Google Earth Bridge Modeling and Ancient Rome Contests

Google Earth Competition News - Google Earth Blog - See the post for more details and examples:

First, when Google announced the release of the Ancient Rome in 3D collection, they also announced a competition for K-12 educators in the US to come up with the best lesson plan involved the Ancient Rome collection. Yesterday, Google announced six winners of this competition.

...

Second, Google has announced a new competition. The new one is the Google 2009 International Student Bridge Modeling Competition. ... The competition is to build the best 3D bridge and place it in Google Earth, then submit it to the Google 3DWarehouse. And there are cash prizes including a US$5000 first prize! Read more at the competition site ...

Entries need to be sent in by June 15, noon PST. They will be judged using criteria like accuracy, low polygon count, and detail.

Here's the digital poster (PDF) for the competition.

Google KML Research Contest Winners

Links: KML Research Winners, Tour Tutorial, Tour for Mountains, Mining Tour - Google Earth Blog: Here's the coverage of the KML in Research Contest:

KML Research Winners - Google announced the winners of their contest for the best cases of using KML for Research. Each winner will receive a prize pack including an iPod Touch, Garmin GPS, and Google swag. All entries will appear in the Google Earth Gallery. Bjorn Sandvik, who has appeared in GEB several times, was one of the winners and has shared his winning entry.

The Thematic Mapping Blog entry gives more details on this winning entry, which displays maps of Infant Mortality rates for different countries over selected time periods:

The statistics can be explored in time and space. Click here to download the KMZ file.

My dissertation, Using KML for Thematic Mapping, was also awarded the MSc Dissertation Prize at University of Edinburgh.

Although not on prizes, this Google Earth Blog post will be of particular interest to readers here for space topics: Google Earth Mars Update - Live Imagery from Another Planet. A number of new data layers have been added. NASA Ames continues to be at the forefront of innovation. Check out the post so you know specifically what to look for.

March Mission Madness

NASA Hosts 'Mission Madness' Tournament to Vote on Greatest Mission - SpaceRef -

This interactive Internet online feature enables you to share your opinion about the agency's greatest missions. Space fans will be able to view a lineup of 64 missions, learn about their goals, and predict which missions fellow exploration fans will vote for during this bracket-style, single elimination tournament.

Yuri's Raffle

Space Raffle by Yuri's Night - Space for All

TED Prize Wishes Unveiled Today

TED Prize Webcast - 5:00-6:45 PST ... I'll try to post on it later.

Update: I tried to capture the actual text of the first 2 wishes but they went by pretty quickly. Here's my best shot:

Jill Tarter: "I wish that you would empower Earthlings everywhere to become active participants in the ultimate search to become cosmic participants." The slides and discussions made me think they're trying to take the Allen Telescope Array, pattern recognition algorithms, manual pattern recognition like the Stardust at Home program, and SETA at Home to the "next level".

Sylvia Earle: This talk included a lot of analogies between ocean exploration and space exploration (such as Earth without oceans as being like the surface of Mars, life support in space vs. life support under the sea), satellite images, etc. Google Earth with its new Ocean features was heavily featured. A quote from the talk: "How about some X PRIZEs for ocean exploration? Hmm..." The wish: "I wish you would use all means at your disposal ... to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas ..."

Update #2: You can see the actual text of the wishes, how they progress, and ideas on these pages:

Jill Tarter's Wish -

The Plan:

To assemble a group of engineers to advise on and create a system to facilitate mass collaboration over the web and incorporate innovative data processing methods, including the ability to input alternative search algorithms, The aim would be to tap into the power of open-source initiatives, to globalize the search for extra-terrestial intelligence and empower a new generation of SETI enthusiasts. We would back the launch of this new system with a major storytelling and awareness campaign whose goal is to inspire millions to participate.

The Needs:

An individual to oversee this initiative, reporting to SETI Institute as full-time contractor for a year

Engineers with expertise in digital signal processing and in open-source initiatives

Cloud computing resources

Significant need for servers and storage

Website development team

Social networking expertise

Marketing and creative campaign help

Media Space

Massive outreach to grow the TeamSETI network

PR Communications Partner

A film production company to develop and distribute this story

Spokespeople

Funding — for this project and for additional telescopes for the Allen Array.

Sylvia Earle’s Wish -

The Plan:

To bring knowledge of our oceans to a wide audience and galvanize support in favor of marine protected areas. We invite a variety of responses from TEDsters in pursuit of this goal.

