RAPID: Collaborative Proposal: Development of Digital Models of Minerals and Rocks for Online Geoscience Classes

由于COVID-19危机而突然转向远程在线教学，尤其影响了实验室课程。岩石学家和矿物学家已经创建了岩石和矿物标本的三维模型，这些模型可以在网上获得。托管这些的商业网站不包括可搜索的数据库。该项目将创建一个可搜索的数据库，并将模型复制到大学托管的服务器上。图像处理已成为常规，这使得创建地质标本的视觉和拓扑精确表示变得切实可行。教师们一直在创作这些图像，并将其放在商业网站上供更广泛的社区使用。问题是，这数百个虚拟标本的集合是无法搜索的。PI将创建一个可搜索的数据库，其中包含对科学教师有用的特定元数据。此外，虚拟标本也将被复制到大学托管的服务器上，这将确保多年的访问。将对其他标本进行成像。在COVID-19和广泛的在线教学转变的时代，这种虚拟收藏变得至关重要。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The sudden shift to remote online teaching due to the COVID-19 crisis has especially impacted laboratory classes. Petrologists and mineralogists have created three-dimensional models of rock and mineral specimens, which are available online. The commercial site that hosts these does not include a searchable database. This project will create a searchable database and copy the models to a university-hosted server. Additional specimens will be added.Image-processing has become routine, which has made it practical to create visually and topologically accurate representation of geologic specimens. Teachers have been creating these images and putting them on a commercial website for the use of the wider community. The problem is that this collection of hundreds of virtual specimens is not searchable. The PIs will create a searchable database with the specific metadata that will be useful to science teachers. Moreover, the virtual specimens will also be copied to a university-hosted server, which will assure access for years. Additional specimens will be imaged. This virtual collection has become vital in the time of COVID-19 and a shift to widespread online instruction.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.