About

SBUHacks is Stony Brook University's largest yearly hackathon, a competition where teams of students come together and create innovative and themed projects from scratch. In previous years, we've brought together hundreds of students for hours of innovation, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.

No experience is needed— whether you're a seasoned developer or those who's going to write their first line of code, SBUHacks is your chance to build something amazing, learn new skills, and connect with fellow creators.

We'll bring the pizza, swag, and prizes; you bring your ideas and enthusiasm.

About the challenge

You, as participants, will see the effects of what you build.

Get started

Student Experience: Projects that are to be used by students. 
What features do you wish to see in school management and education software? Example: SOLAR, nutrition tracker, and roommate recommender.

Interdisciplinary: Projects heavily involving another field. What are your other interests outside of computer science? How could you combine them with coding? Example: Numerically implementing a new model in physics or cancer detection in medicine.

EquiTech: Projects that address inequality in the campus or local community or has an emphasis on equal access (i.e. accessibility). How could you use technology to make life easier for others?Example: An app that helps visually impaired students explore campus.

Neural Seek: NeuralSeek is a platform for creating enterprise-grade AI agent applications. SBUHacks 2025 is sponsored by NeuralSeek! For this track, build an AI-powered project that showcases the potential of NeuralSeek to solve real business problems.

MLH Tracks: MLH (Major League Hacking) is a community that supports hackers around the world. SBUHacks 2025 is partnered with MLH! MLH provides tracks and prizes to encourage learning and innovation. More information can be found on mlh.link/sbuhacks-25.

 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$300+ in prizes
+ other prizes
Overall 1st Place
1 winner

On Nintendo Switch 2, bring games to life with a larger 1080p screen, or connect to a TV and play in up to 4K resolution. Hang out with friends online and share your game screen with the new GameChat feature. Snap the new Joy-Con 2 controllers into place, or use them as mice in compatible games. Experience new, exclusive games on Nintendo Switch 2, and continue to enjoy compatible Nintendo Switch games.

Overall 2nd Place
1 winner

Meta Ray-Ban glasses can capture photos and videos, play music through built-in speakers, make calls, and interact with Meta AI for tasks like asking questions or getting directions.

Overall 3rd Place
1 winner

Enabot ROLA Mini Companion Robot, a movable pet camera with a 2K resolution camera and two-way audio

NeuralSeek - Best NeuralSeek Hack
$150 in cash
2 winners

In addition to a $150 gift card, NeuralSeek will also attempt to accelerate the project and potentially build it up into a startup, using NeuralSeek's connections to VC funding.

Track - Student Experience
1 winner

Custom-Made Neon Sign:

Projects that are to be used by students.
What features do you wish to see in school
management and education software?

Track - Interdisciplinary
1 winner

Lego Cherry Blossoms: Projects heavily involving another field.
What are your other interests outside of computer
science? How could you combine them with coding?
Example: Numerically implementing a new model in
physics or cancer detection in medicine.

Track - EquiTech
1 winner

Indoor Compost Bin:
Projects that address inequality in the campus or local
community or has an emphasis on equal access (i.e.
accessibility) How could you use technology to make life
easier for others?
Example: An app that helps visually impaired students
explore campus.

MLH - Best use of Gemini API
1 winner

Google Swag Kits

It’s time to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI using Google Gemini. Check out the Gemini API to build AI-powered apps that make your friends say WHOA. So, what can Gemini do for your hackathon project?

Understand language like a human and build a chatbot that gives personalized advice

Analyze info like a supercomputer and create an app that summarizes complex research papers

Generate creative content like code, scripts, music, and more

Think of the possibilities… what will you build with the Google Gemini API this weekend?

MLH - Best use of Solana
1 winner

SenseCAP Card Tracker

The world of development is evolving fast and Solana is leading the charge with a network built to handle all of your infrastructure needs. Forget high fees and slow confirmations, it’s time to build applications that are fast, efficient, and scalable.