Possible Responses:

Development of technologies that would permit deep sea exploration in order to make the invisible visible

Supporting (or organizing) expeditions to explore proposed “hope spots”

Helping make the scientific case for a network of MPAs

Identifying and exploring candidate MPAs

Creating a media campaign in support of MPAs

Backing the upcoming Oceans documentary to ensure wide viewership

Offering media space/distribution

PR and marketing assistance

Offered use of a suitable boat or ship for TED@SEA, a “brainstorming expedition” on the oceans

Event management

Website that highlights the issue and nurtures a network of supporters.

…and/or your suggestion of what you could best offer.

Space Ticket Contests

eSpaceTickets - We are the world's oldest space tourism contest organization. Today we are offering a space tourism contest whereby today's youth can win an opportunity to attend the US Space & Rocket Center® and participating adults have the opportunity to win a NASTAR Center sub-orbital spaceflight launch experience.

Voyage2Space Competition Offers Space Travel for Only $20 - Parabolic Arc

Ocean Race on Google Earth

Links: Santa Tracker Popular, Volvo Ocean Race, Lost World Discovered, Cold War KML - Google Earth Blog - I'm including the GEB post for this prize-related portion:

Volvo Ocean Race - The official site of the Volvo Ocean Race (a round-the-world sailboat race with multi-person crews in 70 mono-hulls capable of 30 knot speeds), has released a Google Earth file that lets you track the boats as they complete their journey. The GE Volvo Race tracker includes placemarks with links to pictures, stories, and videos.

The Google Earth Blog has a lot of other recent posts worth checking out: World Sunlight Map, New 3D Cities, Alps Ski Information Layer, The Year 2008, and New Improved Ancient Rome 3D. I'll just provide the links to those Google Earth innovations without further comment since I don't see any prize connections there. They're just cool is all.

Phoenix Lander Wins Award

NASA Mars Phoenix Lander Receives Award From Popular Science Magazine - SpaceRef

You'll see some other familiar contenders on the PopSci list, like WK2, Rocker Racers, efficient PAXP and similar cars, and the Pipistrel electric plane.

Geospatial Applications Contest

The 8th Geospatial Solutions Applications Contest - Geospatial Solutions - The contest ends November 28. The site seems to heavily cover Earth imaging and remote sensing in general, as well as GPS, so applications would likely include some of those space technologies.

Submit an approximately 500-word description of your innovative or cost-effective application of geospatial technologies, using the form below. ... Include two to four maps or other images (JPG, BMP, EPS, or TIFF files) that illustrate the project. You will be able to attach the images after clicking "Submit Now."

Google Earth Prizes, Awards, and Competitions

The next 3 sections are all from the Google Earth Blog:

Google Geo Challenge Grants - Up to $100,000 - Here's the google.org GEO Challenge Grant post. I was recently thinking it would be a good idea for the X PRIZE Foundation to have a competition like their Crazy Green Idea for YouTube energy/environment videos, but using the Google Earth application to promote their X PRIZEs. Maybe this grant competition is a way for someone to do something similar (although the GEO Challenge Grants competition would be based on the idea and not for the ultimate result).

The Ultimate Where's Wally on Google Earth - Anyone who finds Wally's location on any individual day will be entered into a prize draw to win loads of Wally's merchandise. Anyone who finds all seven secret locations on Google Earth will then need to enter all the longitude and latitude references on the Borders website to get to the final round. The winner, drawn at random, will win a fantastic holiday to Wally's secret final destination.

Google Earth-based Virtual Alabama Wins GCN Award - GCN = Government Computer News

Winners of Panoramio Contest of July and August 2008 - This one is from the Panoramio blog. Pick a few images that strike you and see where on Earth they're from. Some of them seem to be from somewhere else altogether.

July 2008
August 2008

Location Innovation Awards

Location Innovation Awards - This is an award for location-based services on devices like mobile phones. Since these rely on GPS, they're space prizes as far as I'm concerned. They could be for implementations or ideas. The competition is for New Zealand residents and citizens. The categories are Social Networking, Proximity-based Marketing, Location-based Games, and AA Maps (New Zealand Automobile Association map website) Widget.

Here's a the tag for the Location Innovation Award posts at the GeoSmart Weblog.

The deadline for entries is February 16.

Best Of the Year Awards

NASA Researchers Receive R&D 100 Awards - SpaceRef

Top 10 New World-Changing Innovations of the Year (With Videos!) - Popular Mechanics - The link is to the Phoenix Mars mission award. Here's another from the same list: APTERA VEHICLES (Automotive X PRIZE team).

AAS Planetary Science Award

JPL's Jon Giorgini Honored With Masursky Award - SpaceRef - Jon developed and implemented the on-line Horizons system that is used by the international scientific community to generate accurate ephemeris information for the 450,000 currently known objects in the solar system.

