Entertainment Technology Center Presents "Building Virtual Worlds" Dec. 7

Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center will host "Building Virtual Worlds" at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7 in McConomy Auditorium, University Center.

This semester, 50 students with backgrounds in art, architecture, design, drama, computer science, engineering, English, human-computer interaction, music, philosophy, and psychology took an Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) course where they worked in small teams to build interactive virtual reality worlds. "Building Virtual Worlds" will offer the best of the best--a demonstration of the beauty, cleverness, creativity, humor, and hard work that characterize the course and its talented students.

Lasting approximately one hour, the exhibition will feature a number of short virtual reality worlds and other interactive pieces. (For some, the audience will get to control the action!) The exhibition will be followed by a reception where audience members can talk directly with the students and enjoy refreshments. In previous years the show has filled to capacity, so guests are encouraged to arrive by 4:30 p.m. to ensure a seat.

The Entertainment Technology Center offers an interdisciplinary master's program with the College of Fine Arts and School of Computer Science. Although students come from both fine arts and technology backgrounds, they are not expected to master both fields. Instead, the program focuses on honing the students' existing skills and teaching them to work effectively with other professional groups. Carnegie Mellon is the only university to offer the MET degree.

For more information on the Entertainment Technology Center, visit www.etc.cmu.edu.

December 2, 2005