Cash prizes
$2,300
1st, 2nd, and 3rd, paid to the squad.
The Dual-Use Hackathon
Build for LA. Build for the world.
- When
- Oct 16 to 18
- Friday 5:00 PM
- Who
- Free. Any school.
- Teams of 2 to 4. Solo? We will help you match.
RSVP on Partiful What can I win? Participant Hub Doc
Next up Doors open, Fri 5:00 PM
UAV-01
Doors open in
Friday, Oct 16 · 5:00 PM PT · USC
Incubator pool
$30K
Das Family Incubator, for teams with a USC student.
Mentors and judges
35
15 judges and 20 mentors, in the room and on your squad.
On the clock
48H
Straight through to Sunday's awards.
Our judges and mentors have worked at
OpenAI
Amazon
IBM
SpaceX
NVIDIA
Google
Y Combinator
Waymo
General Motors
Epic Games
Electronic Arts
Accenture Federal Services
McKinsey & Company
Code for America
U.S. Navy
U.S. Air Force
The White House
LA County
Amazon Web Services
Deloitte
Tencent
NASA JPL
AECOMOpenAIAmazonIBMSpaceXNVIDIAGoogleY CombinatorWaymoGeneral MotorsEpic GamesElectronic ArtsAccenture Federal ServicesMcKinsey & CompanyCode for AmericaU.S. NavyU.S. Air ForceThe White HouseLA CountyAmazon Web ServicesDeloitteTencentNASA JPLAECOMQ. What does dual-use mean?
A civil use. A defense use.
Dual-use is a defense term. It means one technology that serves civilian life and also holds up in a military or crisis setting. Build for one, it has to count for both. That is the whole brief for the weekend.
Use one · civil
An ordinary Tuesday in LA
It has to earn its place when nothing is wrong. A port moving containers, a grid balancing load, a dispatcher taking routine calls.
Use two · defense
A city under strain
The same build, unchanged, in a disaster or a contested environment: the fire jumps the ridge, the lines jam, the power is out, the convoy still has to move.
Hold both and you have built global resilience. Hold only one and it is not dual-use.
The classic example
GPS
Built so ships and aircraft could find their position anywhere on earth. The same satellites now run your maps, time-stamp every card payment and keep the power grid in sync.
One system, carrying an ordinary day and a bad one. That is the whole idea.
So what do you actually build?
Software or hardware. Both count, and both have won. A web app, a model, a voice agent, a dashboard, a sensor rig, a drone payload, a robot, a piece of firmware. We judge what runs on Sunday, not which category it sits in.
No prior project. One problem is revealed Friday at 6:00 PM and every team starts from there.
Q. What can I win?
$2,300 in cash. A $30K path.
A podium, a prize in every track, four awards open to everyone, and a seat in the spring incubator. Awards close the weekend on Sunday at 3:30 PM.
2nd
$5001st
$1,0003rd
$200And the top three go further
$30K
The podium teams advance into the spring Das Family Incubator and compete for a share of $30,000. Each team needs at least one USC student.
A prize in every track
4 track wins
Each track crowns its own winner from the seven finalists, so one team can take the podium and its track. IBM Bob is judged across all of them. See the tracks
Four awards open to everyone
You do not have to be a finalist. These are decided on Sunday, on the demo floor and in the room.
- Best Shift AdapterThree live problem drops land through the weekend. This goes to the squad whose build bent the furthest without breaking.
- Best Live DemoNot the best slide. The thing that actually ran in front of people on the demo floor.
- People's ChoiceVoted by the room on Sunday. Every innovator gets a say, finalist or not.
- Most Fun Team AwardThe squad the weekend was better for having: Midnight Games, helping other teams, the energy at 3 AM.
What each partner is putting up
-
Every track
IBM SkillsBuild
Office visit at IBM
Best Build with IBM Bob · open to every track
- IBM Bob, free for 30 days, for every innovator
- Live session with IBM University Education, Saturday 1 PM
- IBM swag
-
Energy and Grid
Base Power
Trophy + $200
For the top Energy and Grid team
- Trophy + $200 cash prize for the winning team
- Fast-track interview
- Or office hours with Base
-
Ports and Logistics
Terminal49
Trophy + $200
For the top Ports and Logistics team
- Trophy + $200 cash prize for the winning team
- Fast-track interview
- Live data on 1M+ containers through the Terminal49 API
- Terminal49 swag
-
Resilience Comms
Retell AI New
Trophy + $200
For the top Resilience Comms team
- Trophy + $200 cash prize for the winning team
- Fast-track interviews for the winning team
- $10 in Retell credits for every innovator, to build voice agents
-
Crisis Mitigation
NULL Systems
Internship interviews
For every member of the winning team
- An internship interview for each teammate
- 45 minutes with the founders
- Run your build in their autonomy sim
- A trophy, and a pitch to the NULL Systems team
Where this can go: one team's actual path
Strangers$1,000$20,000LA Coliseum
MatterFlow met at our Games Week as strangers and won $1,000. They took the idea into the Das Family Incubator in spring, won $20,000, and are now deploying at the LA Coliseum. That is why the top three here advance to the incubator: the weekend is a front door, not an ending.
Q. Which track do I take?
One problem. Four tracks.
