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📍 Location: Busch Student Center
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📅 Date: Saturday, October 10 – Sunday, October 11, 2026
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⏰ Times:
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Doors Open: Saturday, October 10 at 9:00 AM ET
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Hacking Begins: Saturday, October 10 at 12:00 PM ET
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Hacking Ends & Devpost Submissions Due: Sunday, October 11 at 10:00 AM ET
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Judging Begins: Sunday, October 11 at 1:00 PM ET
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Prizes & Winner Announcements: Sunday, October 11 at 3:30 PM ET
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Hacking Areas: MPR, Center Hall, International Lounge (Get checked in near the Info Desk. If MPR is full, please bring your team to other hacking areas)
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Sponsors & Mentors: MPR
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Team Building & Workshops: Room 116
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Game Room: Cove (Games, workshops, and mini-events run from 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM. Earn points by attending workshops and winning games to redeem for prizes!)
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Break Room: Room 174
Submit your project to only one track to be considered (Social Good, Education, Maverick, Gemini). Submitting to more than one track will lead to automatic disqualification. A winner and a runner-up will be chosen for each track.
You may also submit your project for superlative prizes, with a maximum of 2 superlatives per project.
Tracks
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Education Track: Projects must focus on building a more educated community.
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Social Good Track: Projects must focus on bettering the community in some way.
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Maverick Track: Any other hack!
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Gemini Track: Projects must make the best use of Google’s Gemini in their hack.
Superlatives (Choose up to 2)
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Best Solo Hack
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Best Newbie Hack
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Best Failure to Launch
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Best UI/UX
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Regeneron: Best Clinical Trial Solution
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Lucera Trading Systems
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Use of ElevenLabs
A winner and a runner-up will be chosen for each track, along with superlative winners. Prizes will be announced at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, October 11. All prize winners must be present to sign for their prize when prizes are given out. No exceptions will be made.
Judging Criteria & Winner SelectionJudges will visit each team’s table in person during judging (beginning at 1:00 PM ET on Sunday, October 11) and score projects based on:
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Functionality and Execution: Does the hack work as intended?
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Creativity and Innovation: Is the idea unique? Has significant thought been put into the idea?
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Technical Difficulty: Was the project technically challenging to execute? Does it require a high level of understanding or skill?
Winners are selected based on judges’ scores against these criteria. The decisions of the judges are final.
Requirements
Submit your project on Devpost at hackru-fall-2026.devpost.com by 10:00 AM ET on Sunday, October 11.
Each team is only allowed to submit a single project. To be considered eligible, your submission must include:
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Repository Link: A link to the shared repository your team used.
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Team Contributors: The names of all team members, with each member listed as a contributor on the Devpost project page.
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Project Information: Complete project info and answers to all required questions on the submission page.
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Track Selection: Select one track only (Education, Social Good, Maverick, or Gemini).
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Superlatives: Select up to 2 superlative prizes that apply to your hack.
Prizes
Social Good Track
Winning Team: Therabody SmartGoggles
Runner up: Razer Mouse
Education Track
Winning Team: Mini Fridge
Runner up: Projector
Maverick Track
Winning Team: 43" TV
Runner up: Scepter 24" Monitor
Gemini Track
Winning Team: Gemini Gift Basket
Runner Up: Gemini Gift Basket
Best Solo
Prize: Weighted Blanket
Best Newbie Hack
Prize: Giant Goose Plushie
Best Failure to Launch
Prize: Anker Zolo Power Bank
Best UI/UX Design
Prize: 3 in 1 Lego Set (wolf, raccoon, bird)
Regeneron: Improve Clinical Trials
Winning Team: $1000 total
Runners-up & Honorable Mentions (up to 4 teams): $1,000 pool
All winning team members (Winning team, runners up, and honorable mentions) are also applicable for conditional approval as a Regeneron JEDI student, which is a paid student projects done remotely with Regeneron.
Use of ElevenLabs
Winning Team: Each team member receives 3 months of the Scale tier ($897 value/team member, 1.8M credits/mo).
