Planetarium and Streaming Services Survey with the Advanced Visualization Lab

Project Type: Course Credit
Open to: all students (particularly BSIS and MSLIS)

This project focuses on evaluating the reach of the cinematic scientific visualizations produced by the Advanced Visualization Lab (AVL) at the University of Illinois. While we know that this kind of public science communication reaches millions of people around the world, there has never been a systematic study to see precisely how many people are watching the shows that the AVL creates. In this project, you will work with senior AVL researchers to investigate this topic, primarily using surveys and desk research focusing on several ways that people find cinematic scientific visualizations such as:

• Planetariums
• Streaming services such as Amazon Prime
• Youtube

This research will be used as the basis of a journal article that senior AVL researchers will co-author with the student.

Skills:

• Strong levels of patience and organization
• Comfort and professionalism in being the primary contact with a wide variety of stakeholders and organizations participating in the survey
• Familiarity with reading and writing academic literature

Contact: Jill Naiman <jnaiman@illinois.edu> with questions or if you are interested in this project.