Lori C. Walters, Ph.D.

• Research Associate Professor
• Lori.Walters@ucf.edu
• 407-882-1406
• View personal website

Dr. Walters is the director of the ChronoPoints laser scanning lab located at the School of Modeling, Simulation & Training. She teaches a variety of history courses including Laser Scanning America's Past, US Space History, Viewing America in the 20th Century, History of the Future, Cold War Homefronts, and US History 1939-1960. 

Her research interests include the application of laser scanning, virtual and augmented reality to post World War II historical topics. Her local interests are the history of the space program here in Florida and the history of the City of Cocoa Beach. She is the recipient of support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, Microsoft, and the State of Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation. Lori can never resist working on any project that addresses an aspect of Mid-Century architecture and design and is known to obsess about one amazing Mid-Century building, the Cocoa Beach Glass Bank.

Education

• Ph.D. in United States History/ Public History from Florida State University (1998)

Research Interests

Digital Heritage (Laser Scanning & Virtual/Augmented Reality), Mid-Century Architecture, US Space History, Florida Space Coast - Cocoa Beach, 1950s/1960s US Popular Culture/Film

Recent Research Activities

Terrestrial Laser Scanning Mid-Century Structures

Augmented Reality - Microsoft HoloLens

Selected Publications

Articles/Essays

• L.C. Walters & R.A. Michlowitz, "A Retrospective Perspective on the Digital Recreation of Mid-Century Subjects," Journal of Visual Ethnography, 2016, 5(2), 37-54.
• L.C. Walters, C.E. Hughes, D. Hughes, “Revisiting the Future: Designing and Implementing a Large-Scale, Historically Conscious Virtual Environment,”  Games & Culture, December 2011, 6(6), 538-559.
• “Beyond the Cape: An Examination of Cape Canaveral’s Influence on the City of Cocoa Beach, 1950-1963,” Florida Historical Quarterly, 87 (Fall: 2008), 235-257.
• “The World Was There: A Photographic History of Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral,” Florida Historical Quarterly, 82 (Winter: 2003), 43-58.

Book Sections/Chapters

• L.C Walters. "1964-65 New York World’s Fair and Future Technology: A Study of the Japan Pavilion," in Meet Me at the Fair: A World’s Fair Reader, ed. Celia Pearce et al. Carnegie Mellon University Press, Pittsburgh. 2014.

Conference Papers/Presentations

• LC Walters, RA Michlowitz, MJ Adams, Using Laser Scans and ‘Life History’ to Remember Heritage in Virtual Environments, HCI International Conference Proceedings Part II, Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality, 19-24 July 2020, 314-326.
• RA Michlowitz, LC Walters, MJ Adams. Mid-Century Modern Structures and Community: Capturing a Building’s Life, International Congress of Creative Cities Conference, 24-25 January 2018, 1064-1077.. 

Awards

Selected Awards

• University of Central Florida, Excellence in Research Award - College of Graduate Studies - 2022
• University of Central Florida, Research Incentive Award (RIA) - 2021
• University of Central Florida, Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) Award - 2020
• University of Central Florida, Luminary Award - 2019
• Florida Historical Society, Caroline P. Rossetter Award - Outstanding Woman in Florida History - 2019
• News 13, Everyday Hero - 2016

Selected External Grants as PI or Co-PI

• National Science Foundation, CISE Community Research Infrastructure, Planning Grant - 2021
• National Endowment for the Humanities, Digital Humanities Advancement Grant (Level III) - 2021
• National Science Foundation, Cyberlearning Grant - 2019
• National Endowment for the Humanities, Digital Humanities Advancement Grant (Level II) - 2017
• Microsoft HoloLens Award -2015
• National Endowment for the Humanities, Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant -2011
• National Science Foundation, Informal Science Education Grant - 2009
• National Endowment for the Humanities, Digitial Humanities Start-Up Grant - 2007
• State of Florida, Division of Historical Resources Preservation Grant - 2006 
• State of Florida, Division of Historical Resources Preservation Grant - 2005

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration/ American Society of Engineering Education Fellowship, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas

Courses

• Spring 2023
• Fall 2022
• Summer 2022
• Spring 2022
• Fall 2021
• Summer 2021