Last weekend, CruzHacks hosted its 12th Annual Hackathon, bringing together 300 students across 90 teams for an inspiring weekend of creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. Participants were primarily undergraduates, joined by graduate and international students, representing 14 universities from across California and beyond. These included the University of California campuses at Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Riverside, and Santa Barbara, as well as Santa Clara University, San José State University, California State University campuses in Sacramento, Chico, and East Bay, Georgia Institute of Technology, CETYS Universidad, and San Joaquin Delta College. The event also welcomed one high school team from Hercules High School, adding to the diversity and energy of the weekend. Together, this broad mix of institutions and backgrounds made this year’s CruzHacks one of the most dynamic and inclusive events to date. Over the course of the hackathon, students designed and built digital products and hardware prototypes addressing real-world challenges.

Projects were evaluated by a panel of judges using five core criteria:

Technology – Technical complexity, innovation, and execution
Design – User experience, usability, and clarity
Completion – Functionality and implementation within the time frame
Ideation – Originality and creativity of the concept
Applicability – Real-world relevance and potential impact

Echoing the spirit of the weekend, Rohit Mamidipaka, President of CruzHacks, said:

“I’m grateful for my team and everyone who participated in making CruzHacks such a wonderful event. Watching the next generation of technology take shape right before my eyes fills me with excitement — we’ll be seeing the impact of these innovations very soon. I highly encourage you to check out the projects!”

The results were truly exceptional, with 88 winning projects recognized across multiple categories. Among the standout innovations were Flood Risk Analysis, a multimodal deep learning system designed to predict and mitigate flood risk; CaneYouSee, a smart assistive cane that enhances mobility and safety for visually impaired users; U.S. Eco Glass, an interactive dashboard bringing clarity and transparency to U.S. climate policy; and AquaGuard, a solar-powered robotic system that monitors water quality in rivers and lakes.
Additional notable projects included Entropy, an AI-driven security testing platform; SlugLabs, a centralized hub helping UCSC students discover and manage research opportunities; MakerSafe, a safety and monitoring solution for makerspaces; and RosettaMD, a platform designed to bridge communication gaps in healthcare settings.

CruzHacks continues to serve as a cornerstone of experiential learning at UC Santa Cruz and our community, bringing together students from across disciplines to build, test, and launch ideas that matter. The 12th annual event reaffirmed the strength of the hackathon community and the incredible talent emerging from universities across the region.

CruzHacks 2026 would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors and partners, whose commitment to student innovation and experiential learning made this event truly exceptional. We extend our sincere thanks to Opennote, Baskin Engineering, VIAM, IF MAGIC, the10colleges, qb3, CIED, Kalshi, n8n, Unwrap, South Swell Ventures, DSAS, CITRIS, NordProtect, Framer, NordVPN, NordPass, Saily, Incogni, Nexos.ai, PCBWay, Robotis, Autodesk, Startup Club, CROSS, CodePath, Mobbin, Vercel, Balsamiq, EDAH, OpenMV, Ike’s, GenAI, .xyz, 1Password, Espressif, DTSC, Joby, Machinations, the Genomics Institute, Interview Cake, and Santa Cruz Works. Their support helped empower students to explore bold ideas, build meaningful solutions, and gain hands-on experience at the intersection of technology, creativity, and impact.

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