VTHacks

Happy to share that my contribution (as a judge) has been recognized by Virginia Tech college - VTHacks (VT hackathon -VTHack12 https://vthacks.com/?) in the form of a Certification of Judge. Credential : https://lnkd.in/ebnhvatw Im so excited to share that one of the idea (DispatchIQ - Learn more about DispatchIQ here: https://lnkd.in/e64cYZyw) won the first place that was reviewed and rated by me. Congrats team DisapthIQ Excellent hackathon event. Kudos to #VThacks team. #Cognizant #VThacks #Hackathon #AI #MachineLearning #innovation

Excited to share that my team and I won Best UI/UX at VTHacks for our project, FishBook! ???? FishBook is a web application designed for aquarium enthusiasts, aimed at simplifying the often complex process of managing aquarium stocking. As someone with a passion for fishkeeping and experience working at a local fish store, Layla Scott saw firsthand how misinformation and inadequate tools often result in premature fish deaths, illness, and improperly balanced tanks. Large pet stores and corporations, unfortunately, benefit from this cycle, as frequent fish losses lead customers to purchase replacements more often, ultimately driving up their profits. Our app is designed to grow with users, providing value to both beginners and experts alike. For those just starting out, it simplifies the aquarium setup process, while also offering quick, reliable advice for seasoned aquarists. Key features include: ? A Fish Compatibility Checker to ensure harmonious tanks ? Personalized Equipment Recommendations ? A detailed Fish Directory ? An AI-powered Chatbot for fish-related questions, powered by LangChain & OpenAI API Our tech stack includes React, Spring Boot, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and more. We worked hard to design a user-friendly interface while tackling the challenges of developing accurate fish compatibility algorithms and seamlessly integrating AI, all within a demanding 36-hour hackathon window. Huge thanks to the VT Hacks team and my amazing group members Layla Scott and Prinston Rebello for a fun learning experience! ?? Devpost: https://lnkd.in/gpnHSey8

??My first Win: 'HokieEATS' just took home the Cloudforce x Microsoft award for Best Hack at the VTHacks Hackathon, all achieved in an intense 36-hour sprint! ?? HokieEATS is an innovative, end-to-end generative AI solution designed to make meal planning and takeout easier for students. Our tech stack included cutting-edge technologies like MongoDB, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), Large Language Models (LLMs), FAISS, LangChain, Microsoft Azure OpenAI, CosmosDB, and Streamlit, with Azure OpenAI services at the core of delivering personalized AI-driven insights. ?? Tech Stack Highlights: Front-End: StreamLit hosted in Azure App Services Backend: Azure Function App powered by LangChain, RAG, PyMongo, Azure OpenAI, and FAISS Database: CosmosDB ? Key Takeaways: 1) Built an AI-driven solution that offers personalized meal recommendations by considering factors like calories, allergies, and cuisine preferences. 2) Implemented intelligent error handling to correct user input mistakes (typos) for an optimal experience. 3) Harnessed the power of Microsoft's AI tools and services to deliver a seamless and interactive product. A special shoutout to my awesome teammates Satwik Gunda, mrunaldhar bathula, and Nikhil Gaddam – couldn’t have done it without you guys! ?? #Hackathon #WinningProject #GenerativeAI #MealPlanning #HokieEATS #VTtech #AIInnovation #CloudComputing #MicrosoftAzure #DataScience #TechStack #LangChain #CosmosDB #Streamlit #AzureAI #GHC #HackathonWinner #AIinAction #MachineLearning #DataEngineering

I love giving back to my alma mater. Thank you to the VTHacks team and Virginia Tech for having me participate as a hackathon judge. These students give me life. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm working for some of them one day ??

I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to serve as a judge at the VTHacks hackathon at Virginia Tech. It was truly an honor to be part of such an inspiring event and to witness the creativity and innovation displayed by all the participants. Judging this hackathon was an enriching experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed evaluating the impressive projects and interacting with the talented students. Their enthusiasm and dedication were truly inspiring, and it was a pleasure to contribute to their journey by providing feedback and encouragement. Thank you for the meticulous organization of this event and for including me in such a meaningful capacity. I am grateful for the insights and inspiration I gained from this experience, and I look forward to the possibility of participating in future events. Thrilled to have earned my VTHacks 12 Judging credential from VTHacks! Looking forward to applying this knowledge. #lifelonglearning #achievement #certifier https://lnkd.in/dxwupkRT

?? Hackathon Recap! ?? This past weekend, Ikhlaas Bhat, Devin Bhatt, Vasudev Menon and I tackled one of the most pressing issues of today—affordable housing—and it was a rollercoaster of challenges, late nights, and pushing through tight deadlines! ?? Despite the struggles, we developed an innovative solution that reimagines how people can find the best housing options by using opportunity cost as a key factor. Our custom algorithm doesn’t just look at rent but also considers things like proximity to essential services (e.g., restaurants, grocery stores) and transportation. For example, if someone rents a $1000 apartment close to restaurants and grocery stores, they’ll save significantly on food delivery or rideshare costs—especially if they don’t own a car. By factoring in these hidden costs, we can identify housing options that are truly more affordable in the long run. Our algorithm is powered by real estate APIs and Azure Maps to pull live data on listings and their surroundings. Using mathematical techniques like softmaxing scores from vectors, we built a system that computes a score for each listing based on a range of factors. This scoring system helps users make smarter decisions by providing a more comprehensive view of each housing option's real cost and convenience. While we faced many hurdles and struggled to meet some deadlines, working on such a meaningful project was incredibly rewarding. I’m proud of the effort and creativity my team poured into this solution, and I’m excited to see how we can take this concept even further. You can try it out using the link in the comments! #Hackathon #AffordableHousing #AzureMaps #RealEstateAPI #TechForGood #OpportunityCost #Innovation #Softmax #HousingSolutions #MathematicalModeling

