PI:  Eve Wurtele
Co-PIs:  Diane Bassham, Julie Dickerson, Steven Herrnstadt

Summary: The driving idea behind the Meta!Blast project is that interactive, dynamic learning environments can facilitate student learning of complex biological concepts. In this interactive, immersive, 3-D game, students will be immersed in a biologically accurate plant cell. Individual biological concepts will be parsed into student tasks, while keeping these tasks in the context of the whole environment. Meta!Blast combines sophisticated simulation technology with accurate biological information, allowing students to explore and interact with a cell, and during this process, to discover cellular energetics, gene function, cellular defenses against pathogens, and the consequences of compartmentation. Control over environmental scales also help make the student aware of not only the individual parts and processes in the cell but how they work together to allow the whole to function.

01-09-2009
SWE (Society of Women Engineers) Members Engineer the Grand Challenges: Joy of Living

02-11-2008
BIOLOGICAL VIDEO GAME: Multi-disciplinary effort produces video game for the life sciences.