Scottish Lab Provides Hub for Visual Research Network

Dundee University Rector and Hollywood star Brian Cox has opened a major new lab facility which has been designed to bring scientists, artists, clinicians, and filmmakers together and promote interdisciplinary research.

The Visual Effects Research Lab (VERL) at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, (University of Dundee), is part of an EU-funded North Sea Screen Partners project created to produce cutting edge visual effects and new and innovative research, while providing a focus for a visual research network. The €6 million project offers companies the chance to work with the latest technology and the  network is helping post-production companies to network and

collaborate so they can get involved in larger and more lucrative projects. VERL has already been nominated for the Best Collaboration Award 2011 by Creative City Challenge. VERL Project Leader Peter Richardson, said: “The initial three-year project will challenge established notions of visual thought. Interdisciplinary research will be promoted,

and researchers will be encouraged to share methodologies. “We aim to create new synergies between scientists, artists, clinicians, and filmmakers and demonstrate the potential of them combining their respective expertise. The skills of artists and other practitioners in the creative professions can be of immense value in a wide range of other areas, and I am sure that work carried out at VERL will go on to have a significant impact in scientific and medical research and industry.” Academics and students already work closely with colleagues from Life Sciences, Medicine, Computing and other areas, collaborating on projects such as video art, digital film, visual effects, medical visualisation, animation and underwater imaging.