The problem is revealed to the whole room on Friday at 6:00 PM. Nobody walks in with a pre-built project. You take that one problem down one of four tracks, and every track crowns its own winner.
Track 01
Crisis Mitigation
The winning team getsInternship interviews
- An internship interview for each teammate
- 45 minutes with the founders
- Run your build in their autonomy sim
- A trophy, and a pitch to the NULL Systems team
Track 02
Energy Independence and Grid Hardening
The winning team getsTrophy + $200
- Trophy + $200 cash prize for the winning team
- Fast-track interview
- Or office hours with Base
Track 03
Resilience Comms
The winning team getsTrophy + $200
- Trophy + $200 cash prize for the winning team
- Fast-track interviews for the winning team
- $10 in Retell credits for every innovator, to build voice agents
Track 04
Ports and Logistics
The winning team getsTrophy + $200
- Trophy + $200 cash prize for the winning team
- Fast-track interview
- Live data on 1M+ containers through the Terminal49 API
- Terminal49 swag
Q. Who's on stage?
Three talks. One live build.
A Saturday keynote, a Saturday skills session, and a Sunday talk. All three are open to the room.
She wants to run the United Nations.
Ambassador Ivonne A-Baki
No woman has ever led the UN. She is running to be the first, after negotiating through war in Lebanon and leading Ecuador's push to keep Amazon oil in the ground.
Build with IBM Bob. Win a visit to IBM.
Lillian Lei, IBM University Education
An info session on Zoom: free tools you can use in your build this weekend, the IBM AI Builders Challenge, and how IBM spots early talent. Lillian joins remotely, so register and watch from wherever you are building.
The Great Inversion.
Matthew Finney, Accenture Federal Services
AI made building cheap. Knowing which problem to solve is now the scarce skill. What that means for builders, from someone who also judges on Sunday.
AN
Build a voice agent before lunch.
Andey Ng, Retell AI
Half an hour of building, from first call to something that handles overflow when the lines jam. No voice experience needed. Every innovator gets $10 of credit, and the Retell AI track prize is judged on what you build with it.
Q. Who decides
15 judges. 20 mentors.
Judges score on Sunday. Mentors are in the build room on Saturday.
Judges
Prof. Kelly Sanders
Advised the White House on AI and the grid
USC Viterbi
Professor, Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Former White House OSTP Assistant Director
- Forbes 30 Under 30, MIT TR 35 Under 35
- NSF CAREER awardee
Dr. Kelly Sanders is a Professor in the University of Southern California's Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her research evaluates strategies to accelerate the pace of decarbonization and electrification, analyzes tensions between climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, and quantifies the environmental impacts of energy and water services.
In 2024, she served as Assistant Director of Energy Systems Innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, advising the Biden Administration on energy and climate change mitigation priorities. Sanders has authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications and has received recognition in Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Energy, MIT Technology Review's 35 Innovators Under 35, and the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists' 40 Under 40 for her contributions to the energy field.
She holds a B.S. in Bioengineering from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Spent a year inside the White House working on how the grid keeps up with AI.
Prof. Gordon Bellamy
Helped design Madden NFL
USC Games
Professor of the Practice, Interactive Media and Games
- Madden NFL designer at Electronic Arts
- Former Executive Director, IGDA and AIAS
- Product leadership at Tencent
Gordon Bellamy is a Professor of the Practice in the Interactive Media and Games Division at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. His career has moved between making games and running the business of games.
He was a designer on Madden NFL Football at Electronic Arts, later held business and product leadership roles at EA and Tencent, and has worked at MTV. He has served as Executive Director of both the International Game Developers Association and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. He holds an engineering degree from Harvard College.
Helped design one of the best-selling game franchises ever made.
Prof. David Barnhart
Launched USC’s first CubeSats
USC Space Center
Research Professor and Director, Space Engineering Research Center
- Directs USC ISI Space Engineering Research Center
- Launched USC's first CubeSats
- Serial space-company co-founder
David Barnhart directs the Space Engineering Research Center at the USC Information Sciences Institute and is a professor in USC's Department of Astronautical Engineering. His center built and launched USC's first CubeSats.
He has co-founded several space companies, most recently one offering in-space infrastructure for commercial satellite servicing. He received the Office of the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Medal, was on the team that won the AIAA Space Systems Award for the XSS-10 mission, and is an AIAA Associate Fellow with more than 80 papers. Earlier in his career his team was honored by Vice President Al Gore at the 25th anniversary of Apollo XI.
Honored by Vice President Al Gore at the 25th anniversary of Apollo XI.
Matthew Finney
Puts AI to work on federal missions
Accenture Federal
Managing Director, Data and AI
- Leads Data and AI at Accenture Federal
- Former VP of Generative AI, LMI
- McKinsey QuantumBlack and Amazon Robotics alum
Matthew Finney is a Managing Director for Data and AI at Accenture Federal Services, where he helps federal agencies put AI to work on their missions, with a portfolio across civilian agencies and infrastructure.
A data scientist by training, he was previously Vice President of Generative AI at LMI, and before that led digital transformations at McKinsey's QuantumBlack. He has also been a data scientist at Amazon Robotics and a strategy and analytics consultant at Deloitte. His work includes digital twins, machine learning decision tools for a Department of Defense agency and helping establish the State Department's Center for Analytics.
