TROY, Mich., April 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- solidThinking, Inc. (http://www.solidthinking.com), a global concept design and styling software company, today announced a design competition, open to college and university students worldwide, that will honor the best design concepts created completely using solidThinking 8.5 or solidThinking 8.5 Inspired™ software. Any student 18 or older can enter a design of any kind of product, including—but not limited to — consumer goods, electronics, furniture, jewelry, fashion, medical products, packaging, toys and transportation.

The first prize in the global solidThinking Design Competition 2011 is US$5,000 cash and a solidThinking 8.5 Inspired commercial license. Second prize is US$3,000 and a similar license. Third prize is US$2,000 and a solidThinking 8.5 commercial license.  All entries published on the solidThinking.com website will receive a 24-month solidThinking Inspired educational license.

"Through the solidThinking Design Competition 2011, we want to give an opportunity to young designers to express their creativity while learning our 3D software, with the additional benefits of gaining exposure for their talents, being evaluated by global design thought leaders and – why not – winning nice prizes," said Alex Mazzardo, solidThinking's vice president of product strategy and marketing. "solidThinking tools are inspired by and used by some of the world's most creative product designers, and we are certainly eager for up-and-coming designers to apply their talents and techniques to our concept-creation software."

An international jury of high-profile professional designers, academics and journalists will judge the entries on aesthetic qualities and form innovation, function innovation and feasibility, and presentation techniques.

Students may enter as many projects as they wish simply by registering and uploading their designs at http://www.solidthinking.com/AcademicRegistrationForm.aspx, where they also will find the detailed official rules for the competition. Entries will be accepted now through Sept. 30, 2011 11:59 pm ET. Winners are scheduled to be announced on Nov. 30, 2011, on www.solidthinking.com, www.core77.com, www.designboom.com, www.dezeen.com and www.productdesignhub.com. They also will be notified by email.

To create their entries, all applicant students will receive a full-featured license for solidThinking Inspired with related documentation through Nov. 30, 2011. Participants also may register for a free "Introduction to solidThinking" webinar.

solidThinking's NURBS-based design software offers conceptual modeling; high-quality visualization tools including global illumination and advanced rendering techniques; fast real-time photorealistic rendering for design review and presentation; and flexible data exchange and CAD collaboration. Its best-in-class ConstructionTree™ technology allows designers to experiment with designs without needing to start from scratch when changing their minds. solidThinking Inspired allows users to apply morphogenesis™ form-generation technology – which draws on the principles of biomimicry – to grow efficient shapes in response to environmental forces and pressures.

The competition allows students to submit their designs confidentially to a password-protected site.  Entries must incorporate a detailed concept of the design with rendered images from various view angles and include a description and the reasoning behind the design.

To connect with solidThinking, click on:

• solidThinking blog – https://blogs.solidthinking.com
• Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/solidThinking
• Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/solidThinking
• YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/solidThinking

About solidThinking, Inc. (http://www.solidthinking.com)

solidThinking, Inc. develops and markets industrial design/styling software that helps designers invent, explore and evaluate new ideas easily, rapidly and cost-effectively, without the limitations of traditional software. Using solidThinking's conceptual 3D modeling capabilities, visualization interface and fast real-time rendering, designers can model, render and share their projects on the fly, from architecture and automobiles to electronic devices, jewelry, product packaging and yachts. solidThinking is a wholly owned subsidiary of Troy, Mich. (USA)-based Altair Engineering, Inc. (http://www.altair.com). Altair Engineering is privately held and employs more than 1,400 in North America, South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

SOURCE solidThinking, Inc.