?? Thrilled to Announce Our Hackathon Successes! I'm incredibly proud to share that my teammates and I recently participated in two hackathons, and our projects received top honors among hundreds of submissions! ?? At #HooHacks2024, our project 3Dera won First Place Overall out of over 150 submissions! ?? At #VTHacks12, our project Forge received the "Peraton - Most Creative Implementation of Generative AI" award among 178 submissions. ?? 3Dera We set out to make history come alive. 3Dera uses AI to generate 3D worlds on demand, leveraging the Objaverse object library. Simply request a historical event, and 3Dera creates an immersive VR scene for you to explore. As you navigate the environment, an audio narration guides you through the historical context, making learning interactive, engaging, and truly unforgettable. ?? Check out 3Dera here: https://lnkd.in/eaYUvEvE ?? Forge Forge is an AI-powered voice assistant that's changing the game in 3D modeling. Speak your idea—like "Build a red brick house with a blue door and a chimney"—and Forge uses AI to write Blender scripts that update your scene in real-time. Our aim is to make 3D design accessible and intuitive for everyone, turning imagination into reality with just your voice. ?? Learn more about Forge here: https://lnkd.in/ewVgrDed Huge thanks to the organizers of HooHacks and VTHacks, and to my amazing teammates for their collaboration and creativity. Competing among so many talented teams was an incredible experience. Can't wait to see what we build next!

Excited to share that my team and I won Best UI/UX at VTHacks for our project, FishBook! ???? FishBook is a web application designed for aquarium enthusiasts, aimed at simplifying the often complex process of managing aquarium stocking. As someone with a passion for fishkeeping and experience working at a local fish store, Layla Scott saw firsthand how misinformation and inadequate tools often result in premature fish deaths, illness, and improperly balanced tanks. Large pet stores and corporations, unfortunately, benefit from this cycle, as frequent fish losses lead customers to purchase replacements more often, ultimately driving up their profits. Our app is designed to grow with users, providing value to both beginners and experts alike. For those just starting out, it simplifies the aquarium setup process, while also offering quick, reliable advice for seasoned aquarists. Key features include: ? A Fish Compatibility Checker to ensure harmonious tanks ? Personalized Equipment Recommendations ? A detailed Fish Directory ? An AI-powered Chatbot for fish-related questions, powered by LangChain & OpenAI API Our tech stack includes React, Spring Boot, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and more. We worked hard to design a user-friendly interface while tackling the challenges of developing accurate fish compatibility algorithms and seamlessly integrating AI, all within a demanding 36-hour hackathon window. Huge thanks to the VT Hacks team and my amazing group members Layla Scott and Prinston Rebello for a fun learning experience! ?? Devpost: https://lnkd.in/gpnHSey8

I am excited to announce that my team won First Place at Virginia Tech's annual Hackathon - VTHacks 12! Just a few weeks ago, we competed alongside 850+ talented participants, with 178 project submissions. Our project, DispatchIQ, is an AI-powered emergency call triage system that helps emergency dispatchers manage a high volume of calls more effectively by automating call transcription, implementing intelligent call prioritization, and using machine learning to predict call severity. Over the 36 hours of coding, seeing our project come together and learning new skills was a rewarding experience. It was great working with Daniel Hollberg, Alexander Urbina, and Aidan Walters. Thank you to VTHacks for this incredible experience! Learn more about our project here: https://lnkd.in/g4vBmdm9

?? Thrilled to announce that my team and I won First Place at Virginia Tech's annual Hackathon - VTHacks 12 last month! ?? I had the amazing chance to compete alongside over 850 talented participants with 178 unique project submissions. It was a truly amazing learning experience. We developed DispatchIQ, an AI-powered call triage system that enhances emergency dispatcher efficiency by automating call prioritization and transcription. Tackling a critical issue - handling high call volumes in emergency situations. Our solution leverages machine learning and AI to predict the severity of each call, ensuring dispatchers can focus on the most urgent cases. In just 36 hours, we built a fully functional system. I had the opportunity to learn more about extreme gradient boosting, hyper-parameter tuning, multi-cloud, and project management. It was an incredible experience collaborating with my talented teammates, Alexander Urbina, Aidan Walters, and Aneesh Tummeti. ?? A big thank you to the VTHacks team for hosting such a great event! Learn more about DispatchIQ here: https://lnkd.in/e64cYZyw #VTHacks #AI #MachineLearning #Hackathon #EmergencyResponse