He studied economics at Yale and holds a master's in data science from Harvard. On Sunday he gives the featured talk, The Great Inversion: with AI, building is getting cheaper relative to knowing the right problems to solve.
His big idea: AI made building cheap, so knowing the right problem is now the scarce skill.
Meharban Singh Sobti
Twelve years building at SpaceX
Eyehat
Judge · Mentor
Founder, Eyehat; Technology Advisor, Critical Loop
- 12 years at SpaceX, RF to GNC
- Leads Eyehat, a hardtech engineering partnership
- Hardware diligence for investors
Meharban is the founder of Eyehat, which encapsulates relationships, knowledge and perspective from over 14 years in NewSpace and hardtech; 12 of which were spent at SpaceX engineering seminal RF, DSP, modem, sensor, GNC, embedded and application software and highly coupled electromechanical actuation systems.
At present, the Eyehat umbrella covers VC diligence, GNC, beamforming, AI and ML, medtech, greentech (including nuclear), microgrids, actuation control and, most importantly, shaping the right zero-to-one ethos. He is also a Technology Advisor at Critical Loop.
Mert Turna
Two-time YC co-founder
Derya (YC S26)
Judge · Mentor
Co-founder, Derya (YC S26)
- Two-time YC technical co-founder
- Ex-CTO of Hemut (YC P25)
- Built software used on commercial ships
Mert Turna co-founded Derya, a San Francisco company in Y Combinator's Summer 2026 batch that builds AI brokers for industrial trade: agents that automate procurement, shipping, customs and distribution for robotics, commodities and food and beverage companies.
It is his second time through YC as a technical co-founder; he previously co-founded and was CTO of Hemut (YC P25), a trucking operations company. He studied computer science at UCLA. The son of a ship captain, he built ship operations software now used on commercial vessels. He is most excited by teams building AI agents, memory and tool calling.
Off-hours obsessions: AI research, poetry and philosophy.
Tariq Nazar
Led Special Ops teams. Now builds defense tech.
Mithrandir Dynamics
Judge · Mentor
Founder and CEO, Mithrandir Dynamics
- Founder and CEO, Mithrandir Dynamics
- Led Special Operations teams
- Operator's view on defense tech
Tariq Nazar is the founder and CEO of Mithrandir Dynamics, a startup in aerospace and defense. He is a military veteran who led small Special Operations teams, where outcomes depend on clear communication, fast decisions under pressure and trust inside a small group.
He now brings that operator's view to building technology for defense customers. For dual-use teams he can speak to both sides: what people in the field actually need, and what it takes to start a company that serves them.
Named his company after Gandalf's Elvish name.
Art Liem
Your host for the winners’ IBM visit
IBM Consulting
Global Building Optimization Delivery Lead, IBM
- IBM Global Building Optimization Delivery Lead
- North America Tiger Team
- Hosts the winners' IBM visit
Art Liem is IBM's Global Building Optimization Delivery Lead and a Senior Solutioning Consultant on IBM's North America Tiger Team, connecting what large organizations need with solutions that can actually be deployed.
He rallied local IBMers for the weekend and is hosting the winning team for an IBM office visit. Teams working on smart buildings, energy efficiency or enterprise software can ask him how big organizations evaluate and adopt new technology.
John Wen
Leads next-gen data engineering at Confluent
IBM
Senior Product Manager, Confluent (IBM)
- Senior PM, Confluent (IBM)
- Data engineering products
- Real-time data for AI
John Wen is a Senior Product Manager at Confluent, an IBM company, where he leads next-generation data engineering initiatives.
Confluent's platform, built by the creators of Apache Kafka, lets companies stream and process data in real time instead of in slow batches, which is becoming central to AI applications. As a product manager he sits where customer needs, engineering limits and business priorities meet, so he is a good person to ask how to scope a product and design data pipelines that hold up beyond a demo.
Works at the company founded by the creators of Apache Kafka.
Andy Wilson
Nine startups and a term as Vice Mayor
USC
Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Innovation, USC
- Leads Growth for USC's Innovation Engine
- Founded or co-founded nine startups
- Former Vice Mayor of Pasadena
Andy Wilson leads the Growth side of USC's Innovation Engine in the Office of Research and Innovation, covering IP management and licensing through the Stevens Center for Innovation, large multidisciplinary grants, strategic corporate engagement and USC's central venture funds and startup programs. He joined USC as business development lead for the Office of Health Affairs, working across Keck and the health science schools.
He has founded or co-founded nine startups, three of them nonprofits, was founding CEO of the Alliance for Southern California Innovation and co-founded Innovate Pasadena and Civitas. He served more than seven years on the Pasadena City Council, two of them as Vice Mayor, and is now a Hollywood Burbank Airport Commissioner. He studied at USC and Harvard Business School.
Calls himself a futurist-operator.
Josh Duntz
Ten years in Navy bomb disposal
NULL Systems
Co-founder, NULL Systems
- Co-founder of NULL Systems
- Ten years in Navy Special Operations (EOD)
- Founder and CEO of Stasis, acquired by Meo Health
Josh Duntz spent ten years in Navy Special Operations as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician before moving into startups as a founder and operator.
He founded Stasis and led it as CEO until it was acquired by Meo Health, where he then served as COO. He went on to become President and Chief Growth Officer of Metova. He is now a co-founder of NULL Systems, and an MBA candidate at MIT Sloan, working on defense technology with a focus on the maritime domain.
