Analyzing Pittsburgh's Urban Tree Distribution, Varieties, and Benefits

Author: Nayoung Kwon (Pitt Exchange Student, College of Business Administration)

Research Question: What do we know about Pittsburgh's urban trees and how they connect to air quality, flood risks, or property values? 

Project Description: Pittsburgh is home to thousands of trees that improve air quality, reduce flood risks, and boost property values. This exhibit visualizes the distribution of trees across the city, analyzes their size by land use type, and explores their impact on stormwater management, air purification, and real estate. By understanding the role of urban trees, we can identify areas in need of more greenery and encourage community involvement in tree preservation and planting efforts. Browse through these graphs to learn more!

China’s Cultural Revolution in Memories 

Author: Haihui Zhang (Former Head of the East Asian Library, University Library System)

Research Question: How can different experiences and memories influence an individual's understanding of a historical event?

Project Description: CR/10 (Cultural Revolution: 10) is an experimental oral history project. It aims to collect ordinary people’s authentic memories and impressions of China's Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which lasted 10 years, from 1966 to 1976. Interviews began in December 2015 and continues to the present, with 121 interviews available in the University Library System's Digital Collections. History cannot be quantified; therefore CR/10 does not focus on the number of interviews gathered. Rather, the project's primary goal is to record and express individuals' different, distinct experiences.

Emerging Technology @ Pitt: an Open Lab Project Showcase 

Authors: Evan Fuccio, Stephen Grenesko, Dan Kaple, Caitlin Pulizotto, Dr. Abby West, V.Z. White, Abigail Zimmerman

Research Question: How are Pitt students, faculty, and staff using emerging technology to make ideas tangible through art, design, and science?

Project Description: Dr. Abby West's 3D-printed skulls are tangible models for studying cranial evolution. Caitlin Pulizotto’s “For Review” blends printmaking with laser-engraving, creating insect prints pierced with entomological pins. V.Z. White’s "Caterpillar Crib" is a 3D-printed and laser-cut habitat for raising Monarch caterpillars safely. Evan Fuccio’s photography project “478,” shot on medium format film, explores anxiety and a calming breathing technique. The "'Roc Klimber' Arcade Game" by Abigail Zimmerman and Stephen Grenesko merges digital gameplay with physical computing. Dan Kaple's "In Process" uses a single 3D scan of himself as a digital starting point for a series of creative self-portraits.

History Students Recreate a Woodblock Print from 18th Century Japan

Authors: Dr. Raja Adal (Assistant Professor of History), Hiro Good (Japanese Studies Librarian, University Library System), Dan Kaple (Digital Creation Specialist, University Library System)

Research Question: The world is full of myths about the past, but what was it really like to live in Japan hundreds of years ago?

Project Description: The world is full of myths that we tell ourselves and each other. They could be myths about the samurai as fearless warriors or about a mythical golden age. But it’s harder to experience the past, to experience what it was like to cook a meal in a kettle hung on a pothook above a sunken hearth or, for that matter, to make a woodblock print. This woodblock printing activity helped students balance myths and histories about the past with a slice of experience from the past. So the next time they encounter a myth about their own past maybe they can be a little wiser for it and ask: what was it really like?