Prize Roundup: Tricorder, SeaPerch, Google Earth Puzzles, LASER2011, STEM Bar, Biz Competitions, More

How good are you at Google Earth-based puzzles? - Google Earth Blog

New items from Japan - The Space Elevator Blog - One of the new items is about the LASER2011 student competition.

Updates - The Space Elevator Blog - One of the updates is on a new event to be held at the Space Elevator Conference called RoboQuest.  It sounds like there will be a student robot competition and a FIRST Tech Challenge demonstration.  The conference already features the Strong Tether Centennial Challenge and the Artsutanov and Pearson Prizes.  The other update is about a video from an early Space Elevator Games team.

LaserMotive Featured in Photonics Online - LaserMotive

MoonBots 2.0 Challenges Teams to Conduct Google Lunar X PRIZE Missions with LEGO Robots - X PRIZE Foundation

The X PRIZE Foundation and Qualcomm Join Forces to Develop a Competition to Enhance Integrated Digital Health - MarketWire - The name of the competition, the Tricorder X PRIZE, should give you a good idea what sort of device is envisioned.

Student experiments to soar in NASA balloons - MSNBC

NewSpace Business Plan Competition - RLV News

Space Florida co-sponsors $100k biz plan competition - RLV News

Student-developed 'STEM Bar' to fly on STS-134 - NASA Watch

FAR weekend and progress.... - Unreasonable Rocket

Check out the submissions for the Connected Vehicle Technology Challenge, a competition based on ideas for ways to use "dedicated short range communications" for vehicles.  

The Office of Naval Research is funding the Sponsoring Scholars in Science Awards for ideas that will inspire student interest in STEM topics of interest to the Navy.  An example topic is "Designing Affordable Sensors for SeaPerch Remotely Operated Vehicle".  SeaPerch is an educational underwater robot program that includes the 2011 SeaPerch Challenge, where students operate their vehicles in a simulated underwater oil spill.  They also get to meet a NASA astronaut during the challenge.  This year's event will be held on May 23-25.