SCI Hackathon 2025 Recap: What a Weekend!

A 48-Hour Innovation Sprint on the Space Coast

Author

Groundswell Startups
August 26, 2025

This weekend marked the first-ever SCI Hackathon hosted at Groundswell Startups with support from AWS and what a journey it has been!

From planning and recruiting more than 100 tech enthusiasts as participants, mentors, and speakers to overcoming a literal lightning strike, our community came together in true startup spirit to make this incredible event possible. Thanks to our amazing staff, mentors, and volunteers, everything was up and running just in time for the big weekend.

Every single team impressed us with their creativity, problem-solving, and ability to turn ideas into prototypes in just 48 hours.

Participant ages ranged from 10 to 65 years old.

🚀 By the Numbers

  • 16 teams formed (with 10 completing prototypes)

  • Participants traveled from Arizona, California, Maryland, and the Space Coast

  • 25+ Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) engaged throughout the Hackathon

🏆 Congratulations to Our Winning Teams

Hackers Track Winner:
🥇 PULSE FORGE
(Software)

Problem Statement: Cardiologists need a predictive way to be able to read ECGs with abnormalities in order to properly give professional care to the #1 cause of death in America.

Pulse Forge Team Members
(From left to right: Justin Rice, Benji Magnelli, and Austin Roberts)

Logic Analyzers Team Members
(From left to right: Shawn Steakley, Daniel Tatum, and Elis Karcini)

Tinkerers Track Winner:
🥇 LOGIC ANALYZERS
(Software + Hardware)

Problem Statement: The Petroleum and Mining industry needs to monitor air quality in its operations for dangerous gases because the health and safety of its workforce are paramount to the industry’s continued success.

💻 Side Quest 
Hackathon participants raced through a spy-style Capture the Flag challenge, following digital breadcrumbs to uncover hidden secrets on the network, all thanks to Groundswell Startups’ IT Director, Chris Muse.

🙏 A Heartfelt Thank You

This hackathon would not have been possible without the dedication and support of so many people:

SMEs: Thank you for your time, expertise, and for sparking even more collaborations among yourselves.
Judges: Thank you for lending your sharp insights to help teams refine their visions.
Volunteers: You are the backbone that kept the event running smoothly.
AWS Team: Thank you for co-hosting and ensuring every team had the tools they needed.
Groundswell Staff and Community Members: From dealing with fried routers and A/C failures to keeping the energy high, you made sure the show went on!

SMEs in Action!
(From left to right: Stefanie Catania, Michael Anderson, and Dusan Kuzmanovic)

🧡 Credits

A special shoutout to every mentor and judge who brought this weekend to life.

We were honored to have such an incredible judge panel guiding and evaluating our teams:

Jeff Rosas, IBM
Adam Hensley, AWS
Frank Reyes, Maximus Federal
Ryan Bailey, Myelai & Extropian Tech
Jaspreet Riar, Apple
Derek Tishler, Boxmica
Keely DeGroot, Plug & Play Tech Center - Semiconductors
Tim Balz, Kalogon

Our mentors dedicated their weekend to guiding participants and troubleshooting roadblocks. We couldn’t have done it without you:

Hackers Track Judges
(From left to right: Jeff Rosas, Adam Hensley, