5/6/2010
Brent Dirks, an undergraduate in electrical and computer engineering, is one of four U of I students who will be granted the opportunity to visit Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California for two weeks (June 8 to 16) as finalists in Walt Disney Imagineering’s 19th ImagiNations design competition.
Written by
Brent Dirks, an undergraduate in electrical and computer engineering, is one of four U of I students who will be granted the opportunity to visit Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California for two weeks (June 8 to 16) as finalists in Walt Disney Imagineering’s 19th ImagiNations design competition.
ImagiNations is a program designed and sponsored by Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of all Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide, to encourage students and professionals from a diverse array of backgrounds and skills to consider careers in creative and technical fields including digital arts, engineering, and next-generation interactivity. The students will have the opportunity to complete their projects, make professional presentations to the judging panel, interview for internships and participate in a competition.
In addition to Dirks, the Illinois team includes Marchelle Gant and John Weiser (architecture), Samantha Juna (industrial design), and their advisor, Matthew Niermann, an instructor in architectural design. Their project is entitled TRON: Gridlock. In this Tomorrowland attraction inspired by Disney’s “Tron,” guests are invited through the doors of Innotron Industries, to be among the first to try their new interactive gaming technology, “Project Gridlock.” While waiting, guests are introduced to the history of Innotron, including the company’s supercomputer, the ICU, or “Integrated Computing Unit.” As guests enter the Gridlock testing rooms and take a seat to play, the ICU takes control of the Gridlock program. The test room plunges into chaos as the ICU digitizes the guests and takes them prisoners within the computer. With the help of an ally computer program called FLN, guests then embark on a high-speed mission through TRON city in a special escape vehicle, the Light Shuttle. Although the Light Shuttle is split in two by an
enemy vehicle, guests are ultimately de-digitized to the real world.
Imagineers are famous for telling stories through three-dimensional attractions and experiences. The judges are looking in particular for the ability of technology, architecture, costumes, transportation, and attractions to support the story – and participants are advised to “begin with a great story before developing anything else.”
During their two weeks at Imagineering, the six finalist teams meet and network with the technical and creative Imagineers responsible for Disney’s global theme parks and attractions located in California, Florida, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. The Imagineers are also responsible for the cruise ships of the Disney Cruise Line, Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, and a resort hotel and vacation club currently being built on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
Teams demonstrate their creative, technical, artistic, and business skills by designing a ride, attraction, hotel, or a land within an existing Disney theme park or resort. Projects can also be the creation of an entirely new experience – a theme park, resort, themed restaurant, or something completely unique. Participants work for several months on their concepts and presentations, which are evaluated by a team of Imagineers in California, Paris and Florida. The projects and concepts presented are not intended to be built by Disney – they are a way for the entrants to demonstrate their skill and creative abilities.
The other teams of finalists represent Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Eastern Michigan University, The University of Arizona, Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. (Some of these teams are made up of students from different colleges and universities.) The Award Ceremony will take place June 16, 2010.
____________________
More Information about the ImagiNations competition can be found at http://disney.go.com/disneycareers/imaginations.
Contact: Matthew Niermann, School of Architecture, 217/333-5786.
If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, Engineering Communications Office, 217/244-7716, editor.