Tech Cares - Health Hacks

This category aspires to address healthcare disparities. How do we support mental & physical well-being with accessible services?

Prize:
- (1) JBL FLIP 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker (per team member)

Tech Cares - Justice Hacks

This category aims to drive innovation for civil liberty and social justice. How can we uphold truth & order in a (mis)information age?

Prize:
- (1) Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 + film pack (per team member)

Tech Cares - Earth Hacks: Environmental Impact-to-Action

Design a hack or tool that you would use to educate someone who denies the science of climate change.

Projects will be judged on:
- Problem definition and analysis
- Solution design and innovation
- Idea viability
- Implementation of solution demonstration

Prize:
- (1) Boshiho Cork Laptop Case or LuminAid (per team member)

Best Cruz Hack

Create something that best embodies the essence of Santa Cruz!

Prize:
- (1) WisFox Wireless Keyboard & Mouse (per team member)

Best UI/UX

Have a new paradigm for interaction design? Create a project that has an awesome user experience!

Prize:
- (1) 3rd Gen Amazon Echo Dot (per team member)

Best Beginner Hack

Hackathons are meant for everyone, especially our first-timers! We've created a prize category to reward teams composed of all first-time hackers.

Requirements:
- Teams must be made of all first-time hackers.

Prize:
- (1) 21 oz Hydro Flask (per team member)

MLH - Best Use of Google Cloud Platform (2)

Build your hackathon project with a suite of secure storage, powerful compute, and integrated data analytics products provided by Google Cloud. Firebase counts as well! See full list of products here: g.co/cloud. We select two winning teams for this category. Each winning team member will receive a prize!

Prize:
- (1) Eco-friendly, Google branded Parkland Academy backpack (per team member)

MLH - Best Hardware Hack Sponsored by Digi-Key (2)

Using your preferred hardware or hardware emulator, build a hack for your chance to win a Grove Beginner Kit, with Arduino Uno R3 included. We select two winning teams for this category. Each winning team member will receive a prize!

Prize:
- (1) Grove Beginner Kit for Arduino (per team member)

MLH - Best Use of Datastax Astra

Apache Cassandra is one of the most widely used database technologies in modern computing with a proven track record of scalability. Just ask Apple, Netflix and eBay. Build a hack using DataStax Astra’s Cassandra-made-easy service and gain in-demand skills along with a chance to win Blue Snowball Microphones for you and your whole team. It’s easy to sign up with 5GB free and no credit card needed. Start becoming a Cassandra expert today!

Prize:
- (1) Blue Snowball Mic (per team member)

MLH - Best Domain Name from Domain.com

Register a .tech, .space, or .online domain name using Domain.com during the weekend. Each team may submit one entry per person on the team. Each winning team member will receive a PowerSquare Qi Wireless Phone Charger & Domain.com Backpack.

Prize:
- (1) PowerSquare Qi Wireless Phone Charger (per team member)
- (1) Domain.com Backpack (per team member)

Sponsor - UCSC Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development & Blackstone Launchpad (5)

UCSC Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development (CIED) & Blackstone Launchpad are providing five teams with $2k in funding each and training to further develop their project after the hackathon.

The 5 winning teams are tackling some of the world's biggest challenges (environmental, health, social; see UN SDGs list) and are committed to keep working on their projects beyond the hackathon for at least one year in order to launch their innovations in the real world.

Requirements:
- Teams must have at least one UCSC student
- Winning teams must be willing to commit to working on project together after hackathon for one year

Prize:
- (1) $2,000 in funding (per team)

Sponsor - 1517 Grant for Most Novel Hack

1517 is looking for the most unique and novel idea they see during the hackathon. Up to 3 teams may win this prize.

Requirements:
- Hackers must be undergraduates
- Plan on working on project after event
- Must be in United States

Prize:
- (1) $1,000 grant (per team)
- (1) $10,000 in AWS credits (per team)
- Continued membership from 1517

Sponsor - echoAR

Build the best AR/VR application using the echoAR platform!

Participants MUST use the echoAR platform as part of their project to be eligible for a reward.

Prize:
- (1) $50 Amazon gift card (per team)
- (1) 1-month free Business Tier access (per team member)
- Selected projects will be featured on our “Inspiration” page

Sponsor - Pinnacle

Pinnacle invites 4 winners from each of the world’s largest 50 collegiate hackathons to compete in an epic hack-off in late 2021. (https://pinnacle.us.org/)

Prize:
- (1) All-expenses-paid ticket to Pinnacle, the Olympics of Hackathons (per team member)

Sponsor - Wolfram

Members of all winning teams will receive two free 1-year software subscriptions from Wolfram Research.

Prize:
- (1) 1 year of Wolfram|One Personal Edition (per team member)
- (1) 1 year of Wolfram|Alpha Pro (per team member)

Secret Prize - Most Ambitious

Secret Prize - Wildest Idea

Secret Prize - Most Useful