William & Mary's 6th Annual Hackathon

Hi! Welcome back! We're excited to bring Cypher online this April 9-11, 2021. It's a hackathon, so we'll be learning, making cool things, and having a lot of fun.

Check us out at cypher.cs.wm.edu! There you can register, find our Discord (for all the information you could ever need), find our livestreams, and more.

  • Beginner-friendly, no code needed. We welcome hackers of all backgrounds, majors, experiences - you name it! If you've never coded before, we'll get you started! And new this year, we're accepting all kinds of projects, code or no code. If you've got ideas, we want to see them!
  • Earth Hacks. The Earth Hacks Foundation partners with hackathons at colleges across the USA. At Earth Hacks events, hackers are challenged to generate innovative, actionable solutions to pressing environmental problems. At Cypher, Earth Hacks will provide an exciting array of workshops and challenges for people of all majors and backgrounds to learn from. The goal of Earth Hacks is to create an inclusive space for everyone to become hackers, and not just the STEM majors - because environmental problems are everyone’s problems.
  • Williamsburg tech. Cypher is a uniquely local event. We've partnered with exciting local tech companies so you can learn from the best Williamsburg has to offer!

Check out our prizes! You could win a prize from our treasure chest:

  • $25 of Netflix or Hulu
  • three months of Discord Nitro
  • three months of Spotify
  • one year of Curiosity Stream
  • your choice of Jackbox Party Pack
  • Minecraft (on any platform!)
  • five copies of Among Us (not a joke)
  • a mechanical keyboard
  • a laptop stand
  • tickets to an audio escape room experience from Trapped Puzzle Rooms (must be taken as a team)
  • Chromecast

Or, by winning one of our grand prizes, you could win a mega prize:

  • your choice of three things from the treasure chest!
  • a custom knit item (limit one)
  • an Amazon Echo Dot
  • a Google Chromecast with Google TV
  • Nest Mini
  • Stadia Controller
  • a Raspberry Pi kit
  • a Keychron K2 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard

Also, stay tuned for details on how you could win bonus stickers, free T-shirts, or even the right to be first in line for food at Cypher VII, coming in-person to Williamsburg, VA this fall!

Eligibility

Participants: Current high school or college students, or those who have graduated from college in the past 3 years!

Countries: All!

Requirements

Please prepare a 2 minute long presentation viewable on Youtube. Make sure the link is public. Judges have been guided to not make their judgement on any material after the 2 minute mark.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$3,920 in prizes

Grand Prize (3)

Winners each get their choice of one thing from the mega prizes, or their choice of three things from the treasure chest.

Best Beginner Hack

For teams consisting of 50% or more first-time hackers! Winners each get their choice of two things from the treasure chest.

Category Challenge 1: Environmental Sustainability

Hack that involves bringing awareness to or attempting to solve issues in environmental sustainability.

Only submit for 1 Category Challenge

Winners each get their choice of two things from the treasure chest.

Category Challenge 2: Best Interdisciplinary Hack (2)

Hacks that incorporate more skills than just coding.

Only submit for 1 Category Challenge

Winners each get their choice of two things from the treasure chest.

Category Challenge 3: Current Events

Hacks that bring awareness to current issues in the world, broadly defined.

Only submit for 1 Category Challenge

Winners each get their choice of two things from the treasure chest.

CGI Federal - Best Exploratory Data Analysis visualization

http://cypher.cs.wm.edu/cypherVIpdfs/CGIChallenge.pdf

Winners each get their choice of two things from the treasure chest.

Best Project Name (2)

Winners each get their choice of one thing from the treasure chest.

Earth Hacks Challenge 1: Ocean Plastics

Oceans are vital for all life on Earth, but plastic pollution threatens our great seas. You will develop a solution related to cleanup efforts, international diplomacy and accountability, or sustainable business development.

Winners each get their choice of one thing from the treasure chest.

Earth Hacks Challenge 2: Stormwater Management

Flooding is often caused by simple mismanagement and substandard infrastructure. In this challenge, you will develop a solution regarding local stormwater management on the William & Mary campus, water quality monitoring, and municipal flood resilience

Winners each get their choice of one thing from the treasure chest.

Honorable Mention - Grand Prize

A project that almost made it to the finals and deserved to be recognized in its own right. Great job!

Honorable Mention - Earth Hacks

Earth Hacks recognizes this project as well. Great job!

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Matt Aizcorbe

Matt Aizcorbe
Representing Northrop Grumman

Shaun Arnold

Shaun Arnold
Representing Northrop Grumman

Alicia Bochnak

Alicia Bochnak
Representing Hack(H)er413 and HackUMass

Jim Deverick

Jim Deverick
W&M CS professor

Greg Garnhart

Greg Garnhart
W&M CS graduate

Adwait Jog

Adwait Jog
W&M CS professor

Peter Kemper

Peter Kemper
W&M CS professor

Joshua Meredith

Joshua Meredith
Representing Hoya Hacks

Aparna Nagaraj

Aparna Nagaraj
W&M CS graduate

Xida Ren

Xida Ren
W&M CS graduate

Ben Ryan

Ben Ryan
Former Cypher lead organizer

Sam Sipe

Sam Sipe
Airin Tech

Eryn Sawyer

Eryn Sawyer
W&M CS graduate

Ellen Stackpole

Ellen Stackpole
Representing Northrop Grumman

Jay Wilson

Jay Wilson
Representing PatriotHacks

Linda Wu

Linda Wu
W&M CS graduate

Earth Hacks team

Earth Hacks team

Judging Criteria

  • Effectiveness
    The project's usefulness to its intended audience. If your hack intends to solve a real-world problem, does it successfully address your users' needs? If it's silly, does it make us laugh? And so on.
  • Ingenuity
    This incorporates creativity and originality. Projects with ingenuity are unique and solve a problem in a novel and effective way.
  • Completeness
    How much did the team do with their time? Projects with completeness should be polished and fully functional.
  • Expo Quality
    Was the expo demonstration thorough and convincing? Well presented projects are compelling and have complete demonstrations. Video quality not required, though!
  • Complexity
    Was the project of a high technical difficulty? Projects with complexity are ambitious in their undertakings.
  • Judges' Impressions
    Did the project stand out to you? What was your overall impression?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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