Spent a decade making explosives safe for the Navy.
Dr. Thanassis Rikakis
Former Dean of USC Iovine and Young
USC
Professor, USC Iovine and Young Academy
- Dean of USC Iovine and Young Academy, 2021 to 2025
- Former provost, Virginia Tech
- Over $17M in NSF, NIH and NEA research grants
Dr. Thanassis Rikakis is a transdisciplinary researcher, educator and administrator. He is a full professor at the USC Iovine and Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation and Courtesy Professor of Bioengineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering, and he leads the USC Human Technology Interaction Research Lab. He served as Dean of the Academy from 2021 to 2025.
He joined the Academy from Virginia Tech, where he was professor of Bioengineering and founding director of the Calhoun Honors Discovery Program. He has served as provost at Virginia Tech, vice provost at Carnegie Mellon University, school founding director at Arizona State University and center associate director at Columbia University, and he started transdisciplinary education and research initiatives in every one of those roles.
He has led gift efforts from philanthropy and industry totaling more than $80 million, and has been PI or co-PI on research grants from NSF, NIH, NEA and industry totaling over $17 million. His peer-reviewed publications span computing, engineering, health, education, design and the arts, and his original music compositions have been performed internationally.
Also a composer whose music has been performed internationally.
Betty Lieu
Prosecutor turned Torrance councilmember
City of Torrance
Councilmember, District 5, City of Torrance
- Torrance City Councilmember for District 5
- Former Deputy Attorney General and prosecutor, California Department of Justice
- Former President, Torrance Unified School District Board of Education
Betty Lieu is the Torrance City Councilmember for District 5. She is a former Deputy Attorney General and prosecutor at the California Department of Justice, began her legal career as a civil litigator, and worked for the California Appellate Court and the Federal District Court.
She served as President of the Torrance Unified School District Board of Education, spent 15 years as a Torrance City Commissioner on the Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation and Water commissions, and served on California's Advisory Commission on Special Education. She has been recognized as a Los Angeles Magazine Super Lawyers Rising Star and a South Bay Woman of the Year, and holds a J.D. and bachelor's degrees in economics and linguistics.
Won her 2018 school board seat with 31,763 votes, the most of any elected official in Torrance history.
Brad Waller
MIT physics to Mayor Pro Tem
City of Redondo Beach
City Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem, Redondo Beach
- MIT physics, then infrared systems at Hughes Aircraft
- Co-founded EPage, building web and mobile platforms
- Mayor Pro Tem, Redondo Beach
Brad Waller is a technology entrepreneur, engineer and elected official with more than 30 years of experience developing innovative technology solutions. A graduate of MIT with a degree in Physics, he began his career as an infrared systems engineer at Hughes Aircraft before co-founding EPage, Inc., a technology company specialising in web platforms, mobile applications and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
Brad currently serves as a Redondo Beach City Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem, bringing his engineering and business background to challenges involving public safety, infrastructure, economic development and community resilience. He previously served eight years on the Redondo Beach Unified School District Board of Education, including two terms as Board President.
Combining technical expertise, entrepreneurial experience and firsthand knowledge of municipal challenges, Brad brings a practical perspective to evaluating innovations with both commercial potential and real-world public-sector applications.
Served eight years on the Redondo Beach school board, two of them as its President.
Krystal Ayala
$100M of regional pilots
SCAG
Planning Supervisor, Southern California Association of Governments
- Runs SCAG's Regional Pilots team
- A $100M portfolio of transportation and safety projects
- Built SANDAG's public-private partnership programme
Krystal Ayala is a Planning Supervisor with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). In her role she oversees the Regional Pilots team, including a $100M portfolio of projects accelerating the implementation of regional transportation and safety initiatives. This covers a suite of quick-build safety demonstrations, mobility hubs, transit technology and shared mobility pilot projects.
Before joining SCAG, Krystal was Senior Partnerships Strategist at the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), where she led the development of strategic initiatives including the agency's public-private partnership (P3) programme, on-demand mobility pilots, digital equity and advanced air mobility. She received her Bachelor's from the University of San Francisco in Environmental Science and a Master's in City Planning from San Diego State University.
Her pilots run from quick-build street safety to advanced air mobility.
Seven finalists, five criteria, one jury.
They score you live.
Mentors
Abhi Nemani
LA's first Chief Data Officer
Civic tech
Government technology entrepreneur
- First Chief Data Officer, City of LA
- Former Chief Innovation Officer, Sacramento
- Early leader at Code for America
Abhi Nemani is a government technology entrepreneur with 15 years of experience building and scaling government technology. He has led public innovation as Sacramento's Chief Innovation Officer, Los Angeles' first Chief Data Officer and an executive at Code for America, and private entrepreneurship as both an investor with EthosLabs and an operator as SVP at Euna Solutions, one of the largest providers of software for local government.
At Code for America he was co-executive director during its early growth. In Sacramento he set up an Office of Entrepreneurship. He designed the University of Chicago's first graduate civic tech course and studied at Claremont McKenna, USC Price and Stanford GSB.
Obsessed with West Wing reruns and the Lakers.
