What is the Imaging Research Center?
One of a few dozen of media and visualization research centers in the US, the IRC is embedded in a public university and we take that very seriously. We aim to assert public interests in the research and development of the media and visualization systems that now permeate every aspect of our lives. Private sector and public sector interests are both essential and overlap significantly, but they are not the same. We ask: What are our media and data systems doing for us, with us, and even to us? How are they helping us address our most serious challenges? What can we do to make them better? We create new configurations of visual and audio technologies, new media forms, and new approaches to creating content.
Mission
Research
To integrate media arts knowledge and expertise with that of the humanities and sciences to explore new configurations of digital media and visualization technologies, forms, and approaches that will best serve public interests.
Education
To engage our students in transformative, collaborative, active-learning experiences that complement classroom learning.
Vision
We envision a world in which digital media systems, tools, and practices are optimized for public interests. We interpret those interests to include sustaining a high-functioning and inclusive democracy, promoting and supporting health and wellbeing, and increasing the impact of valuable knowledge on our collective and individual choices.