The DHHC is an interdisciplinary research initiative designed to meet the growing need for coordination and collaboration of education, research, and outreach efforts in the rapidly evolving areas of reality capture, geomatics, three-dimensional digital technologies, visualization, and Global Information Systems (GIS). DHHC specializes in the application of these combined techniques relating to heritage sites, land management integration, and museum and collection documentation. These areas of specialization span the natural and social sciences, and emphasize cross-disciplinary engagement and research. More broadly, our methods and approaches are supportive of technology learning and high demand workplace skills, useful across domains and including strong global impact.

The DHHC works to preserve and protect the world’s cultural and natural heritage through education and global engagement by creating interdisciplinary approaches to 3D research and curriculum that address real world issues and concerns. Our primary research areas focus on cultural and natural heritage digitization with emphasis on projects relating to climate change impacts on heritage, environmental integrated management, rock art and stone architecture digitization, museum collection 3D strategies, historic preservation and condition assessments, karst and cave site documentation, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) spatial database and digitization research support, and research relating to ethics, standards, and interpretation initiatives relating to 3D and Geographic Information Science (GIS) applications.