Abhishek Roushan
Games played by 200K+
Metakraft AI
Founder and CEO, Metakraft AI
- Co-founded Metakraft AI; $150K in compute grants
- Kazar Games: 200K+ users, 20M+ transactions
- Helped shape a patented wallet kill switch
Abhishek Roushan is a technology entrepreneur building at the intersection of AI, gaming, Web3 and digital infrastructure. He has founded and scaled multiple ventures, built products used across blockchain ecosystems, and collaborated with global teams and technology partners to bring new ideas to life.
He co-founded Metakraft AI and led it from early product ideas to enterprise pilots, including projects with Volkswagen and Acharya University, securing $150K in compute grants from Microsoft and NVIDIA. He now helps lead game development at Kazar Games, where a small team has launched Web3 games that have reached 200K+ users and processed 20M+ on-chain transactions. At SecureDApp he helped shape a real-time wallet kill switch that contributed to a patent.
Alex Piatek
Won Navy trials with $0 raised
ResQVision
Co-founder, Growth and Partnerships, ResQVision
- Co-founded ResQVision coastal-safety AI
- Paid U.S. Navy trials with $0 raised
- Vice Captain, North Bondi SLSC
Alex Piatek co-founded ResQVision, an Australian AI and computer-vision startup working on coastal safety and maritime security. It turns existing beach cameras into a rescue system that detects rip currents and swimmers in distress and alerts lifesavers.
He came up with the idea as a volunteer surf lifesaver at Bondi Beach, where he saw how many incidents happened outside patrol hours, and he is Vice Captain of North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club. The team bootstrapped the company to about $250K in revenue and ran paid U.S. Navy trials with $0 raised. He leads growth and partnerships, from customer discovery to taking an evaluation through to a paid deployment, and is visiting Los Angeles for Tech Week.
Built his company from a volunteer lifeguard shift.
Alison Frazzini
Getting LA County climate-ready
LA County
LA County Chief Sustainability Office
- LA County Chief Sustainability Office
- Former director, Take Care New York
- Food justice work since 2006
Ali Frazzini works in the Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office, advancing resilience and health equity through OurCounty, the county's regional sustainability plan.
Before LA County she directed Take Care New York at the New York City Health Department, leading community engagement for the city's health equity agenda. Before government she worked with people facing barriers to housing and employment, and she has worked on food justice since 2006. She studied linguistics at Yale and public health nutrition at UNC.
Dr. Angineh Zohrabian
Research behind LADWP's roadmap
E3
Managing Consultant, E3
- Managing Consultant, E3
- USC PhD, environmental engineering
- Research that informed LADWP's roadmap
Dr. Angineh Zohrabian supports resource planning and asset valuation projects in California and other jurisdictions at Energy and Environmental Economics (E3). Before E3, her research explored the challenges and opportunities of the water-energy nexus in California in the context of decarbonization and energy transitions.
Her E3 work runs from resource adequacy in the Pacific Northwest to California's Integrated Resource Planning and the hourly emissions impact of clean energy purchases. Her research with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on the electricity needed for Los Angeles' future water supply informed LADWP's energy roadmap. She holds a PhD in environmental engineering from USC.
Ayush Kumar
Builds AI agents at Amazon. Wins hackathons.
Amazon
Business Intelligence Engineer, AWS
- BI Engineer, Amazon Web Services
- Built a Slack AI agent over 30+ datasets
- Multiple hackathon and ML wins
Ayush Kumar holds a Master's degree from Purdue University and has worked at Amazon on AI agents and scalable data solutions. He has experience in AI, cloud computing and data engineering, along with multiple wins in hackathons and machine learning competitions. He enjoys mentoring developers, solving technical challenges and building AI solutions.
At Amazon Web Services he is a Business Intelligence Engineer in AWS Security Assurance, where he built a Slack-native AI agent that connects 30+ enterprise datasets so teams can ask questions in plain language. He has also worked with Google on generative AI and creator intelligence, with Cummins on agentic AI and multi-agent systems, and at Air India on predictive analytics. He is a Teaching Assistant for Big Data and Cloud Computing at Purdue. He mentors remotely, all weekend.
Brandon Romano
Fifteen years scaling startups
Startups
Engineering leader, distributed systems
- 15 years scaling startups
- Distributed systems specialist
- Building an online RPG on the side
Brandon Romano is a hands-on engineering leader with 15 years of experience building and scaling technology at technical startups, with a focus on distributed systems, software architecture and complex backend infrastructure.
He has helped early teams turn fragile prototypes into systems that hold up under real load, and he knows the tradeoffs between shipping fast and building something that lasts. On the side, he has spent the last two years building his own online RPG.
Cesar Ortiz, P.E., T.E.
Deputy City Engineer, Baldwin Park
RKA Consulting
Engineering Manager, RKA Consulting Group
- Engineering Manager, RKA
- Deputy City Engineer, Baldwin Park
- Civil and traffic engineer
Cesar Ortiz is a licensed civil and traffic engineer and an Engineering Manager at RKA Consulting Group, leading engineers on infrastructure projects across Southern California cities. He also serves as Deputy City Engineer for the City of Baldwin Park, reviewing and permitting new development.
The ASCE Los Angeles Section named him an Outstanding Civil Engineer, and he is active with the American Public Works Association. Book him if your project touches streets, utilities, permits or how cities actually build and maintain infrastructure.
