The folks over at GameDev.net made a pre GDC Contribution of $550.00 to support the Eric Dybsand Memorial Scholarship for AI Development at GDC this year. Their support helped cover the costs if this year’s scholorship recipent. This fund is a segregated account in at the Foundation with limitations on disbursement of any funds except to support this worthwhile program.

A big thank you goes out the GameDev.net for supporting this worthy cause.

Tom Buscaglia, Chair - IGDA Foundation

The IGDA Foundation announced the recipient of the Second Annual Eric Dybsand Memorial Scholarship for AI Development is Andrew Armstrong, a Computer Science senior at Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK.

The scholarship, in memory of Eric Dybsand, the noted AI developer, author and lecturer who passed away in 2004, is awarded annually by a panel selected by the IGDA Artificial Intelligence SIG. This year’s recipient will receive a Pass to the Game Developers Conference and be an honored guest at the Annual AI Dinner.

Tom Buscaglia, Chair - IGDA Foundation

Outgoing IGDA Board member and Chair, Brian Reynolds and his wife Jill, made a generous donation of $2,000.00 to the Foundation. He included a request that a substantial portion of their donation go to the Patrick Downey Cancer Fund. Patirck was a long-time industry artist and contributing member of our game developers community who recent died from cancer. We believe that the Patrick Downey Cancer Fund is a worthwhile recipent and will list it among the potential recipients of ongoing Foundation support.

Thank you Brian and Jill for your generous suppport to the Foundation and for letting us know about Patrick’s Fund, a truely worthy project in honor of one of our own.

Tom Buscaglia, Chair - IGDA Foundation

I would like to welcome all of the first time visitors to the IGDA Foundation web site. The Foundation was recently launched to support the mission of the IGDA through charitable, scientific and educational works. Please take some time and look at the various plans we have for moving forward in this effort. Hopefully, when you have had a look, you will agree that the work we are taking on is worthwhile and worthy of your support. And, if you have any ideas for worthwhile projects for us to consider, please let us know.

Tom Buscaglia, Chair IGDA Foundation

The Foundation has completed is application to the Internal Revenue Service for registration as a 501(c)(3) charity. All contributions to the Foundation are fully tax deductible under US law as the charitable status will relate back to the initial incorporation of the Foundation.

The Foundation bank account is open and we now have the capacity to accept online credit card contributions here. Or contributions can be mailed to the Foundation at the following address:

The IGDA Foundation
19 Mantua Road
Mt. Royal, NJ 08061
Attn: Joe Casey

A few of our existing and upcoming programs are our Game Developer’s Conference Scholarship program as well as developing statistically valid industry research on Game Studio Quality of Life practices.

The IGDA Foundation announced on Wednesday that the first recipient of the Eric Dybsand Memorial Scholarship for AI Development is Michael Kofman, an undergraduate in the Game Development program at Full Sail, in Orlando, Florida.

The scholarship, awarded in memory of Eric Dybsand, the noted AI developer, author and lecturer who passed away in 2004, is awarded annually by a panel selected by the Foundation. This year’s recipient will receive a Giga Pass to the Game Developer’s Conference, in San Francisco, California, in March of 2007.

For more information on Eric Dybsand, including thoughts from friends and colleagues, please go here.