3-D virtual reality lab for engineering research opens

Calgary, AB June 23, 2003 A new 3-D lab has opened at the Calgary Centre for Innovative Technology that will virtually take engineers, geologists and other scientists to the bottom of ocean floors, inside oil and gas reservoirs and other inaccessible places, including knee joints and hearts.

The new iCentre Lab houses four large screens that project computer-generated 3-D images. These detailed 3-D visualizations provide engineering researchers and their industry colleagues with new opportunities for working shoulder-to-shoulder to solve complex problems. For example, the iCentre will provide geologists, drilling engineers, geophysicists and reservoir engineers with new insights on drilling more efficiently, understanding geological trends, creating simulations of oil and gas reservoirs and improving productivity.

The new lab was made possible by a major donation of $2.5 million in software tools by Schlumberger, the global oilfield and information services company, part of a $25.7 million software donation that Schlumberger made to the University of Calgary’s energy-related educational programs in 2001.