Everything we create demands a new perspective.
We believe large problems are solved at the intersection of the disciplines — especially when arts, sciences and humanities work together.
Mission of the Imaging Research Center
As part of a public university, the Imaging Research Center (IRC) brings together the arts, humanities, social sciences, data-science, biology and engineering to address complex intellectual and real-world challenges. We advance creative research through innovative media, emerging technologies, and interdisciplinary collaboration. By bringing together diverse minds among UMBC faculty, fellows, and students, we prototype original solutions that are provocative, creative, and serve the public good.
History
Electronic Art icon and Chair of the Department of Visual Arts, Stan VanDerBeek, envisioned the Image Laboratory at UMBC in 1984. Just before he died, he said, “It seems that we’ve established our part of the future with the advent of the Image Lab.” This seed project, originally funded by Jim Henson of the Muppets and IBM’s Fulcrum grant project, evolved into the Imaging Research Center by 1986 to develop a research facility to explore the future of art and technology. 40 years since VanDerBeeks vision, the IRC has grown into a major hub for interdisciplinary collaboration across all fields at the University. The IRC has worked with the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (CUERE), the Center for Art, Design and Visual Art (CADVC), the Institute for Harnessing Data and Model Revolution in the Polar Regions (¡HARP), and the Center and Institute Departmentally Engaged Research (CIDER), and continues to unit researchers and Departments throughout all colleges at UMBC.
We bring together artists, humanists and scientists to create unique and provocative forms that respond to our cultural moment.
Strategic Areas of Interest
System Building software | development | programming | creative coding | MLLs datasets | APIs | AI | meta data
Immersive Environments AR/VR/XR | video walls | interactivity project mapping | 2D – 3D animation audio – videography | installations
Interface + Prototyping
3D scanning-fabrication | digital fabrication | physical interfaces | UI/ UX| data visualization | design | electronics | motors kinetic work | sensors
Bio + Environmental Bio-Engineers | Bio-Art | microscopy bio-matter | culture |sustainable materials | polar regions | global warming | climate
Media History Archiving | Rebuilding | Documenting Early VR | Computer poetry Intermedia art | Immersive-caves | Interactive projects | IRC + early prototypes
Community + Education | social benefit | justice + equity | human health | educational initiatives curriculum
Research and Partners
In addition to working with faculty researchers at UMBC, an R1 Carnegie-designated research institution, we collaborate with external clients who share our mission. Past collaborators and supporters include: the National Academy of Sciences, the Baltimore Art Museum, the Walters Art Museum, The United Way, Maryland Historical Society, NASA-TV and the Goddard Space Flight Center, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, and the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Education
Over the past three decades, hundreds of graduate and undergraduate students in the arts, humanities, sciences, and engineering have collaborated with faculty and staff on every phase of IRC research. The students learn that they are part of something bigger than themselves by building equitable and just partnerships that empower communities that aim to make a positive impact on the world. Students are included in project development discussions from the moment they join the center and develop portfolios that make them more competitive in the job market.
Location
UMBC, 1000 Hilltop Circle,
ITE Bldg., Baltimore, MD 21250
ITE Suites 101, 108, 109
Contact
Phone: 410.455.3373