Three teams who competed in the 2021 Hesburgh Libraries Hackathon at the University of Notre Dame were awarded honors during a virtual ceremony on Saturday, May 1.

Seven teams of undergraduate students competed in the event which took place April 16 - 30. In keeping with this year’s theme, teams were charged with developing projects that leverage technology to discover, visualize, or create connections among people, ideas, and data. The competition, final presentations, and award ceremony were held virtually, with teams working remotely for the majority of the two-week period.

Participants had access to the Hesburgh Libraries Hackathon Slack workspace to receive important announcements, network with other teams, and connect with the Hackathon admins for questions or support. In between, teams used their preferred communication channels to work together.

Throughout the competition, Hackathon coaches were available via Zoom to support the teams if they had questions about strategy, coding, methodology, usability, design, and presentation preparation. Due to this year’s virtual format, students recorded their project presentations and submitted them for judging. For students who were new to video creation, Hackathon coaches offered several virtual workshops on video recording and presentation best practices.

On May 1, the final day of the event, Hackathon judges evaluated final project submissions on five key areas: innovation, impact, usability, technical merit, and presentation. Prizes were awarded to teams who excelled in all of the criteria on the judging rubric.

Congratulations to the 2021 Hesburgh Libraries Hackathon winners.

1st Place - $3,000 Prize

Tether

Parker Chun, Junior, College of Engineering, Computer Science
Jacob Mozdzen, Junior, College of Engineering, Computer Science
Joshua Tabar, Junior, College of Engineering, Computer Science

Tether is a personal relationship management system that aims to increase the quality (over quantity) of connections by helping users organize their contacts into categories, log important information and interactions, and set reminders to reach out to them. Tether has the power to impact anyone and can be used as both a social tool or a professional tool.

2nd Place - $2,000 Prize

Bia

Vaibhav Arora, Sophomore, College of Engineering, Computer Science
Carter Goldman, Sophomore, College of Engineering, Computer Science
Bryan Ingwersen, Sophomore, College of Engineering, Computer Science
Colton Kammes, Sophomore, College of Engineering, Computer Science

Bia is a match-making service that quickly connects Notre Dame students who want to grab a meal at the dining halls. The goal is to help alleviate loneliness (especially during the pandemic) and build connections among students. Bia offers a structured and comfortable environment for those who might be shy or have social anxiety.

3rd Place - $1,000 Prize

Campfire

Gus Hauge, First Year, College of Arts and Letters, Computer Science
Rachel Johnson, First Year, College of Science, Physics
Jonathan Pal, First Year, College of Science, Physics and Mathematics

Campfire builds community and eliminates food waste through a system of food cameras that allow people to share leftovers. Through the app, users can view food cameras installed in their community (i.e. dorm kitchens or lounges) to see what type of food is available. Users can also connect with others while picking up and dropping off their food.

2021 Hackathon Judges

A special thank you to our judges.

Ian Alford – Manager, Enterprise Systems Unit, Hesburgh Libraries
Brandon Rich – Lead Architecture Specialist, IT Strategy, Planning & Architecture, Office of Information Technologies
LaRita Robinson – Senior Programmer, Library Application Management, Hesburgh Libraries
Tim Weninger – Associate Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, College of Engineering