Photon Mapping is described in Realistic Image Synthesis Using Photon Mapping, by Henrik Wann Jensen. Photon Mapping is an extension of ray tracing that makes it possible to simulate global illumination. The following is an outline of the project I'll be working on this summer:

• Implement photon mapping in a ray tracer. Learn how it works.
• Implement photon mapping to work with a volume renderer.
• Implement photon mapping to work with Radiance.
• Analyze photon mapping and possible improvements that can be made to the current algorithm.