The legendary Caltech University launched a virtual world campus in Second Life last year during the pandemic, and is now offering Virtech to academics worldwide who are interested in a free venue/hosting space for their research projects and educational events.
"As the academic year ended, and as the pandemic restrictions end, we are transitioning to the next phase of of Virtech, as an experimental and educational space," Virtech director and Caltech astronomy professor George Djorgovski tells me. (His SL avatar is charmingly dubbed "Curious George".)
Here's the kind of projects Virtech's team is most interested in hosting, and how academics can get in touch with George and his team, to apply for access:
"We can host any legitimate research or educational projects by other groups, and we are open to possible collaborations (but collaborations with us are not required). We are especially interested in the projects that can make an effective use of virtual worlds as a scholarly or educational platform. We also welcome any educators and academics who simply want to use the sim as a relaxing and social space, for networking, and discussions that may lead to the future collaborations."
More info on Virtech here and also on George's VR group in Caltech here. Contact George in-world or e-mail him at djorgovski[at]caltech[dot]edu.
This looks like a great opportunity for educators to share a space with Caltech academics, following in the giant footsteps of Einstein, Feynman, and of course, Dr. Sheldon Cooper.
Questions? Post in Comments below and I'll nudge Curious George to reply!
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