The National Science Foundation has awarded UIC's Electronic Visualization Laboratory a Major Research Instrumentation grant MRI-R2: Development of the Next-Generation CAVE Virtual Environment (NG-CAVE), which will be world's first 2D+3D virtual reality environment built with near seamlessly tiled LCD panels, and provide a resolution matching human visual acuity. The NG-CAVE will support research, education and outreach in a variety of disciplines including: Computer Science, Bioengineering, Medicine, Engineering, High Performance Computing, Rehabilitation Science, and Art.

The NG-CAVE was funded by NSF through the American Recover and Reinvestment Act.