For the second year in a row, BRL-CAD is accepted as a mentoring organization into the Google Summer of Code [1] (GSoC) for 2009. GSoC is a program specifically for students and select open source communities (like BRL-CAD's) where Google pays students a stipend of $4500 USD over the course of summer to work on an open source software development project that the student proposes. [1] http://code.google.com/soc/ For any students interesting in applying, submissions must be made to the GSoC web application [2] before April 3rd. [2] http://socghop.appspot.com/ Specifically for getting involved with BRL-CAD, we are seeking students interested in applying as well individuals in the CAD community that are interested in being a mentor. Anyone that would like to get involved should visit the BRL-CAD GSoC wiki pages [3] and (for students) our suggested project ideas [4]. Similarly, feel free to stop by for interactive discussion via IRC in #brlcad on Freenode [5] or through the brlcad-devel mailing list [6]. [3] http://brlcad.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code [4] http://brlcad.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas [5] http://irc.brlcad.org/ [6] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/brlcad-devel One of the primary goals of the program and BRL-CAD's participation is to introduce students to free open source software development with the specific intent of attracting new long-term developers to our community. Last year we had four students for BRL-CAD participate (you can read about their projects on the wiki [3]) with three that have continued to participate throughout the year. We look forward to working with those students and others again this year as we continue to improve our interface, add new features, and accelerate BRL-CAD development! If you're a student or potential mentor and are interested in working with on open source CAD this summer, please get in touch before the April 3rd deadline. Cheers! Sean