
History Historia
Interchange Intercambio
Culture Cultura
The Plus Ultra Collective combines humanistic studies and technology to deepen understanding of historical examples of intercultural interchange in the Americas, Iberia, and the Mediterranean World.
El Plus Ultra Collective combina estudios humanísticos y tecnología para profundizar en la comprensión de ejemplos históricos de intercambio intercultural en las Américas, Iberia y el mundo mediterráneo.

Digital Cultural Preservation and Presentation —Preservación y presentación cultural digital
Mentorship and professional development for faculty and students —
Mentoría y desarrollo profesional para profesores y alumnos
Core Activities — Actividades Núcleos
Digital humanities workshops — Talleres de humanidades digitales
Sustainable activities via fundraising and alliances — Actividades sostenibles a través de recaudación de fondos y alianzas
Connect and collaborate
Join the Plus Ultra Collective and help advance intercultural understanding through innovative collaboration! Whether you’re interested in participating in our workshops, proposing a new project, offering training for students, or preserving a valuable collection of artifacts or documents, we’d love to hear from you. Your expertise and passion can contribute to safeguarding and sharing our shared cultural heritage. Reach out today to connect and collaborate with us!
Our Track Record
The Collective is a newly forming organization, but draws on the following past and ongoing projects that several of the collaborators have implemented. These include:
Augmented Reflections: Experiencing Spanish, Indigenous, and Anglo Relations in Mexico, New Mexico, and Colorado from the 16th Through 20th Centuries (2018-2023)
Digital Exploration of the Coronado Muster Roll of February 22, 1540 CE. View on youtube.com at https://youtu.be/D7p26w9O6ss. Supported by a $100,000 grant from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, this project used augmented and virtual reality to present cultural narratives using the Unity game engine.
Collaborators: Prof. Dr. Roger Martinez-Davila, UCCS; Mr. Sean Wybrant, Palmer High School; Prof. Dr. Fernando Feliu-Moggi, UCCS; Prof. Dr. Jane Rigler, UCCS; Prof. Dr. Minette Church, UCCS; Mr. Spencer Miles, MA, UCCS; Mr. Ian Torres, MA, UCCS; Ms. Loren King, UCCS; Mr. Alejandro Garcia, UCCS; and Mr. Guy Walker, UCCS.
Deciphering Secrets: Unlocking the Manuscripts of Medieval Spain (2014-ongoing)
Deciphering Secrets is a collaborative citizen science project focused on revealing the inter-religious relations of Jews, Christians, Muslims, and religious converts during the 12th through 16th centuries in late medieval and early modern Spain. This project portal, directed to the public and scholars alike, offers access to: (1) the Deciphering Secrets: Medieval Spanish Manuscript and Transcription Collection, (2) Spanish paleography and historical resources that include e-publication, video instruction, and practicums; (3) peer-reviewed research and publications and other findings; and (4) citizen science Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Zooniverse efforts (spring 2022).
Collaborators: The project is supported by a distinguished group of scholars and institutional collaborators specializing in historical research, manuscript studies, and cultural heritage preservation. Key contributors include Dr. Roger Martínez-Dávila from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), Dr. Santiago Palomero Plaza from Museo Sefardí, and Dr. Mariano García Ruipérez from Archivo Municipal de Toledo. Additional experts include Mr. Isidoro Castañeda Todera from Archivo y Biblioteca Capitular de Toledo, Mr. Fernando Luis Fontes Blanco from Museo de Santa Cruz, and Dra. Aránzazu Lafuente Urién from Archivo Histórico Nacional-Sección Nobleza (AHNSN). The project also benefits from the expertise of Dr. Jaime Alvar Ezquerra from UC3M, Dr. Francisco García Serrano Nebras from Saint Louis University-Madrid, and Dra. Ana María Rodríguez López from CSIC in Madrid.
This project has received funding from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement nº 600371, el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (COFUND2013-51509) and Banco Santander. Additional funding provided by University of Colorado System, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, and Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
The Immersive Global Middle Ages (IGMA) (2022-2023)
The(IGMA) was a 28-month initiative funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, running from January 2022 to December 2023. Focused on advancing interdisciplinary research, pedagogy, and public engagement through immersive technologies, IGMA explored the “Global Middle Ages” (500–1500 CE) to reimagine cultural exchanges and narratives of this era. The project combined virtual workshops, in-person training, and innovative digital modeling tools like SketchUp Pro, Gephi, and VR platforms to create immersive historical reconstructions.
Collaborators: Co-directed by Dr. Roger L. Martínez-Dávila(UCCS) and Dr. Lynn Ramey from Vanderbilt University. The IGMA featured a distinguished lineup of expert speakers and participants from universities and institutions around the globe. These include Geraldine Heng (University of Texas at Austin), Lisa Fagin Davis (Medieval Academy of America), David Charles Fredrick (University of Arkansas), Jaime Molina Vidal (Universidad de Alicante, Spain), Sean Perrone (St. Anselm College), Victor R. Schinazi (Bond University, Australia), Amy N. Fredeen (Cook Inlet Tribal Council), Dorothy Kim (Brandeis University), Ángel D. Nieves (Northeastern University), Tracy Fullerton (University of Southern California), Madeleine Casad (Vanderbilt University), David Neville (Grinnell College), Lisa Snyder (University of California, Los Angeles), and Catherine Holmes (Oxford University).
Notable institute participants include Courtney Luckhardt (University of Southern Mississippi), Nahir I. Otaño Gracia (University of New Mexico), M. Christina Bruno (Fordham University), Sierra Lomuto (Rowan University), Hadeer Aboelnagah (Prince Sultan University), Katherina Fostano (Fordham University), Curtis Dean Smith (California State University, Sacramento), Edward Holt (Grambling State University), Elizabeth J. West (Georgia State University), Matthew Herbst (University of California, San Diego), Blair Apgar (Independent Researcher), Maureen McGuire (University of California, Santa Cruz), Claire Dillon (Columbia University), Jonathan Correa Reyes (Pennsylvania State University), and Anne McClanan (Portland State University). More at: https://grants.uccs.edu/igma/
Virtual Plasencia (2014-2018)
Supported by the Global Middle Ages Project
Virtual Plasencia is collaborative entity that is digitally recreating the virtual world of medieval Plasencia assembles geovisualization experts, historians, geographers, linguists, and computer scientists in the U.S.A., Switzerland, and Spain as well as global “citizen scholars”.
Collaborators: Dr. Roger L. Martinez-Davila; Victor R. Schinazi (ETH-Zurich and Bond University); Dr. Francisco Garcia Serrano (St. Louis University-Madrid Campus); Katja Wolff (ETH-Zurich); Paddington Hodza and Skye Swoboda-Colberg (University of Wyoming); Dr. Geraldine Heng, Aaron Choate, Jade Diaz, Ladd Hanson, Jennifer Hecker, Ethan Persoff, Matthew Villalobos, and Ece Turnator (University of Texas); Zatun, a game design company. Additionally, secured collaborative agreements and endorsements from key Spanish institutions, including the City of Plasencia (Ayuntamiento de Plasencia); Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura, y Deportes); and Centro Sefarad Israel.
More at: https://globalmiddleages.org/project/virtual-plasencia
Windows OS Virtual Plasencia App: Download here (200 Mb)
Digital narrative on YouTube.com: View “La Mota”