WASHINGTON (April 9, 2019) –The Howard University School of Business announced the winners of the 5th Annual #BISONHACKS Hackathon held March 29-30 at In3 Inclusive Innovation Incubator in Washington. The Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management at the School of Business hosted the competition with corporate judges from Boeing, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Capital One, Wayfair Inc. and more. Four student teams collectively won more than $10,000 in prizes and gifts for developing original computer software or an original app that will help improve the livelihood of the DMV community.
“The hackathon is a two-day event that brings together students who are idea champions, programmers, graphics and interface designers, and project managers in an effort to collaborate intensively on a software or app project,” says Allison Morgan Bryant, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Information Systems and Supply Chain Management department at Howard University. “Students worked collaboratively and intensely for 24 hours, developing prototypes and working artifacts.”
More than 80 participants worked intensively during the event to take their idea from concept to prototype and develop a pitch for a panel of judges representing a 
variety of corporations. Participants were divided into teams of up to five students develop a product that fit into five tracks including: education; health, food and wellness; restorative justice; environmental sustainability; and financial inclusion and literacy. Teams were judged on the quality of their business model, the potential for impact in the community, development of a technical prototype, design and user experience, as well as the team’s pitch or ability to articulate their product or idea. Each team competed to win first, second, or third-place prizes or the prize for Best Innovation. Three additional challenges within the competition allowed teams to win prizes for demonstrating competency in specific areas.
Luenar Sleep Coach took home a $5,000 prize as the first-place winners. The team developed an app to combat the growing epidemic of sleep deprivation in the U.S. The app syncs with users’ FitBit or Apple Watch to monitor sleep to analyze sleep tracking data, daily habits, and environmental factors to provide recommendations backed by world-class consumer driven research that help users optimize sleep and seize the day.
“I love coming out to Bison Hacks,” says Gustavus Shaw II, a senior computer science major at Howard University and member of the Luenar Sleep Coach team. “This was my third one and every year it just gets better. There is always such great energy, great people to connect and network with, and loads of fun and competition. It felt great to finally pull out a win. I hope this event continues and I am looking forward to coming back as a mentor in years to come.”
PreSave came in second place. The financial responsibility app uses machine learning to help users predict poor purchases that have an increased chance of leading to overspending or missing their budget and suggests alternative products users can buy for lower prices. The team took home $3,000 as the second-place prize winners, as well as the Capital One Best Financial Hack Challenge.
CaloriKat, a food education app that scans food items and recommends better choices won the third-place prize of $2,000 and the Wayfair AR/VR Challenge. Math IRL (math in real life) won the Best Innovation prize of $1,000 and the JP Morgan & Chase Best Hack for Empowering Entrepreneurs of Color Challenge went to StartupHU, a marketplace for student entrepreneurs.
In addition to students, 50 business and technical mentors, and volunteers also gathered at In3 to support students. Zuri Hunter, the co-coordinator of the event, is an alumna of Howard University School of Business who participated in the first #BISONHACKS hackathon back in 2015. She says these hackathons played a crucial role in her development and growing her network within Washington.
“After I graduated in 2015, I spent six months trying to land a job in the tech industry, it wasn't until I attended my fifth or sixth hackathon that I received my first job offer,” says Hunter. “Howard’s motto is ‘Veritas et Utilitas, Truth and Service’ and I feel like as an alumnus, one of the greatest things I can do to give back is to leverage the network and experience I have built in D.C. to help Dr. Bryant bring the hackathon to a new level.”
#BISONHACKS is held annually during the spring semester and is open to Howard University students and students enrolled at other universities who are eighteen or older. For more information, visit: http://bisonhacks.com/
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About Howard University
Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University visit www.howard.edu
Media Contact: Misha Cornelius, misha.cornelius@howard.edu
