Over 1,000 college students from around the world invaded Detroit last weekend for a tech-building hackathon called MHacks. Coming from as far as Poland, these students had 36 hours to build impressive tech products to compete for a $5,000 grand prize and other awards from organizers and sponsors. Teams of up to four students built apps, websites, games and more.
This University of Maryland team built an app to judge how well a user twerks.
The previous two MHacks, both in 2013, were held in Ann Arbor. This year, downtown's king Dan Gilbert sponsored the hackathon and brought the shebang to downtown Detroit's Chase building (also called the Qube or the NBD building).
These teams were honored Sunday afternoon with the top three monetary prizes:
- Grand Prize: WorkFlow app designers Veeral Patel, Nick Frey, Conrad Kramer and Ari Weinstein. Patel and Kramer are high school students from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively. Weinstein is a MIT freshman. (Frey's background is unavailable.) Here is a video demonstrating their WorkFlow, which the team says "brings the productivity of a desktop computer to your iPad. . . . Drag and drop to create powerful workflows and automate daily tasks."
- Second Place: Oculus Quidditch game developers Valentin Litvak and Matt Kula of DePaul University, with teammates identified only as "Kotzman" and D. Gursh. The game is described as "a broom flight simulator straight from the Harry Potter Universe. . . . Players fly around iconic Harry Potter landmarks such as the Quidditch Arena, the Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts and more." See video here.
- Third Place: C.T.B.U. Suitcase, created by Donte' Buckmire of Owings, Md., a Penn State undergraduate. His app is an accessorized "suitcase that charges your devices by the energy that you create by walking and solar panels."
This student using Google Glass was so focused, I was afraid to interrupt him.
The normally manicured Quicken Loans offices became what looked and smelled like a college frat house.
The students' inspiring work ethic meant many of them pulled all-nighters. Students crashed anywhere they could.
In nooks.
And in seemingly accidental places.
Some students got creative.
Others came very prepared.
But mostly, students just flopped on the floor.
Best of luck to the building's clean-up crew.
Photography and captions by Lauren Ann Davies
