UW A3D3 & NSF HDR Challenge Hackathon

Saturday Jan 10, 2026, 9:00 AM → 7:00 PM US/Pacific

E-Science Institute, Physics and Astronomy Tower

Join us for the NSF HDR  and UW Hackathon! The goal of the hackathon is to work with teams and expert consultants to complete a submission for one of these challenges. It is a great opportunity to refine your data science skills, network with scientists, and have fun!

This hackathon is based on the NSF HDR ML Challenge where participants are tasked with building predictive ML models in three categories:

• Neural Forecasting: We forecast the activations of a cluster of neurons given previous signals from the same cluster. This targets the critical problem of brain-artificial neuron interfaces, and these models can be used in brain-chip interfaces for artificial limb control, amongst many others.
• Climate prediction using ecological data: We predict drought conditions at field sites over short, medium, and long timescales using images of an important group of ecological indicator organisms (ground beetles) collected there. The resulting models can be used to understand how the impacts of future climate conditions may be reflected in observable features of sentinel taxa.
• Coastal flooding prediction over time: We model the sea levels at various sites over decades, with the aim of predicting future coastal floods. The resulting model will be essential for understanding the real-world impacts of climate change.

 

Lunch will be provided! All experience levels are welcome!


The workshop will be hosted in the E-science Institute on the sixth floor of the Physics and Astronomy building at University of Washington. 

hackathon_poster.pdf

Challenge Overview: Introduction

Conveners: Abdelrahman Asem Elabd (University of Washington (US)), Miles Cochran-Branson (University of Washington (US))

1 Introduction to the challenge

Speakers: Abdelrahman Asem Elabd (University of Washington (US)), Miles Cochran-Branson (University of Washington (US))

Compute Access

uw_a3d3_hdr_hackathon_2026.pdf

uw_a3d3_hdr_hackathon_2026_present.pdf

2 Beetle Challenge

Speaker: Miles Cochran-Branson (University of Washington (US))

Beetle Intro-2.pdf

3 Monkey Challenge Overview

Speaker: Pujan Hirenbhai Patel

Neural Forecasting Intro.pdf

4 Coastal Flooding Challenge Overview

Speaker: Abdelrahman Asem Elabd (University of Washington (US))

Coastal Flooding Challenge

Coastal Flooding Challenge

9:55 AM Organization for morning hackathon session

Morning Session: Hacking

Convener: Miles Cochran-Branson (University of Washington (US))

12:00 PM Provided Lunch

Afternoon Session: Hacking

Convener: Abdelrahman Asem Elabd (University of Washington (US))