Do you have a research project you’d like to develop into an interactive digital experience? Do you have a project that explores how artificial intelligence shapes culture, politics, or public discourse? Do you want to work with a team of undergraduate students and experienced designers and developers at the Ahmanson Lab?
If so, a Collaboratory might be perfect for you.
The Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study seeks proposals from USC faculty to lead Collaboratories at the Ahmanson Lab in 2025-2026.
What are Collaboratories?
Collaboratories are yearlong projects that combine guided interdisciplinary research with innovative digital making. While Collaboratories are often tied to, and advance, faculty research, their ultimate aim is to engage undergraduate students in work that connects academic research with design thinking and digital fabrication. In essence, Collaboratories center on a research topic that is best explored via the hands-on production of a digital artifact—for instance, a game, a software application, a data drive tool, or a virtual environment.
Collaboratories have two main components:
- They engage students in interdisciplinary research around a particular theme, problem, or a socially vital topic. The research topic is typically connected to work already being done by the faculty member(s) who direct the Collaboratory.
- They engage students in the design and development of a digital project. Previous examples include: interactive digital experiences such as a screen-based games or virtual reality environments; research-driven social media production; and AI-powered tools that explore or intervene in cultural, political, or social dynamics. The fabrication of the digital project is directed by Ahmanson Lab staff and the Collaboratory’s faculty member(s).
Faculty need not have any technical expertise related to the production of the Collaboratory’s digital project. Ahmanson Lab staff provide all technical support as well as all project management and planning, allowing faculty to focus on content.
Collaboratories can be led by one or more faculty member. During the academic year, faculty will be responsible for conducting weekly meetings with a team of five undergraduates and for participating in one public event that showcases the Collaboratory’s research outcomes. Collaboratories are expected to meet for one to one and a half hours a week. Time commitment for both faculty and students is typically 3-4 hours a week, including meeting time.
Teams will have access to technology at the Ahmanson Lab, including a 3D printer, a commercial-grade drone, multiple VR systems, a brain-computer interface, and microcontroller kits.
The Ahmanson Lab will assist faculty in generating a pool of student applicants for each Collaboratory and will work with faculty in the selection process. Each Collaboratory will have five students who receive a stipend from the Ahmanson Lab. A faculty stipend of $5,000 (to be shared among faculty leads) will also be available for each Collaboratory.
In the past six pears, two Collaboratory projects have gone on to secure grants from the NEH and three have received internal funding from the Office of Research and Innovation, Arts in Action, and USC Visions & Voices.
