Digital Approaches to the Past, Present, and Future of Egmont Key, Florida
with Laura Harrison, Ph.D,
Director, University of South Florida Access 3D Lab
Egmont Key is a small island located where the Gulf of
Mexico meets Tampa Bay. Because of its strategic location, the island played a
significant role in Florida’s history. It was a haven for runaway slaves and Union
soldiers during the Civil War, a Seminole prison during the Indian Removal
Period, an outpost for rum runners during Prohibition, and a military fort in
multiple 19th and 20th century conflicts. Today,
these histories are largely invisible to the public, due to limited tourism and
outreach infrastructure on the island. In addition, coastal erosion threatens
to destroy and submerge several historic buildings. This presentation details
an ongoing interdisciplinary project at the University of South Florida that
aims to digitally document, preserve and share the cultural and natural
heritage of Egmont Key with terrestrial LiDAR, drone photogrammetry, 360
imaging, archival research, and community outreach. Together, these tools allow
us to tell the many stories of Egmont Key’s past, present and future.
Dr. Laura K. Harrison
Dr. Laura K. Harrison is the Director of Access 3D Lab, where she oversees instrumentation and workflows, spearheads outreach with faculty and researchers, and carries out collaborative digital science and digital humanities research. Dr. Harrison is an advocate of open access and interdisciplinary approaches in the sciences and humanities. She has over ten years of experience as PI and co-PI of research projects in archaeology and museum studies. Her experience with 3D virtualization includes digitally reconstructing an endangered archaeological site in Turkey, documenting historic architecture in Europe with terrestrial laser scanning, and creating a virtual museum for a collection of global archaeological and ethnographic objects, among others. As Director of USF’s Access 3D Lab, Dr. Harrison looks forward to mobilizing the facility’s resources to support and advance student and faculty research at USF and beyond.
https://www.usf.edu/arts-sciences/labs/access3d/about-us/staff.aspx