Worldwide Finals — Paris, France
From left to right: Joe Zhou, Adam Risi and Zachery Shivers, a quartet of sophomores and juniors from Rochester Institute of Technology, are the 2008 U.S. Imagine Cup Finals winners of the Software Design category. Displayed here is their winning project that programs and configures a network of sensors to take readings of environmental variables such as AC current, temperature, humidity, light, sound, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and motion. Users can capture individual sensor readings by connecting to the appropriate network node; meanwhile, data is stored by Microsoft SQL Server for eventual study and analysis. The sensors are also programmable and accessible via cell phone. As winners, they will receive $12,000 and an opportunity for each member of the team to travel to Paris, France, as a guest of Microsoft Corp., to compete in the Imagine Cup 2008 Worldwide Software Design Invitational Final.
Team Carbon Cart, Ryan Tilton, Reed Probus, Kevin McFarland and Laura Hanes, three freshmen and a junior at Seattle Pacific University, won second place in the Software Design category and $8,000 at the 2008 U.S. Imagine Cup Finals. CarbonCart is an eco-conscious e-commerce site carrying the entire product inventory of online retail giant Amazon.com that allows consumers to carbon-neutralize their Internet shopping. By placing their orders for Amazon.com products through CarbonCart.com, consumers can purchase carbon credits to pay for renewable energy initiatives, reforestation or energy efficiency projects that offset the carbon dioxide generated in the shipping of their purchases.
Third place winners in the Software Design category, IcedTeamLemon won $4,000 for their project LemonSketch. Members (from left to right) Geoffrey Schutta, Raphael Mun, Jason Meistrich and Sophie Xie are a collective effort of computer science, cognitive science and business students from Carnegie Mellon University, the College of William & Mary, and UCLA. LemonSketch enables people to teach and learn in a way that is enhanced by technology, while promoting sustainable practices to the environment. The LemonSketch software incorporates a tablet drawing tool that encourages creative growth in academia.
U.S. Imagine Cup Finals’ first place winners in the Game Development category, George Washington University students Mark Aoyama (seated) and Martin Smith (standing) of Team Ligersoft demonstrate their winning submission to Microsoft U.S. Western Region Vice President Chris Weber. Their game, Ecocism, is a futuristic arcade-style experience that demands that players manage their resources strategically, restore the environment and fend off onslaughts from enemy combatants. As the winners of the U.S. Imagine Cup Finals, Team Ligersoft will receive $5,000 and their own booth at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), one of the largest gaming expos in the country.
Team Green Pill, the brainchild of a quintet of students from California State University, Fullerton, won second place and $3,000 at the 2008 U.S. Imagine Cup Finals. Displayed here is their project, LATROP (Last Attempt to Rescue Our Planet), a multilevel game that challenges players to race against the clock to get soda cans into a recycling bin and log a high score. There are some 20 mind-bending levels to navigate, and gamers can compete with a friend in two-player mode to determine the best recycler.
Team CTW (from left to right) Arthur Munoz, Terry Wong, Mehmet Akkurt and James Methvin from California State University, Fullerton, won third place and $1,500 at the 2008 U.S. Imagine Cup Finals. In their eco-conscious project — Clean the World — virtual cleaning agents are used to rid the world of harmful pollutants.
From left to right: Team Provisio, Melissa Hui and Jennifer Hui, a team of sisters from Wayne State University, are the 2008 U.S. Imagine Cup Finals first place winners of the Photography category. Displayed here is their photo essay project that transports viewers to the cradle of the world’s ecosystem — rain forests — and depicts how technology is being applied there to try to slow global warming and deforestation. As winners, they will receive $5,000, a two-page color spread in American Photography magazine and a display of pictures on the Imagine Cup micro site of PopPhoto.com.
Sean Combs of James Madison University won second place in the photography category for project DelSur. Sean wants to remind people of the awe-inspiring majesty of the natural world as an impetus that spurs them to take urgent action to address global warming. The photos are intended to take the viewer on a journey to show a glimpse of the current environmental situation and emphasize the need for change. As second place winner, Sean won $3,000 and the opportunity to display his pictures on the Imagine Cup micro site www.PopPhoto.com.
Competitors in last year’s Imagine Cup Finals based in Korea (from left to right) Malcolm Smith and Brian Thomas came back this year to win third place in the photography category for the U.S. Finals. This duo from Western Washington University and Texas A&M University created a trifecta of visual statements intended to highlight the simple everyday steps people can take to live more sustainably. As third place winners, Malcolm and Brian won $1,500 and the opportunity to display their pictures on the Imagine Cup micro site www.PopPhoto.com.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – On Feb. 5-19, the top six teams from the Imagine Cup 2007 Software Design competition gathered in the technology capitol of the world – the Silicon Valley – for the opportunity of a lifetime: to take their winning Imagine Cup concepts to the next level — market reality. The Microsoft-BT Imagine Cup Innovation Accelerator is an intensive two-week-long workshop designed to help the student teams refine their designs and receive expert guidance on developing a business plan, securing venture capital, bringing their concepts to market and running a successful startup.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, center, meets with the Innovation Accelerator participants and organizers from both Microsoft and BT on the Stanford University campus.
The team from Thailand shows off its LiveBook! software project that converts a text-based book into a virtual graphical tool for children learning to read and write. Members are Vasan Chienmaneetaweesin, Prachaya Phaisanwiphatpong, Pathompol Saeng-Uraiporn and Jatupon Sukkasem.
Team En#605 from Korea demonstrates its Finger Code project, an educational solution for deaf and blind people with a great desire to learn. Members are Lim Byoung-su, Lim Chan-kyu, Jeong Ji-hyeon and Min Kyoung-hoon.
The Jamaican team explains how its CADI e-learning solution creates a centralized learning environment that connects teachers, students and resources – regardless of location or language. Members are Imran Allie, Ayson Baxter, Damion Mitchell and Conroy Smith.
Team inGest from Ireland created a tool for learning sign language in a 3-D environment by combining motion-capture software and computer vision analysis. Members are Mark Clerkin, Cathal Coffey, Daniel Kelly and Eric McClean.
The team from Mexico created Wisdom Spice, which enables students to capture the experience of solving homework or executing a project, and then share it with their classmates via mobile devices to create a knowledge-based community. Members are Dimitri Limberopulos Fernández, Sergio Marcín Gorriño, Ramiro Berrelleza Pérez and Francisco Sandoval Zazueta.
Project Onespace, from Team InPUT of Poland, provides audio and video communication and enables a group of users to collaboratively work on a single user’s desktop. Members are Michal Taranus, Marek Wronowski, Szymon Wybranski and Michal Zygmunt.
From left to right: Joe Black, BT, and Joe Wilson and Dan'l Lewin, Microsoft, take a break during the Imagine Cup Innovation Accelerator 2008 kickoff reception at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.
