Our ray tracing class ended with a ray tracing competition that any student could optionally enter. The only requirement was our ray tracer had to implement at least two Monte-Carlo techniques. I chose to implement soft shadows using multiple samples on a light sphere and embossed reflections.
Although my ray tracer wasn't the most technically superior, it won the top $100 prize judged by an independent panel of professors. I will probably spend the money on groceries for next week...
