I’m sure that the University of Texas at Dallas’ Arts and Technology program are very proud to have one of their students interning with the Smithsonian Institution in a collaboration of combining both art and technology this semester. Carolina Dabbah Ceballos, a UT Dallas PhD student focusing on virtual environments, will be in charge of developing a business plan to help expand the Smithsonian’s Office of Exhibits Central presence by using new media technology and marketing strategies. Carolina will also be assisting in the museum’s website development.

However, the most important and exciting part of her internship is to create The Smithsonian Institution for the three dimensional virtual environment which will allow millions to visit the museum online. This project will entail high-definition photos of over 137 million objects in the museum’s collection.

I had a chance to briefly interview Carolina about her exciting internship and what she would like to do in the future. The interview questions and her answers are below:

Q. As a PhD student, what is your focus of study at the University of Texas at Dallas?

A. My focus is on virtual reality and how we could use 3D technology towards fine art; keeping the culture, art, science, and heritage going on as well as enhancing the visitors’ experience, especially for the younger generation.

Q. As an intern at the Smithsonian, what do you hope to apply with what you have learned at the university?

A. I would like to work on my dissertation towards my PhD degree in virtual reality and fine art , as well as benefiting the Smithsonian in using 3D technology to digitize their collection and marketing their services to other museums in the United States and internationally.

I’m hoping to create and develop a relationship between the Smithsonian (SI) and UT Dallas to bring other students to Washington DC that they would be able to experience the amazing technology that Research SI has to offer  to our students.

Q. Do you see 3D virtual reality gaining interest in other industries and businesses?

A. Yes, I believe 3D has a big potential to be adapted by other industries and especially big corporations.

Q. Once you graduate with a PhD, would you like to continue doing research or teach aside from being an arts administrator? If so, what would you like to teach or research?

A. Yes, I would like to continue my studies and become a professor, I have worked with Dr. Thomas Linehan as a teaching assistant for almost 5 years, he is the one who inspired me to continue my studies going from MFA to PhD., he believed in me and I will always be thankful for his support.

I wish Carolina the best at her internship and I can’t wait to see the final developments of her projects.

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