Arne Flaten, recipient of the 2013 Horry Telephone Cooperative Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Award, will present his lecture on the digital project Ashes2Art at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, in the James J. Johnson Auditorium at Coastal Carolina University. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Flaten, professor and chair of the University's Department of Visual Arts, received the HTC award last fall in recognition of his achievements as a teacher, scholar and communicator during his tenure at CCU. Flaten is the 17th recipient of the award presented annually by HTC.

Flaten's lecture is titled "Preparing the Next Generation: Virtual Archaeology and Cultural Heritage" and will focus on Ashes2Art, an innovative program that develops virtual reconstructions of ancient monuments. The talk will combine history, cultural heritage, archaeology and international intrigue with the computer innovations viewers see on the Discovery and History channels.

Since 2005, the award-winning Ashes2Art project (coastal.edu/ashes2art) has focused on innovative pedagogical and interactive undergraduate research methods of studying, interpreting, archiving, preserving and digitally disseminating materials related to virtual archaeology and culture preservation of world heritage sites. Under faculty supervision, students design the materials, including 3D digital reconstruction of ancient monuments, along with educational videos, digital panoramic photographs, web designs, thematic essays, onsite GPS data collection and educational lesson plans.

Flaten earned a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College and a master's degree and Ph.D. in art history from Indiana University-Bloomington. He joined the CCU faculty in 2003 and is the co-founder and co-director of Ashes2Art.