Putting Missouri S&T on the map

Using Google mapping tools and their exceptional modeling skills, seven Missouri S&T students put the campus on the map -- on Google Maps, specifically. And in the process, their creation was one of nine winners in Google's 2008 International Model Your Campus Competition.

As our official news release explains:

Each team used Google SketchUp modeling software to create models of campus buildings, then referenced them in Google Earth – a utility that uses satellite imagery and allows web users to “fly” in to anywhere on the planet. The teams then uploaded their creations to the Google 3D Warehouse. The winners were selected by a panel of industry experts.

For their efforts, they each will receive some pretty cool swag: an Apple iPod Touch, a Nintendo Wii Console, and a Google T-shirt and hat.

The judges praised each winning team for the way they "captured the right level of detail to efficiently reflect the character and complexity of the campuses they represented," "used good judgment about what to detail so that interesting aspects of the buildings were captured," and for their "overall consistency to all the models on each campus." The judges also noted: "The photo-texturing was exceptional – people, cars and vegetation were removed so that the building textures were plainly visible."

Great work, team! You really know how to put Missouri S&T on the map.