scholarly authority in mediating the interface between museum professionals and public audiences. As such, Laura has pursued an interest in outreach that began during her early years at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and continues today with her work at the Cravens Virtual Museum project in Buffalo, NY.
Originally trained as a Bronze Age archaeologist, Dr. Harrison became interested in 3D virtualization during her research at a threatened site in Turkey. She is an advocate of interdisciplinary approaches in archaeology, as well as open access and digitization in the sciences and humanities. Motivated by an interest in cultural heritage preservation and using 3D in outreach and education, her current research focuses on digital salvage archaeology, virtual museums, and improving digital literacy through hands-on training in 3D methods.
Dr. Harrison has worked on archaeological excavations throughout the United States and Europe for ten years, and served as area supervisor of Bronze Age archaeological excavations in Greece and Turkey during her graduate studies. Her research in Turkey, which has been presented at numerous professional conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals and books, examines how the architecture and spatial arrangement of early cities attests to broader socio-political dynamics. The research integrates methods of spatial and architectural analysis to identify social analogs that connect urban life in the past and present.
Dr. Harrison has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University at Buffalo, as well as an M.A. in Anthropology from the University at Buffalo, and a B.A. in Anthropology and Art History from Ithaca College. She also has over ten years of museum experience, and founded the interdisciplinary, open access journal Chronika in 2010, which publishes peer-reviewed articles about European and Mediterranean archaeology.
Dr. Harrison’s research uses 3D virtualization technologies to advance scientific understanding of past cultures, and to further appreciation and knowledge of this archaeological heritage to non-specialist audiences and children. She works primarily with sites that face imminent threats due to industrialization, urbanization, climate change and armed conflict, utilizing laser scanning and photogrammetry to create high-resolution digital records of these threatened sites. These datasets can be transformed into virtual reality applications for public audiences, and also fuel archaeological and heritage research on a multitude of exciting, interdisciplinary topics.
Many of the same core ideas that guide Dr. Harrison’s work in archaeology and heritage also underpin her work in the museum field; namely, an interest in increasing the accessibility of cultural heritage, encouraging multivocal interpretations of objects and places, and fostering a critical understanding of the role of scholarly authority in mediating the interface between museum professionals and public audiences. As such, Laura has pursued an interest in outreach that began during her early years at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and continues today with her work at the Cravens Virtual Museum project in Buffalo, NY.