Runner Up: Each team member receives 3 months of the Pro tier ($297 value/team member, 600k credits/mo).
Lucera Trading Systems
Winning Team: $300 split among each member
Runner Up: $100 split among each member
[MLH] Best Use of Gemini API
It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project?
Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice
Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers
Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more
Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend?
[MLH] Best Use of ElevenLabs
Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI.
Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win wireless earbuds!
[MLH] Best Use of Tiger Data
Building high-performance apps under hackathon deadlines shouldn't mean spending half your weekend configuring complex databases or learning obscure query languages. Tiger Data extends PostgreSQL to give student developers an ultra-fast foundation for real-time data, time-series metrics, and complex analytics.
Why build with Tiger Data this weekend?
Standard SQL Power: Query massive datasets instantly using the SQL you already know, with no complex NoSQL aggregation pipelines required.
Unified Data Stack: Store relational user profiles and high-frequency metric streams side-by-side in a single database.
Instant Dashboards: Serve lag-free, real-time frontend charts using pre-computed Continuous Aggregates.
90%+ Data Compression: Store millions of events on free-tier cloud instances without running out of disk space.
Whether you’re building real-time IoT monitoring, AI-driven analytics dashboards, or financial prediction engines, show us how Tiger Data powers your project. The team that demonstrates the most innovative, impactful, and performance-driven use of Tiger Data will take home some great prizes!
[MLH] Best Use of Solana
The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable.
Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless.
Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions.
Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX).
Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume.
Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team!
[MLH] Best .Tech Domain Name
Make your Team's Achievements timeless: Win a .Tech Domain Name for up to 10 years to Showcase and Expand Your Project, Plus Desktop Microphones for Effortless Collaboration on Zoom, empowering you to build even more cool things together!
[MLH] Best Use of Presage
Presage is pioneering the Human Sensing Layer, enabling any application to understand a person’s real-time physical and emotional state. With Presage, you can leverage clinically-proven vital signs, movement, emotion, and/or focus tracking to build a project that gives the standard camera super powers.
With any of the Presage SDKs, you can integrate capabilities like real-time heart rate, breathing rate, engagement levels, and facial expressions into your hack with just a few lines of code.
Imagine the possibilities!
Immersive Gaming & Entertainment: Dynamically change game difficulty, music, or story elements based on a player's real-time excitement or focus levels.
Contactless Wellness & Fitness: Build a non-invasive app that monitors stress, recovery, or fitness performance without requiring a specialized wearable device.
Accessibility & Security: Utilize vital signs for advanced, effortless authentication, or to enhance accessibility for specific user groups.
Productivity: Design a tool that tracks focus or stress in real-time, providing feedback or environmental adjustments to optimize remote work or study sessions.
Build your next hack with Presage and show us the future of human-computer interaction! Best Use of Presage winners will receive SenseCAP Watchers for each team member, along with the following perks from the Presage team:
Free refills for Presage Development credits to accelerate you through your next three months
30% off all Presage usage charges for your first year after going live
Devpost Achievements
Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:
Judges
Abhimanyu Swaroop
Akash Nagare
Anders Skovsted Buch
Anjali Solanki
Bharat Lohiya
Buddhsen Tripathi
Burt Brooks
Chandu Dondeti
Charles Liu
Connie Pascal
Emily Sergel
Samaneh Hamidi
James Bruno
Kiran Garimella
Kristen Luciani
Las Goonetilleke
Lori Dars
Mihir Sanghavi
Mohit Manohar
Nikita Arbuzov
Parameshwaram Pasupathy
Rudra Sinha
Sahil Mhatre
Sai Kishan Naraparaju
Smit Nayak
Smit Nayak
Triet Pham
Warren Allen
Judging Criteria
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Functionality and Execution
Does the hack work as intended? -
Creativity and Innovation
Is the idea unique? Has significant thought been put into the idea? -
Technical Difficulty
Was the project technically challenging to execute? Does it require a high level of understanding/skill?
Questions? Email the hackathon manager
Invite others to compete
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