AIAS reveals the winners of its annual game industry scholarships

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences will award $10,000 in scholarships to four students selected by the academy's philanthropic division for their exemplary work in pursuit of a career in the game industry. University of Utah student Danielle Powers and Purdue University's Lee Anne Opfer will each receive $2,500 through the Mark Beaumont Scholarship fund to further their studies towards a career in the business of interactive entertainment. The AIAS established the Beaumont fund in 2010 to honor the late game industry executive, who spent 28 years serving in key positions at companies like Atari, Activision and Capcom. University of Southern California student Chitvan Gupta and Anthony Scott of Carnegie Mellon University will also receive $2,500 apiece to further their study of game development through the Dr. Randy Pausch fund, established by the AIAS in 2008 to commemorate the work of the deceased Carnegie Mellon professor and co-founder of the school's Entertainment Technology Center. "If you're looking for reasons to be excited about the future of game development, I can think of four good ones: Chitvan Gupta, Lee Anne Opfer, Danielle Powers and Anthony Scott,” stated AIAS Foundation Chair and game industry veteran Don Daglow in a press release confirming the awards. "I'm confident that they will carry the values and vision of Randy Pausch and Mark Beaumont forward as they pursue their promising careers."