In mid-2022 Associate Professor Oliver developed several 360-degree immersive Virtual Field Trips of hot springs with Professor Kathy Campbell at the University of Auckland.
Associate Professor Carol Oliver, long-time member of the ACA, became Deputy Director of UNSW’s iCinema Research Centre in February 2023. The iCinema Centre is focused on the development of AI-based creative visualisation across the Faculties of Arts, Architecture and Design, Australian Defence Force Academy, Engineering and Science.
In mid-2022 Associate Professor Oliver developed several 360-degree immersive Virtual Field Trips of hot springs with Professor Kathy Campbell at the University of Auckland, using the new Teaching And Learning Immersive Authoring (TALIA) tool she helped to create at UNSW and is continuing to develop.
2022 was a year of achievements for Associate Professor Oliver, during which she won the Fellowship of the UNSW Scientia Education Academy and the Vice Chancellor’s 2022 Award for Teaching Excellence. In late 2022, she stepped down as Co-Lead of UNSW’s Online Learning and Innovation Community of Practice after three years; during which she raised its membership from 12 to nearly 200 across UNSW and overseas.
Carol is an international leader in astrobiology-related VFT development and published a new paper in 2022 in the journal Astrobiology, entitled “Astrobiology-related Virtual Field Trips in higher education settings: A six-year study”. Carol is an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics, and Co-Chair of its Permanent SETI Committee. She developed and continues to teach four astrobiology and science communication online courses at UNSW. Congratulations, Carol!