Ahh, Baltimore. What a science-centric city it is. According to the Brookings Institute (based on the Wikipedia entry I found — my apologies), almost a quarter of the city’s jobs lie in the fields of science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine. So it makes sense that Baltimore would be the home of Johns Hopkins University, that STEM education powerhouse that probably occupies the list of every college grad thinking about medical school. And it makes further sense that Johns Hopkins would have its very own vibrant hackathon taking place this weekend, with the delightful name “HopHacks.”
This will be HopHack’s third outing, after successful hackathons in Spring 2014 and Fall 2013. HopHacks I saw the top prize booked by a hack called “DropMe” — a location-aware media-sharing application for iOS that enables users to “drop” a message, picture, or file at an on-screen location based on mobile phone GPS. HopHacks II was won by a hack called “SoundCave,” which used the Oculus Rift headset to create a 3D environment that changes according to the music currently being heard by the wearer. Honestly, I would have loved to have a SoundCave during college. Or maybe during the Kinect-a-Moog demo at GeauxHacks last weekend. (Don’t know what that is? Check this out.)
Schedule details, if you’re in the area:
Check-In Begins : 6.00 pm on Friday, September 5th
Hacking Commences : 9.00 pm on Friday, September 5th
Hacking Ends : 9.00 am on Sunday, September 7th
Demos : 10.00 am on Sunday, September 7th
Fun fact: HopHacks will feature a dedicated room for visiting student hackers to sleep in — if they choose to sleep at all, of course.
You can follow HopHacks on Twitter @HopHacks. You should also check out their Facebook page; I highly recommend it. Why? It seems that the HopHacks organizing team really likes haikus. Don’t believe me? Check it:
anyone for a hackathon haiku? here goes: sudo register. http://t.co/bpdQVrCv7J
— HopHacks (@HopHacks) August 21, 2014
Yeah it’s pretty awesome.