USU Anthropology Program and Partners to Build Spatial Analysis Facility

The National Science Foundation has awarded $418,000 to a consortium that includes Utah State University’s Anthropology Program, USU Museum of Anthropology, USU Regional Campuses and Distance Education (RCDE) and a private USU spin-off company, USU Archaeological Services, Inc. (USUAS).

 

The funds will create and equip a state-of-the-art spatial analysis laboratory for anthropology faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students at the Logan and regional campuses, as well as for USUAS clients. Additional funding from the USU vice president for research puts the total value of the project at more than $600,000.

 

The planned laboratory will house equipment for collecting spatial data in the field and laboratory instruments to gather data at the scale of individual objects. Field equipment purchases will include high-accuracy global positioning system (GPS) units, remote sensing instruments, such as a ground-penetrating radar system, a magnetometer that allows users to “see” under the surface of the ground and a total station for taking measurements to the nearest half-centimeter when excavating archaeological sites or documenting landscapes.

 

Laboratory equipment includes x-ray, video microscope and three-dimensional scanning devices to extract precise data from ethnographic and archaeological objects, as well as computers equipped and networked with geographic information systems (GIS) to process the data.

 

The laboratory includes broadcast equipment so students across the RCDE system can work one-on-one with faculty members on original research projects that involve the collection and interpretation of anthropological data. The Museum of Anthropology will use the instruments to create three-dimensional virtual replicas of objects in its collections for display online.

 

The project benefits all consortium members and many other audiences, according to Bonnie Pitblado, USU Anthropology Program director, museum director and the grant’s principal investigator.

 

“The new equipment will dramatically expand the research our faculty can do and expand our ability to share the museum collections with a wider audience,” Pitblado said. “That the project will unfold as the museum prepares to move to a renovated Art Barn is serendipitous.”

 

Pitblado is joined by a number of additional co-principal investigators for the grant, including USU anthropology professor Patricia Lambert, USUAS Director Kenneth Cannon, USU anthropology faculty member Chris Morgan and USU-Brigham City campus anthropology faculty member Emily Jones.

 

“This facility will make our new USU anthropology master’s program in archaeology and cultural resource management incredibly attractive to prospective students,” Lambert said. “The students’ experience with the new instruments will translate into increased job opportunities upon graduation.”

 

Robert Wagner, associate vice provost and executive director for Distance Education, is pleased to collaborate on the undertaking and agrees with Jones on the importance of the student experience.

 

“Distance-enabling the lab will open doors to cutting-edge technologies and research opportunities for students based all over the state of Utah,” Jones said. “You don’t have to be in Logan to use these instruments.”

 

The partnership between USU and USUAS, Inc. is a public-private-sector collaboration encouraged by NSF. The new lab and equipment furthers that partnership. USUAS director and grant co-PI Kenneth Cannon said the equipment will be used to expand services offered to clients, while improving the efficiency of the business.

 

Royalties generated by USUAS support the USU Anthropology Program and will also help fund the long-term maintenance of the lab.

 

The addition of the spatial analysis laboratory provides another element in USU’s expanding program.

 

“This is an exciting time for the USU Anthropology Program,” Morgan said. “In just over a year, we have launched a business that helps fund our programs, initiated a campaign to increase the size and offerings of our museum and obtained NSF funding that will provide unparalleled hands-on educational experiences for our students. We are particularly delighted to build this new resource at a time that our college is moving in a new direction.”

 

USU’s Executive Vice President and Provost Raymond T. Coward endorsed the importance of the grant.

 

“This is a very special opportunity for our faculty and students in anthropology,” Coward said. “These faculty initiatives — fueled by state, local and federal support — reflect the quality and vibrancy of our academic programs at USU in the humanities and social sciences. We are extremely proud that national experts in these fields have acknowledged the quality and productivity of our faculty and their students and have created this extraordinary laboratory resource in the state of Utah.”

 

For more information, contact Pitblado, (435) 797-1496.

 

 

Source: Anthropology Program

Contact: Bonnie Pitblado, 435-797-1496, bonnie.pitblado@usu.edu