Daehoon Kwon
Built a patented transfer-lift robot
USC Viterbi
Master's Student Researcher, Valero Lab, USC Viterbi
- Built the ATLAS transfer-lift robot
- World Congress of Biomechanics 2026
- USC Viterbi researcher
Daehoon Kwon is a master's student researcher in Professor Francisco Valero-Cuevas's lab at USC Viterbi, working on biomechanics and assistive robotics.
At Yonsei University he built ATLAS (Adjustable Transfer Lift Applying for Seniors), a patient and senior transfer-lift system, working across SolidWorks design, machining, motor control, PCB design and a Raspberry Pi control interface; it earned a patent and several engineering and entrepreneurship awards. At USC he built a 3-DOF model of how people rise from a chair and ran 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations on hip, knee and ankle torque, work presented at the World Congress of Biomechanics 2026. He also got an FPGA-based spiking neural controller to drive a bio-inspired robot in real time.
A builder who was recently in your seat.
Debbie Yuen
AI researcher at Lambda
Lambda
AI Researcher, Lambda; former USC Games instructor
- AI researcher at Lambda
- Taught USC's graduate game development course
- UC Berkeley Master of Design
Debbie Yuen is an AI researcher at Lambda and works across code, electronics and art.
She taught CTIN 583, the graduate game development course in USC's Interactive Media and Games Division, and studied design at UC Berkeley, including its Master of Design program. Her open-source work includes a visionOS spatial interface demo and an educational earth-science game for young children. She has painted in oil and watercolor for more than a decade, runs cross-country and mentors with a focus on team mental health.
Dr. Jacquelyn Badejo
Brought electric buses to Watts
LA Climate Commission
President, LA Climate Emergency Mobilization Commission
- President, LA Climate Emergency Mobilization Commission
- CEO, Watts Clean Air and Energy Committee
- Brought electric buses to Watts
Dr. Jacquelyn Badejo is a native of Watts in South Los Angeles and President of the Los Angeles Climate Emergency Mobilization Commission, created by the Mayor and City Council.
As CEO of the Watts Clean Air and Energy Committee she helped bring all-electric DASH buses and an electric carshare program to Watts. She is a certified EV charging equipment specialist, has worked on EV charging rollout with LA County, and holds an MPA from Cal State Northridge and a doctorate in organizational leadership.
Justin McEwen
Turns defense tech into products
FedTech
Program Manager, Defense and Commercial Innovation, FedTech
- Air Force veteran
- Dual-use tech transfer at FedTech
- Former congressional Wounded Warrior Fellow
Justin McEwen is a U.S. Air Force veteran and Program Manager for Defense and Commercial Innovation at FedTech, where he connects entrepreneurs, emerging technologies and government partners to address national security challenges. His background spans military security operations, congressional service and defense innovation. He holds an MBA from UC Riverside and is pursuing a master's in Human Security and Geospatial Intelligence at USC.
Before FedTech he was a Wounded Warrior Fellow in both Republican and Democratic congressional offices, leading veteran and military affairs and founding a congressional Veteran Advisory Council. He sits on the board of Vet Phoenix.
Kanupriya "KP" Yakhmi
Advises AI and robotics founders
Ex-Amazon
Product strategy advisor (AI, hardware and robotics)
- Product strategy advisor
- AI, hardware and robotics
- Early-stage founders
KP Yakhmi is an independent product strategy advisor to early-stage AI founders. Her product career spans AI systems, healthcare platforms, autonomous vehicles, robotics and enterprise software, including a robotic arm for warehouse package handling, a VR learning platform and a therapeutic AI product.
She has advised more than a dozen startups, mentors women in tech through AnitaB.org and has judged business plans for Project ECHO. She is pursuing a PhD in AI and writes about product and AI governance on Substack.
Lynn Feng, AICP, PMP
Mass Transit 40 Under 40
STV
California Mobility Technology Solutions Leader, STV
- Mobility technology lead, STV
- Mass Transit 40 Under 40
- Worked with LA Metro and LA28
Lynn Feng leads mobility technology solutions in California for the engineering firm STV, supporting mobility innovation, decarbonization and workforce development.
She previously managed transportation planning at AECOM across connected and automated vehicles, transit and fleet electrification, micromobility and rail, for clients including LA Metro and the LA28 Olympic committee. She was named to Mass Transit's 40 Under 40 in 2022, holds a master's in planning from USC and serves on the board of the Southern California chapter of the International Chinese Transportation Professionals Association.
Neal Rahman
From Skrillex's label to spatial AI
Quilt Labs
Founder and CEO, Quilt Labs
- Founder and CEO, Quilt Labs
- Ran NEST HQ for Skrillex's OWSLA
- Built and sold a music management company
Neal Rahman is the founder and CEO of Quilt Labs, a spatial intelligence company working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and the physical world. His work spans scientific machine learning, multimodal world modeling and autonomous systems.
Previously, he served as CEO of Quilt Management and Quilt Records in partnership with 300 Entertainment (later acquired by Warner Music Group), and before that as executive editor of NEST HQ, an experimental record label and media platform founded by Skrillex. He has also taught science, and has founder exits across multiple industries.
Dr. Nick Wettels
Retired Navy submarine commander
Sensate Robotics
CEO and Co-founder, Sensate Robotics
- CEO, Sensate Robotics
- Retired Navy Commander, submariner
- Co-founded SynTouch
Dr. Nick Wettels is CEO and co-founder of Sensate Robotics, a Los Angeles company building tactile sensors and grippers that give robots a sense of touch, starting with grading and packing produce. Sensate is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.