Harness Solana's core advantages like blazing fast execution and near-zero transaction costs to make your hackathon ideas become real world projects. With Solana, the possibilities are endless.

Create a game, social app, or consumer product that relies on instant, high-frequency transactions.

Design a sophisticated trading, lending, or decentralized exchange (DEX).

Build a prototype for supply chain, identity, or payments that can handle massive, real-world volume.

Show us how you can innovate with Solana for a chance to win some cool prizes for you and each member of your team!

MLH - Best use of Vultr
1 winner

Portable Screens

Vultr empowers hackers to bring their high-performance projects to life instantly; providing everything from the speed of one-click deployment and scalable cloud compute, to specialized Vultr Cloud GPUs that can power AI-driven applications. We want you to push the limits of what can be built when infrastructure is no longer the bottleneck!

Sign up for a Vultr account today and claim your free cloud credits! Take your next hack to the cloud with Vultr for a chance to win some awesome portable screens for you and your team!

MLH - Best use of Snowflake API
1 winner

Arduino Tiny ML Kit

Play with industry-leading LLMs on a single account using the Snowflake APIs. Adding AI capabilities into your application can be as simple as a single CURL command to Snowflake’s REST API.

Build customized applications, RAG powered chat bots, or embed AI-powered features into your app in half the time with half the hassle. Get started for free with a special, student 120-day Snowflake trial and check out this repository for an example of the Snowflake REST API in action.

MLH - Best use of ElevenLabs
1 winner

Wireless Earbuds

Deploy natural, human-sounding audio with ElevenLabs. Create realistic, dynamic, and emotionally expressive voices for any project, from interactive AI companions to narrated stories and voice-enabled apps. ElevenLabs will empower you to build rich, immersive experiences without the need for actors or complex audio production, using simply the power of AI.

Integrate fully autonomous audio experiences into your hack with ElevenLabs and give your project a voice, along with giving your team the chance to win some wireless earbuds!

MLH - Best use of Auth0
1 winner

Wireless Headphones

Auth0 wants your applications to be secure! Why spend hours building features like social sign-in, Multi-Factor Authentication, and passwordless log-in when you can enable them through Auth0 straight out of the box? You can also secure your AI applications with Auth0 for AI Agents.

Auth0 is free to try, doesn’t require a credit card, and allows for up to 7,000 free active users and unlimited log-ins. Make your new account today and use any of the Auth0 APIs for a chance to win a pair of wireless headphones for you and each member of your team!

MLH - Best of AI powered by Reach Capital
1 winner

Logitech Webcam & Meeting with the Reach Capital Investors

AI has upended what we can accomplish with technology. Reach Capital invests in the next generation of founders and technical talent, and they want you to use AI to transform the future of learning, health, and work. Build a project that impacts one (or all!) of these areas for a chance to win a Logitech webcam for each member of your team and the exclusive opportunity to discuss your creation with Reach Capital’s team of expert investors.

Interested in working at world-changing startups? Reach's 130+ portfolio companies — including Replit, Brilliant, ClassDojo, GPTZero, and Desmos — are always looking for the next wave of talent. Share what you’re studying, building, or exploring, and Reach will connect you to career-defining opportunities. Add your profile and join the hackers already in the Reach talent network.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

SBUHacks Judges

SBUHacks Judges

Judging Criteria

  • Technology
    How technically impressive was the hack? Was the technical problem the team tackled difficult? Did it use a particularly clever technique or did it use many different components? Did the technology involved make you go "Wow"?
  • Design
    Did the team put thought into the user experience? How well designed is the interface? For a website, this might be about how beautiful the CSS or graphics are. For a hardware project, it might be more about how good the human-computer interaction is.
  • Completion
    Does the hack work? Did the team achieve everything they wanted?
  • Learning
    Did the team stretch themselves? Did they try to learn something new? What kind of projects have they worked on before?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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Hackathon sponsors

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