Rozhen Kamal Mohammed-Amin is a shining example of how graduate students’ initiatives can help the university’s Eyes High vision of becoming fully integrated with the community of Calgary become reality.
The Environmental Design (EVDS) PhD student was recently awarded a Roger Soderstrom Scholarship from Alberta Historical Resources Foundation's (AHRF) Heritage Preservation Partnership program in support of her research project, which involves designing and developing a mobile augmented reality (AR) project for Calgary’s Heritage Park. Canada’s largest living history museum receives a large number of visitors from inside and outside the Calgary community.
“I am honoured to be a recipient of Roger Soderstorm Scholarship,” says Mohammed-Ami, who earned her architectural engineering degree from the University of Sulaimani in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and finished her master’s degree in EVDS in 2010. “This is a prestigious recognition for my research project’s contribution in presenting the rich history of Calgary and Alberta to visitors of Heritage Park from Canada and around the world.”
As a technology for merging real and virtual world together, AR enables inserting and linking virtual objects and entities into physical objects or spaces. This character promises a state-of-the-art way for experiencing historic sites and museums using personalized devices like smartphones and tablets.
Heather Klimchuk, Alberta’s minister of culture, congratulated Mohammed-Ami in a letter, and thanked her for her commitment for preservation of Alberta’s heritage. Klimchuk expressed the proud support of the Government of Alberta for individuals like Mohammed-Ami who undertake initiatives to preserve and present Alberta’s heritage. The projects funded by AHRF support the goals outlined in Alberta’s cultural policy, the Spirit of Alberta, which ensures Albertans have the opportunity to share, express and experience culture in a province that respects the past, celebrates the present and welcomes the future.
Article by Rozhen Mohammed-Amin. Image by HITLabNZ.