Emily Huynh of Brentwood is among five University of Alabama computer science seniors and members of the Association for Computing Machinery UA student chapter who started a hacking competition this year.
CrimsonHacks is a hackathon, or a weekend-long invention challenge. The 24-hour event took place March 25-26.
“It’s a weekend of coding, designing and inventing,” said Steven Eastcott, marketing director of CrimsonHacks and computer science senior from Detroit. “We offer a space for hackers, innovators and creators to come together for a weekend to create something meaningful.”
At the event, the University hosted 175 student participants from 20 schools with approximately half the participants representing UA. The hackers competed in teams, and at the end of the event, 40 teams demonstrated their projects for four judges. More than $4,000 worth of prizes were given away.
“The goal is to bring hackers from all over the south for a weekend of innovation,” Eastcott said. “It gives students an opportunity to showcase their talents to companies and is also a great time to network and make new friends.”
Six companies — Pariveda Solutions, Red Ventures, ADTRAN, The Nine, PwC and 84.51 — sponsored the hackathon. Participants were given the opportunity to network with these sponsors, and several sponsors used the event as a recruitment opportunity.
The event was also sponsored by the UA computer science department, the UA student chapter of ACM, STEM Path to the MBA and Major League Hacking.
“CrimsonHacks ended up being a huge success and surpassed the expectations of many,” Eastcott said. “We intend on hosting it annually.”
Before the hacking began, a keynote speech was given by a representative from Pariveda Solutions.
The other ACM members and computer science seniors who organized the CrimsonHacks event were:
Emily Huynh – executive director from Nashville, Tennessee.
Jake Zarobsky – finance director from Chicago.
Scott Carl – logistics director from Mobile.
Andrew Thomas – user experience director from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
