VizWorld.com

Students of graphic design and visualization may want to check out the new pair of contests from RTT and NVidia where universities, research teams, and students can submit work.  The contest is focused on innovative technological processes and methods in real-time high-end visualization.

“These contests provide an ideal platform for new talent wanting to present their work and test their abilities in the market,” said RTT USA CEO Jeroen Snepvangers. “Through this competition, the next generation of 3D talent can meet and exchange ideas with ‘shining stars’ in the fields of 3D visualization and animation. RTT provides the tools with which new forms of communication can be developed, but the students add creativity and artistic performance to deliver outstanding visualizations.”

The two contests, the “Emerging Technology Conference” and the “Funky Visualization Contest”.   You can get more info at the RTTOpen site.

via RTT USA Launches Two International Competitions for 3D Visualization Leaders of the Future – RTT USA, Inc. – pitchengine.com.

Graphics, Science contest, rtt, visualization

Contestants, dig out your visualization textbooks and prepare for a new contest from ReadWriteWeb and Tableau.  Download one of their preselected datasets, create an impressive visualization with Tableau Public, and have a chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to the Web2.0 EXPO and $500 cash.

ReadWriteWeb and Tableau Public have teamed up to challenge you to our first interactive “graph” contest. Tableau Public makes it so that anyone can make their blog or website standout with an interactive viz (visualization). The question is…will you be the one who publishes a viz so engaging and so smart that you rock our panel of viz and blogging experts? If you are, you’ll win big!

Full rules and instructions are on their site.

via The ReadWriteWeb And Tableau Public Challenge | Tableau Public.

Science contest, tableau

Here are today’s pixels:

• LightWorks Design names the victor in their latest competition (shown right)
• Exclusive: Michele Bousquet responds to complaints & criticisms about TurboSquid’s changes & SquidGuild
• Ray drops the price of the Ray Projector to $199
• Trinigy Vision Engine 8 demo video
• Redsdk 2.2 Global illumination tools

Graphics contest, lightworks, pixels, redsdk, trinity

InsideHPC’s John West just finished a review of “Programming Massively Parallel Processors: A Hands on Approach” by David Kirk and Wen-mei Hwu, and now that the book is read, what to do?

Easy, give it away.  Hit his site for the details, but basically just send him an email and you are automatically entered to win.

Win a free copy of Programming Massively Parallel Processors | insideHPC.com.

Science book, contest, gpgpu

GOOD Magazine has announced their next Infographic contest, with the details on their site:

As you may know, our next issue is the Neighborhoods issue. We’ve asked for and received tons of help from you all in thinking of ideas. But we’ll be honest, we’re having a hard time thinking of topics for our infographics to be included in the issue. There will be some, but we’re turning to you for support. Can you make an infographic—locally or nationally focused—that sums up something interesting about the contrast between different neighborhoods (say, ethnicity, income, education level, anything else), or what makes your individual neighborhoods so special?

So if you have an idea, now’s your chance!  Publicity and a free subscription could be yours, if you can conjure up your submission by March 9th.

via Project: Create an Infographic About Neighborhoods – GOOD Blog – GOOD.

Graphics contest, good, infographic

MSNBC has posted an article on the winners of the 2009 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. The visualization images range from conceptual visualization, to information visualizations, to photographs produced from electron tunneling microscopes. The image to the right is my favorite. It is called “Kuen’s Surface: A Meditation on Euclid, Lobachevsky and Quantum Field”. Basically it is a conceptual visualization of an equation used in quantum field theory. Click through the link to see fifteen more amazing images that accompany the article.

via : Top sights of science

Science conference, contest, Science

Fans of machinima and 3D modeling should check out the University of Western Australia’s campus in Second Life where they regularly hold Art & Design Challenges.  The most recent challenge has just completed and winners announced.

At a loss for words, Igor said, ‘I was genuinely surprised, I thought I got that one award, and was happy’. FreeWee helped him out, saying, ‘The UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge has rapidly emerged as one of the top showcases for virtual arts. I am grateful to the selection committee for selecting my Mutoscope project and to JayJay, Quadrapop and the UWA Imagine Challenge for providing such a stimulating venue for creative work. I never have any expectation of winning competitions. I’m more interested in just participating. To be selected for a prize among such a remarkable field of entries is both startling and truly humbling.’

Pictures of the entries and SLURL’s to their location inworld are available on their site.

via UWA in Second Life.

Graphics art, contest, secondlife

Good is sponsoring a contest this month to produce an inforgraphics on the Haitian earthquake. They are interested in an infographic that takes a look at why the earthquake was so devestating, the toll that it took on the people, the recovery efforts, and the aid that is flowing from around the world. From the article:

This will be the first in a monthly series of infographic design contests here at GOOD. The topics, judges, and prizes may vary from month to month, but we’ll always be asking the brilliant creative members of our community to help in our quest to make the world’s data more accessible. Here’s this month’s project:

Highlight the scope of the Haiti earthquake, as well as the aid given to help recover from the disaster.

via Good : Project: Create an Infographic About the Haiti Earthquake

Graphics contest, haiti, infographic

The invaZion 2010 challenge is revving up, and focusing on 3D Stereo Short films this time.  They’ve named their star-studded judge panel, including guys from Pixar, Dreamworks, and Disney, and their prizes are worth 20,o00 € .

Entries must be in by March 30th, and much be in either 720p or 1080p format.  If you want to enter, the full submission guidelines are available online.

news – invaZion ’10.

Graphics 3d, animation, contest, invazion, short, stereoscopic

A pair of contests of interest to infographics people have cropped up today.

First off is related to yesterday’s announcement that Stephen Few would be keynote speaker at the PureShare User’s Group 2009. PureShare is now offering a chance to win a free pass to Stephen Few’s 1-day course to be held March 3rd.  The course description:

Dashboards have become a popular means to present critical business information at a glance, but few do so effectively. When designed well, dashboards engage the power of visual perception to communicate a dense collection of information in an instant with exceptional clarity. This can only be achieved by applying visual design skills that address the unique design challenges of dashboards.

Learn these critical skills at an information dashboard design training session presented by Stephen Few, an author and leader in the field of data visualization. Stephen Few will expose the common problems in dashboard design and introduce effective dashboard design practices through examples that explain what works, what doesn’t, and why.

Huge IT investments are made to access and produce actionable information, only to have efforts fail at the very last stage of the process: the presentation of insights to those responsible for making decisions. Protect your investments and maximize your business and operational data by taking this course!

The second contest comes from CoolInfographics, who shows us how to win a signed copy of David McCandless’s “The Visual Miscellaneum”.

First of all, The Visual Miscellaneum is a great book of infographics by David McCandless.

Second, and more importantly, it has sold out in the U.S.  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders and others all show the book to be Out Of Stock.  David has what are potentially the last five copies of the first edition, and he is going to sign them and give them away for free.

Visit David’s site, Information is Beautiful, (you should bookmark his site while you’re there) and post a comment ON HIS SITE under his entry about the last five books.  On Saturday, January 16th, David will choose five people from the comments to receive the free signed copies.

So go head over and see if you can win!

Science contest