PennApps: how the University of Pennsylvania hackathon group started and what’s next [VIDEO]

Boris Treskunov, a Penn sophomore, puts the finishing touches on his project in the final hours of the PennApps hackathon on Sept. 18.

The following is a report done in partnership with Temple University’s Philadelphia Neighborhoods program, the capstone class for the Temple’s Department of Journalism.

The Dining Philosophers, a student computer science group at the University of Pennsylvania in its third year of existence, has become known for its hackathons.

The group’s flagship is the PennApps hackathon, which kicked off in 2009, was followed up in fall 2010 and this past spring, and celebrate this weekend its latest and largest yet.

The group’s signature competition attracts students from Penn and other local universities to build a piece of software or hardware in 48 hours for a grand prize. The field of participants has become larger with each successive event, welcoming some 180 students this weekend, but the purpose of them has remained the same: to give students an opportunity to learn and build on their skills.

That mission will push forward what the group will become.

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PennApps fall 2011: hacked microwave-driven video player wins $2,500

Varun Sampath, Teddy Zhang and Kevin Conley pose with their winning microwave on stage in the Towne Engineering building on Penn's campus.

The following is a report done in partnership with Temple University’s Philadelphia Neighborhoods program, the capstone class for the Temple’s Department of Journalism.

They hacked a microwave.

This was the buzz on engineering quad at the University of Pennsylvania this weekend as a team of four Penn seniors took home the grand prize of $2,500 and a chance to present their handiwork to Google engineers at the company’s New York branch. They had won the 2011 PennApps Hackathon.

The hackathon was a competition where 41 teams of around four people had to build an application between 6 p.m. on Friday through noon Sunday using all the coding and software savvy they could muster.

This was the third year of the twice annual hackathons.

While most groups focused on building apps for mobile phones, the winning team of Kevin Conley, Ben Shyong, Varun Sampath and Teddy Zhang added a hardware element into the mix.

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This week: Philly Startup Leaders’ meta-fishbowl and Penn Apps

You’re in luck Philadelphia.

Fall is upon us, the Eagles are undefeated and our event calendar is as packed as we’ve seen in months. Aside from the usual meetups and user groups, several events this week will have a lasting impact on our local tech community.

This week, PSL fishbowls itself, PennApps hacks and Temple shows off its student companies.

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