VISTA Collaboratory Project Team Wins Meliora Award

Project team in the VISTA Collaboratory
The project team pictured in front of the display wall in the VISTA Collaboratory
The Meliora Award recognizes staff members whose work performance and dedication during the preceding few years exemplify the University’s motto, Meliora (‘ever better’).

Twenty-four video displays at 50-megapixel resolution combine to create a display that measures 20 feet wide and 8 feet tall—the 1,000-square-foot VISTA (Visualization-Innovation-Science-Techology-Application) Collaboratory creates an immersive experience for the visualization and analyzation of big data across many disciplines.

The 20-member team that brought the space to life in Carlson Library is being honored.

“The work that this team has done will assist in making the University of Rochester one of the leading institutions in computational and data science research over the next few years.”

“The work that this team has done will assist in making the University of Rochester one of the leading institutions in computational and data science research over the next few years,” writes Brendan Mort, director of the Center for Integrated Research Computing (CIRC), who nominated the team.

Members include Amy Ariola, Doug Bentley, Jonathan Carroll-Nellenback, Terrance Collins-Howard, Randall Cook, Michelle Crews, Kate Crowley, Liz Dombkowski, Diane Evans, Amit Fernandes, Greg Fuller, Bert Gartner, Dan Hance, Jon Hogrefe, Zahra Kamarei, Sara May, Michael Scott, Peter Schenck, Carl Schmidtmann, and Jason Wagner. Team members hail from University IT; CIRC; Purchasing; River Campus Libraries; Campus Planning, Design, and Construction; and the Office of the Vice President for IT.

“These people worked as one fluid, cohesive organization,” writes David Topham, the Marie Curran and Joseph Chamberlain Wilson Professor and vice provost and executive director of the Health Sciences Center for Computational Innovation. “Many demonstrated exceptional leadership and organizational skills and evinced competence and integrity, completing the work with no micromanaging needed.”