He has worked on robotic touch for about 20 years: he co-founded SynTouch and founded Perception Robotics, acquired by OnRobot in 2018. A retired U.S. Navy Commander, he served as a submarine officer and as a deputy for autonomous systems at the Office of Naval Research. He holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from USC, lectures at USC Viterbi and was a postdoc at NASA JPL.
Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast.
Philippe Hawi
Building the AI layer for GM's factories
General Motors
Physical AI Applied Scientist, General Motors
- Physical AI scientist, General Motors
- Physics-informed machine learning
- USC researcher, ex-Waymo
Philippe Hawi is a Physical AI Applied Scientist at General Motors, developing an intelligence layer for GM manufacturing automation and taking factory robotics to the next level. His background spans uncertainty quantification, statistics, computer science and computational mechanics.
He builds physics-informed neural networks, multiscale models of composite materials and methods for quantifying uncertainty when data is scarce, with papers in the International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering and Reliability Engineering and System Safety. He did his research at USC with Professor Roger Ghanem and previously worked at Waymo.
Rohit Sahasrabuddhe
Runs ML for tens of millions of Amazon offers
Amazon
Senior Software Engineer, Amazon
- Senior Software Engineer, Amazon
- Owns an e-commerce platform across 10+ marketplaces
- ACM and NeurIPS reviewer
Rohit Sahasrabuddhe is a Senior Software Engineer at Amazon and the technical owner of a large-scale e-commerce platform serving tens of millions of product offers across 10+ international marketplaces, where he leads applied machine learning, search and recommendation systems.
Over about nine years he has architected systems adopted by teams across Amazon, and he serves as a peer reviewer for ACM journals and NeurIPS workshops. He holds an M.S. in Computer Science from USC.
William Doyle
Runs the startup hub at the Port of LA
AltaSea
Business Hub Manager, AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles
- Business Hub Manager, AltaSea
- Ex-Nevada Clean Energy Fund
- Princeton SPIA
William Doyle manages the business hub at AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, a campus bringing together ocean research, education and blue economy businesses on the LA waterfront.
Before AltaSea he coordinated the Solar for All program at the Nevada Clean Energy Fund and worked on government affairs at the American Biogas Council. He studied at Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs and holds an M.S. in Business Analytics from Notre Dame.
Tianye Li
Teaches machines to see people in 3D
NVIDIA Research
Research Scientist, NVIDIA Research
- Research Scientist at NVIDIA Research since 2023
- Capturing and modeling dynamic humans, 3D and 4D reconstruction, photoreal rendering
- USC Ph.D. in Computer Science; previously a research scientist at Epic Games
Tianye Li joined NVIDIA Research as a Research Scientist in 2023. His research is in computer vision and computer graphics, especially capturing, modeling and understanding dynamic humans. He also works on 3D and 4D reconstruction and photorealistic rendering of generic scenes and objects.
He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science at USC, advised by Prof. Hao Li and Prof. Randall Hill, Jr. He was a research scientist at Epic Games, and interned at MPI for Intelligent Systems, Snap Research and Facebook/Meta Reality Labs. He holds an M.S. with honor from USC and a B.Eng. from Xidian University, both in electrical engineering.
Interned at MPI for Intelligent Systems, Snap Research and Meta Reality Labs.
Q. How it works
The whole weekend, hour by hour.
Three rooms, three days. Food is on us all weekend. The build room stays open overnight.
In person Room + Zoom Online · portal Food is on us all weekend. The build room stays open overnight.
Sat 10:30 PM · RTH
The Midnight Games
The room stays up. Play a round, win a round, or just stay.
Play +5Win +10Stay
6:00 PM
The reveal
Fri · MCB 101
One problem, said out loud.
In person6:30 PM
Squad formation
Fri · MCB 101
Teams of 2 to 4.
In person3 twists
The problem shifts
Fri night through Sat morning
Six hours to answer each one.
Online · portal12:00 PM
The demo floor
Sun · Ginsburg Hall
Open to all, including non-finalists.
In person1:15 PM
Seven finalist pitches
Sun · Ginsburg Hall
Five minutes each. The judges deliberate at 2:30 and every award lands at 3:30.
In personFri
MCB 101
Michelson Center, 5:00 to 8:30 PM
Sat
RTH 526
Ronald Tutor Hall, all day and overnight
Sun
Ginsburg Hall
12:00 to 3:30 PM. Demo floor at 12:00, pitches at 1:15, awards at 3:30
5:00 PM
Doors open and mingle
Check in on your phone.
5:30 PM
Kick off
Be in the room.
6:00 PM
The reveal
One problem, for the whole room.
6:30 PM
Squad formation
Teams of 2 to 4. Solo? We will help you match.
8:30 PM
Move to the build room
The build room stays open overnight.
9:00 PM
Squads lock
Mentor matching starts from this list.
11:30 PM
Twist 1
You have 6 hours to send your response.
Overnight
Build room stays open
Food is on us. Sleep if you need to.
4:30 AM
Twist 2
You have 6 hours to send your response.
7:00 AM
Twist 3, the last
You have 6 hours to send your response.
