With Gateway and Media Logic as only two of its industry partnerships, Ball State's Center for Media Design has become a national authority in the field of technology and media design, a Ball State professor said Wednesday.
-á-á-á"When people hear about Ball State today, many of them know who we are. Seven or eight years ago, that was not the case," said Rodger Smith, associate director for the CMD and professor of theater and dance.
-á-á-áSmith facilitated Wednesday's CMD presentation for Indiana Lieutenant Governor Kathy Davis, who has spent several weeks visiting parts of the state to learn about the technological and economic development of its cities and universities.
Smith's presentation Wednesday focused primarily on the CMD's recent achievements as well as its role in enhancing the educational experiences of Ball State students and faculty.
He said after Ball State received an iCommunications grant two years ago, the CMD served as the engine behind the grant as it helped to enhance media technology on campus. Some of the CMD's key features include its iCommunications labs, media studies program and Journalism Institute for Digital Education, he said.
One of its best assets, however, is its global media networking, which allows students to participate in teleconferences with universities throughout the world, he said.
-á-á "It has really allowed us to develop relationships with members of other countries," Smith said.
Since its development, the CMD has generated and funded almost 90 student and faculty projects. In its Middletown Media Study, one of its larger projects, researchers concluded that Americans use 130 percent more media than what is often reported as the national standard, Smith said.
"The data established us as a national authority in the (research) arena and will continue to serve as our calling card," he said.
Acting Ball State President Beverley Pitts said the CMD is as productive as it is today because of the foundation the university laid for it almost two decades ago. Without it, the university could have never prepared for the CMD, she said.
"Ball State has the ability to hire faculty who bring with them a research agenda," Pitts said. "That infrastructure added to this (CMD) initiative."
Darrell Butler, professor of psychological science, said he experienced the benefits of the CMD firsthand when it began to fund a project two years ago in which he and several students tried to design a new search engine. Working with two Ball State graduates who had strong backgrounds in computer science and design, he helped to create Web site Librarian, a special search engine that narrows its search results to help users find information quickly and easily. Butler said market research for the new search engine will begin later this year.
"I feel good about where we're headed with the project," Butler said. "It's a new kind of entity, a new kind of network. It's a way of finding what you want the first time. "
Senior Mark Miller, a telecommunications major, said he has also enjoyed working with the CMD and participating in several projects of his own. One of the projects he has managed is an interactive computer program that provides a virtual art tour of Muncie's Mitchell Gallery.
"Doing the project has been one of the best experiences of my life," Miller said. "These opportunities have opened us up to national conferences."
Yong Joe, associate professor of physics and astronomy, later highlighted Ball State's technological strengths by describing his participation in the Center for Computational Nanoscience. He said Ball State is among universities such as Notre Dame and Purdue that focus on the collaboration and networking of nanoscience research.
Davis said she was pleased with the university's devotion to such research endeavors and its overall emphasis on such complex fields of study.
"It's unfathomable," she laughed.
Smith said he was glad to be able to highlight the qualities of the CMD Wednesday and was glad Davis was able to attend the presentation.
He is proud of the progress the center has made throughout recent years, he said.
"For many years, Ball State was just a teacher's college," Smith said. "Now, like Purdue and Notre Dame, we are a research institution. And (our work) has given us national visibility."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
