MUNCIE, Ind. – For the second year in a row, Ball State students from the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA) Immersion Seminar in Virtual Worlds won the Student Award of Excellence for three interactive digital art projects at the 2008 International Digital Media Arts Association Conference Nov. 6-8 in Savannah, GA. Awards were given to students for projects that involved the Muncie Children’s Museum, Second Life and network visualization software.
Giovanni Rozzi and David Schultz, from the College of Fine Arts, were the class representatives at the conference. Rozzi accepted the award for the design of an interactive exhibit on the senses, which will be installed at the Muncie Children’s Museum. This project was produced in the Human Computer Interface in the Arts, through Music Technology and IDIAA and was funded by the Enhanced Provost Immersion Initiative. The class used radio-frequency identification technology (RFID) to create an exhibit for the museum that enabled children to interact with a display that identifies the senses of taste, smell, sight, sound and touch.
Senior, Jake Baxter, also from the College of Fine Arts, won an award for his work on the Ball State University virtual campus in Second Life, a 3D virtual world.
Graduate student David Schultz won an award for his work using JAVA-based software to examine the activity of any data network, using the information to then create visual, sonic and data representations. For instance, the Office of Information Technology could use this process to visualize all activity across its advanced wireless network.
“What is really evident is the innovation of design in media, and the deep level of understanding of technology that students at Ball State receive,” said John Fillwalk, Director of IDIAA.
The IDIAA recruits students from across campus for their immersion seminar, engaging them in interdisciplinary, collaborative, and new media projects. Fillwalk said as Ball State University’s reputation in emerging media is growing, the recruitment of talented students choosing to pursue advanced emerging media research and studios are finding their way to these innovative opportunities the university has created through the Digital Exchange Grant.
More Information: www.idmaa.org