Troy

Ricky Zhu and Shawn Wu sat hunched over their computers Saturday less than half an hour after Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's first hackathon began.

The two college juniors, both from Queens, had no idea what they planned to create in the next 24 hours, but both wanted to incorporate Bloomberg data into a mobile phone app of some sort. Zhu laughed, admitting that his real goal was to create something Bloomberg would notice — the 20-year-old RPI student said he hopes to work for the company after graduation.

Hackathons like RPI's — one of many that happen across the country every year — bring together high school and college students, usually those interested in computer science and programming, to create something new in a specified amount of time. Companies like IBM, Microsoft and TripAdvisor, which were among those underwriting RPI hackathon, often sponsor the events and donate the latest technology and data for students to use, ultimately looking for strong prospects to hire after graduation and for new ideas to use in their respective companies.

"You can't buy half of what we bring," said Mike Swift, the commissioner of Major League Hacking, which works with student organizations to put on hackathons.

Swift attended his first hackathon in fall 2010, back when he said he had no clue that programming or developing was even for him. Now, four years later, he's attended hundreds of hackathons and co-founded the company that looks to make hackathons into experiences that change students' lives.

"I want you all to leave here saying 'that was the best experience of my life,' " he told the packed lecture hall prior to the hackathon's kickoff. The students, many clad in sweat shirts from their respective high schools and colleges, toted pillows, blankets and energy drinks in their arms, as most planned to work through the night to complete their projects. All designs must be finished and submitted by 2 p.m. Sunday for an expo showcasing the students' work and the awards ceremony for best designs.

RPI junior Jazmine Olinger, one of the event organizers, said students from about 60 colleges and universities, as well as additional high schools, were in attendance for the inaugural event.

Though the group of four RPI juniors who created the event, including Olinger, have participated in hackathons before, none of them were competing in Saturday's event. Instead, the group ran around the many buildings on RPI's campus being used for the hackathon, serving as helpers and mentors to teams from around the country. Sebastian Sarbora, another event organizer, said his biggest concerns were maintaining food, power and WiFi — as long as participants had those three things, he thought they should be good to go. Juniors Robert Rouhani and Jacob Martin rounded out the organizing team.

The awards and closing ceremony will take place at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the Darrin Communications Center. More information on the hackathon can be found at http://www.hackrpi.com.

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