Maritime Innovators Gather on the North Shore for 2nd Annual Hack for the Sea

Beverly, Massachusetts – From September 15-17, 2017, the 2nd Annual Hack for the Sea will kick-off at Endicott College. Hosted by the Angle Center for Entrepreneurship, this 3-day coding event brings together students, professionals, ocean experts, and commercial fishermen to “hack on,” or “computer code” prototype solutions for the biggest problems facing our oceans today.

Mark Henderson, founder of Hack for the Sea, explains the event this way: “We created this program to address the challenges faced by the North Shore, where the ocean is an integral part of life.  Our hackathon brings together subject matter experts, designers and developers in a fun and high-energy way.  We invite high college and high school students, professionals and lovers of the sea to come to the campus and get involved over the weekend.  Participants will work collaboratively through marathon-style coding to create solutions for the problem statement. The solutions created at this event have the potential to help further establish the North Shore as a hub for maritime innovation.”

There will be separate coding tracks for students and professionals, as well as separate prize structures.

Deirdre Sartorelli, Director of the Endicott College Angle Center for Entrepreneurship, said: “This effort is a natural extension of how the Center has become an entrepreneurial hub for the region.  The College enjoys being at the intersection of technology and the unique natural environment of Boston's North Shore.  In fact, it is exactly this that makes our area so appealing for startups."

Participants will also have the opportunity to attend a panel discussion Friday, September 15th, from 7:00pm – 8:30pm.  Panel topics include restorative sculpture art, marine strobe light technology, and the use of machine learning to determine fish species. Participating on the panel are:

• Dr. Michael Rice, a well-known researcher of molluscan particle filtration rates, organic seston fluxes in shellfish habitats, and the optimization of aquaculture systems based on these factors.
• Dr. Marta Gomez-Chiarri, noted for her multidisciplinary approaches to the prevention and management of diseases in marine organisms.  She is also working with landscape architects and sculptors on developing sculptural forms for coastal restoration.
• Dr. Rick Upton, the current entrepreneur-in-residence at Endicott College, is also the founder of Gloucester Innovation, a Cape Ann-based firm focused on promoting the growth of businesses involved in artificial intelligence, data analytics, mobility and ocean sensing.
• Benjamin Woodward, co-founder of CVision Consulting, which is developing leading-edge technologies that utilize computer vision and deep learning algorithms to solve challenging ecological problems.

To register, go to Eventbrite:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hack-for-the-sea-2017-longevity-and-sustainability-in-volatile-times-tickets-33711629391.

About Endicott College:
Located in Beverly, Massachusetts on 235 acres of oceanfront property, Endicott College offers doctorate, master's and bachelor degree programs in the professional and liberal arts. Founded in 1939, Endicott provides an education built upon a combination of theory and practice, which is tested through internships and work experience.  Studying at the Beverly campus, regionally, and internationally are approximately 2,850 undergraduate and more than 2,400 adult and graduate students. For more information, visit www.endicott.edu.

About the Endicott College Angle Center for Entrepreneurship:
Founded by Erika and Colin Angle (CEO and Co-Founder of iRobot), the Angle Center for Entrepreneurship was conceived as a natural extension of Endicott’s academic and industry strengths. The focus of the Center is to drive partnerships, collaborations, and engagement with students, alumni, industry leaders, and the regional startup community.

Contact Information:
Deirdre Sartorelli - Director, Angle Center for Entrepreneurship
Phone: 978-998-7740  
E-mail: dsartore@endicott.edu