Research

Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory: CT Scanner

Texas Natural Science Center scientists utilize a variety of cutting-edge technologies to explore the past, present and future of our region and the world. Facilities like the High Resolution X-ray CT (Computed Tomography) Facility and the Visualization Lab make it possible to explore more deeply, with high-resolution detail, every nuance of a specimen, and technologies like the internet and CD-ROM allow the results to be shared with the world easily and inexpensively.

High-Resolution X-ray CT (Computed Tomography) is a completely nondestructive technique for visualizing features in the interior of opaque solid objects, and for obtaining digital information on their 3-D geometries and properties. It is useful for a wide range of materials, including rock, bone, ceramic, metal and soft tissue. High-Resolution X-ray CT differs from conventional medical CAT-scanning in its ability to resolve details as small as a few tens of microns in size, even when imaging objects made of high density materials.

The Visualization Lab makes available a high-performance, interactive computer visualization system for research projects with demanding visualization requirements. The lab features a Silicon Graphics Onyx with Reality Engine 2 graphics pipeline, capable of rendering complex 3D geometries in real time, plus video tape recording equipment so that results may be taken outside the lab.

Examples of the work of multiple technologies can be seen among the work of the Digital Morphology Group. The DMG has members from many different colleges and departments who collaborate to develop useful new digital tools, and to exploit digital technologies across a wide spectrum of challenges in research and education. The DMG includes scientists, museum curators, software developers, computer programmers, multimedia and Web designers, and publishers who meet informally, as well as in organized courses, in grant-funded research projects, and in training programs.