A Virtualized Laboratory for Earthquake Engineering Education FALKO KUESTER, TARA C. HUTCHINSON Department of Structural Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 Received 24 October 2004; accepted 12 March 2006 ABSTRACT: Physical laboratory-based experiments have been established as a funda- mental learning tool in many areas of science and engineering education. They have particularly enriched engineering education by supporting different learning styles. However, the type of physical experiments is generally governed by the available infrastructure and resources, frequently limiting the exposure to valuable educational material to a relatively small audience. With the creation of ‘‘Virtualized Laboratories’’ this problem can be addressed in the form of realistic, multi-dimensional digital records, capturing the essential characteristics of a physical experiment. To this end, in this paper we present a virtualized laboratory for earthquake engineering education that utilizes virtual reality technology to capture and disseminate the results of shake table experiments. ß 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 15: 15À29, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20091 Keywords: virtualized laboratories; virtual reality; earthquake engineering education INTRODUCTION The real-world nature of civil engineering has always lent itself well to physical learning experiences, where both material and system-level behavioral outcomes are easily presented to students. As such, physical laboratory-based experiments have become well established as a fundamental learning tool and have enhanced engineering education by supporting differ- ent learning styles. However, the type of experiment is generally governed by the infrastructure and resources available at a particular University, frequently limiting the exposure to valuable educational material to a relatively small audience. With the creation of ‘‘Virtualized Laboratories’’ this problem can be addressed in the form of realistic, multi-dimensional records, capturing the essential characteristics of a physical experiment. Of primary importance for virtualized experi- ments are physically accurate visual models that Correspondence to F. Kuester (fkuester@ucsd.edu). Contract grant sponsor: NSF; contract grant number: EIA- 0203528. Contract Grant sponsor: Center for Educational Partner- ship (CEP) at the University of California, Irvine; contract grant number: NSF-FOCUS. ß 2007 Wiley Periodicals Inc. 15