As described in the press release, he has a lot of other accomplishments, too.

Google Earth Research Contest

Links: A Million Photos, Wii Jogging, Transportation, Argentina Roads, KML Contest, Ryder Cup - Google Earth Blog - You'll see some interesting space content in recent Google Earth posts, including some about Mars in fact and fiction. I'll just concentrate on the post I've linked to, though. Here's the "space prize" bit:

KML Contest - Google is conducting a KML in Research contest to "spur innovation and creativity in science and engineering". I think this is a great idea. This is part of an educational outreach for science and engineering that also includes a Google Earth Conference to be held in Michigan on October 22nd and 23rd.

Here's an excerpt from the KML in Research Competition site:

Google is constantly looking for new ways to spur innovation and creativity in science and engineering. We are looking for the best examples of showing your work in Google Earth using KML. And we'll reward the brightest scientists, researchers, and students from all over the world. In addition to prizes, winning entries will be showcased on the Google Earth website and at our booth at the 2008 American Geophysical Union convention.

By the way, that link in the excerpt from Google actually goes to the main AGU site. I suspect that they're talking about the big AGU Fall meeting, which is full of interesting topics in space and Earth science fields.

Anyway, back to the contest. From the rules:

Prizes: The top five (5) entries in each category will receive a prize package that includes: an iPod Touch, a Garmin handheld GPS, and one Google messenger bag. Approximate retail value of each Grand Prize package is US $700. Up to ten (10) prizes will be awarded. Total prize value is US $7000. ... The names of the prize winners will be available at http://earth.google.com/kml_contest.html on or about December 15, 2008 for a period up to 30 days.

2008 Shaw Prize

Spaceref has a press release from the European Southern Observatory on this year's winner of the Shaw Prize for Astronomy:

The Shaw Prize in Astronomy for 2008 is awarded to Professor Reinhard Genzel, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), in recognition of his outstanding contribution in demonstrating that the Milky Way contains a supermassive black hole at its centre, a result largely obtained with the help of ESO's telescopes.

The Shaw annual prize for Astronomy carries a monetary award of US$1 million.

There are also Shaw Prizes for Life Sciences and Mathematics.

Pro-Space Video Contest

The Space Show has an interview with Greg Zsidisin, and part of the interview (80% or more of the way in) is about a space contest that Greg plans to sponsor. The goal is to make the best short pro (or even anti) space video, and the prize is $1,000. Greg is the judge of who wins.

Check SpaceContest.org for more information.

Space Communicator Award; Space Technology Hall of Fame

Spaceref has a couple press release posts on space awards: one for Neil deGrasse Tyson winning the 2008 Space Communicator Award from the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement, and another for 3 space technologies joining the Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame. Check out the link to see how these 3 space technologies are also finding important uses on Earth.

Which is More Dangerous?

Personal Spaceflight notes that a suborbital spaceflight prize has been dropped from a charity auction because of safety concerns.

New Reality Show in the Spawning Stage

Someone in my household seems to relate on a personal level to reality show "Beauty and the Geek". If you're like her and that television treat isn't enough for you, Personal Spaceflight describes a plan for a new show:

The concept: put a bunch of, well, geeks, in, um, space. Actually, a simulated spaceship here on Earth, where the contestants, in a bizarre array of costumes, would live together while competing in challenges.

All I can say is, if they have to eat space maggots, as Beavis and Butthead would say, "We're there, dude."

On second thought, there had better be real space maggots, real spaceships, or at least a Devon Island level of realistic simulation of a space adventure, or I don't think I'll bother. Also, please
throw in some Zero-G rides in the contests.

Also, what ever happened to the "Right Stuff" image of astronauts? It probably would make sense to add some of that to the contestant mix, since TV is TV and, while geeks are after all a sure-fire ratings draw, photogenic contestants have been known to help ratings a bit now and then, too.

Anyway, the prize would be a suborbital space flight ... assuming one can be arranged. Let's not be cheap, now ... how about orbital? For all we know Bigelow flights might be available before suborbital tourism. At least throw in a few suborbital rides.

Putting Cosmology Prize Money to Good Use

It's often the case that an innovation or research prize winner puts the prize money to use doing more innovation, research, or related work like making a business out of the innovation.

Spaceref posts on a press release from the University of California at Berkeley about what 2006 Physics Nobel Prize winner George Smoot is doing with his prize money. He's used $500,000 of his Nobel Prize money to help start the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, with the help of some other large donations (including money from Saul Perlmutter from his 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize).