But from far away, the sheer size of the wall in the context of hundreds of tiny dollar bills is what catches the viewers' attention. Goddard is currently working on developing a programming language for display walls that is easier for non-computer science students to use. She hopes the new code, part of her senior independent work for the computer science department, will open up the technology to the entire Princeton community. And the potential uses that Goddard and her classmates have developed under Shedd's guidance encompass a wide range of fields. Art history majors blow up historic paintings for closer study to determine what happens when characters suddenly become life-sized.
Physics majors study motion, and music students create soundtracks for the large-screen displays.
Yet, Princeton undergraduates are not the only students taking advantage of the University's cutting-edge technology. A few weeks ago, Shedd received an e-mail from a student the night before his Friday seminar. The student was Dr. Bill Hanson, an anesthesiologist in the intensive care unit at University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Hanson explained that he had a heart transplant to perform that evening, but that he'd try to put something together before class. The next day in class Hanson revealed his homework.