The two latest winners are Richard Milewski's Reprojecting San Jose and Nick Chen's MIDI -- the Golden Age.

Reprojecting San Jose explores the transformations involved in transforming flat photos into a 360 degree panorama. The Second Life prototype allows the viewer's avatar to climb up into a circular display to experience the panorama from the correct point of view. The exhibit also provides the visitor with a kit that includes instructions and a cool panoramic HUD (heads-up display) that makes it possible to take one's own panoramic photos.

Reprojecting San Jose
(click for larger view)

MIDI -- the Golden Age is an exploration of the Music Instrument Digital Interface, a standard that has lasted 25 years and is still going strong. The Second Life prototype consists of five different shapes that represent different instruments and, when touched, change color and play a short sequence of notes. There are also spots that activate several of the instruments at once when touched. In the accompanying text, Nick explains that as a digital interface MIDI can be controlled by many interfaces (including the Wii) besides a keyboard, and can control things besides musical instruments. On the project's Website, Nick includes a video showing how MIDI can sequence and manipulate video clips as well as musical notes.

MIDI -- The Golden Age
(click for larger view)

Both projects are individual efforts by creators who have built their careers at the intersection of the arts, technology and education. This was the first experience of building and scripting in Second Life for both winners, and interestingly both winning exhibits are reworkings of their authors' earlier attempts.

Richard Milewski (Richard Blackhawk in Second Life) is a San Jose-based photographer and technologist. Richard's photography Website is Studio San Jose, where he specializes in panoramic photographs of urban scenes. The former InfoWorld Editor-in-Chief wears many other technology hats as well. He serves as Chief Technology Officer for the Greaves Group, a K-12 educational consultancy, and is principal of RamPage Publishing and AVWX.net, which provide cellphone access to weather maps and data for civilian aviators.

Nick Chen (Nixian Denja in Second Life) is a digital musician who lives in San Francisco. He works at at the Blue Bear School of Music, where he is director of the Studio 101 program, a traveling music outreach program for schools. He also plays with two groups- Not Your Average Superheroes, a live hip hip act and Cloud City Rejects, an electronic rock/house band.

More Judging

There will be another round of judging on Monday, March 31. Actually two rounds, by two different processes. There will be a third round to select exhibits for the Art, Film & Music exhibit opening at The Tech in real life, similar to the previous rounds on March 1 and March 15. Probably only one or two more exhibits will be selected, because our engineers will be hard-pressed to complete even that many exhibits in time for the June 4 opening. The second round of judging on March 31 will be entirely different, determined by jury of a dozen distinguished experts from the worlds of museums, art and technology. The jury will choose exhibits to become part of the permanent collection of the virtual Tech Museum, and will in addition award six special, $1000 prizes. The jury will have a week to deliberate, so these awards will not be announced until the second week of April.