Society Helps Unearth Virtual Frontier

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be part of a geologic expedition? Exploring deep into a cavern and discovering evidence of the cave's history. Now imagine living with limited mobility and being a part of the expedition. This is exactly the scenario that the National Advisory for Geoscience Diversity (NAGD) has been working toward. The NAGD, founded by Christopher Atchison, a Ph.D. candidate in geoscience education at The Ohio State University, is an advisory committee composed of higher education faculty, staff and students, geoscience industry representatives, disabilities education researchers and members of the community. This partnership is charged with identifying current research practices and opportunities for underrepresented students with disabilities, while seeking to raise awareness of improving access and exposure to the geoscience disciplines to those populations. The NAGD is currently working to create and test the use of virtual reality models as educational tools for students with disabilities.

The National MS Society's Ohio Buckeye Chapter became a member of this innovative committee at the invitation of Don Stredney of the Ohio Supercomputer Center.

Recently, two members of the Ohio Buckeye Chapter joined the NAGD: Elizabeth Thompson and Dr. Robin Dhillon. Elizabeth is an author, an MS Ambassador and recently received the Jefferson Award for her volunteer work for the Society. Dr. Dhillon is a retired cardiothoracic surgeon and Sr. Clinical Anatomy & Physiology Instructor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Both Elizabeth and Dr. Dhillon understand the benefits of this important project as they both live with the effects of multiple sclerosis.

Thompson comments, "When MS keeps us from moving like the majority of the world's people, it can affect our ability to have a profession in our area of expertise or to pursue a career in our younger years. Any program that helps people with MS or living with any disability be a productive member of society and improve quality of life will always be a bright light on my radar." Thompson's MS has left her hearing impaired and reliant on a power wheelchair for mobility. Being able to learn about cave expedition through a virtual reality model and without the constraints of disability would open a whole new world to not only Thompson, but to anyone living with disabilities.

Dr. Dhillon views the project from a more clinical viewpoint, "As one with the disease and as many others who write about it or experience it, much of what happens is difficult to explain to others as it is highly individualistic. What people with MS experience does not conform well to written descriptions. This disease complex does lend itself well to the use of virtual reality."

Moving this project forward, recent funding from the National Science Foundation will allow students who are mobility impaired to experience sections of the Mammoth Cave National Park currently inaccessible by wheelchair. This virtual field study project is just one of many projects the NAGD hopes to lead in the near future to provide better opportunities for students with mobility impairments to pursue careers in the geosciences.