9:00 AM
Mentor desk opens
Pairings are in the app.
10:00 AM to 10:00 PM
1:1 mentor sessions
Bookable in the app once squads are locked.
10:30 AM
Retell AI info session
How to build with Retell.
11:00 AM
Amb. Ivonne A-Baki
In the room, or on Zoom. Registration required if you are remote.
1:00 PM
IBM SkillsBuild info session
IBM Bob and the AI Builders Challenge. On Zoom, watch from wherever you are building.
10:00 PM
Devpost submission due
No extensions.
10:30 PM
The Midnight Games
Play, win, and stay.
12:00 AM
Seven finalists notified
Everyone else demos on Sunday.
9:00 AM
Finalists' deck due
Finalists only, for the tech check.
12:00 PM
The demo floor
Every non-finalist team demos live. Guests and judges vote.
1:00 PM
The Great Inversion
Matthew Finney, in the room.
1:15 PM
Seven finalist pitches
Five minutes each.
2:30 PM
Judges deliberate
Stay close.
3:30 PM
Awards, then close
Every award is announced, then photos.
Calendar
Put the weekend on your phone.
Press the button for your calendar and it will ask to add the weekend. Times update by themselves if anything moves. Changes to rooms and times are posted on our WhatsApp community, linked at the foot of this page.
Q. Who's winning right now?
The live board. It updates on its own.
Squad names and points come from the desk. The board freezes Sunday at 12:00 PM.
Live
- Loading the board.
Board freezes Sun 12:00 PM
How squads score
Running total 0
Q. How am I judged?
Five criteria. Dual-use fit breaks ties.
Each one is 1 to 5 points. On the demo floor every judge counts the same; at the finals the three judges who ask the questions carry more.
01
Dual-use fit
Breaks ties02
Technical execution
03
Feasibility and impact
04
Adapting to twists
05
Demo and pitch
- Round 1, Saturday night. A review committee scores every Devpost project. Seven finalists are named.
- Round 2, Sunday at 1:15 PM at Ginsburg Hall. Seven finalists pitch, the judges deliberate at 2:30 PM, and every award lands at 3:30 PM.
- We close with awards at 3:30 PM. One winner per track, from those seven finalists, plus the open awards.
Q. What do I do before Friday?
Five things before doors. What to bring.
The checks stay in this browser. Clear the browser and they reset.
Before Friday
0 of 5
Resources for first-time innovators
The Builder's Kit.
Every guide and free tool we could find for the weekend, in one place: how a hackathon runs, how to scope a 48-hour build, and what to build it with.
Open the kitWhat to bring
- 01Laptop and charger
- 02Charged phone
- 03Your software stack installed
- 04Any hardware
First hackathon?
- You do not have to code.
- You will not be alone.
- Mentors guide you.
- If you are stuck, call the help desk.
- Your field kit is coming.
Q. Questions
Short answers. Ask the desk for the rest.
If a rule is unclear, ask before you build.
When is check-in?
Doors open Friday, Oct 16 at 5:00 PM in MCB 101. Kick off is 5:30 PM.
When is the problem revealed?
Friday at 6:00 PM, in the room.
When is the submission due?
Saturday at 10:00 PM on Devpost, at innovatela.devpost.com. No extensions.
When are finals?
Sunday 12:00 to 3:30 PM at Ginsburg Hall. The demo area opens at 12:00 PM and we close with awards at 3:30 PM.
What does it cost?
Free. Any school.
Who can enter?
Anyone. Teams are 2 to 4. Solo? We will help you match.
Where will we be?
Friday evening in MCB 101, then RTH 526 overnight and all Saturday. All of Sunday is Ginsburg Hall. Rooms for each day are in the schedule.
Where do I submit?
On Devpost, at innovatela.devpost.com. Make your account before Friday.
Parking?
We recommend the USC Downey Way Parking Structure, $20 a day, the closest and most economical option. Parking is not covered, so budget for it.
Can guests come Sunday?
Yes. They vote for People's Choice at the demo area on Sunday, so bring your friends.
Where is the leaderboard?
In the portal, once you sign in.
Can I join the talks on Zoom?
Yes. The Saturday 11 AM keynote is in the room and on Zoom, and the Saturday 1 PM IBM SkillsBuild session is on Zoom only. Register for both.
How do teams work?
Teams of 2 to 4, locked Friday at 9:00 PM. Coming with friends? Make a squad. Solo? We will help you match.
How does judging work?
Saturday night a review committee scores every Devpost project. Seven finalists are notified by midnight on Saturday. Those seven pitch on Sunday, and we close with awards at 3:30 PM.
What is the scorecard?
Five things, 1 to 5 points each. If two squads tie, dual-use fit decides.
What are the open awards?
Best Shift Adapter, Best Live Demo, People's Choice, and the Most Fun Team Award. Open to everyone. You do not need to be a finalist to win one of these.
Will there be food?
Yes, all weekend. Friday night: pizza. Saturday lunch: sandwiches. Saturday night: pizza. Sunday morning: cheese and crackers. Both nights: coffee. Southern California Edison is our food sponsor.
Can I sleep there?
The build is short and a lot is happening: talks, mentors, games. Our doors stay open overnight and we recommend you take naps. You are free to go home or anywhere else between the in-person events, unless you are going for the Most Fun Team Award.
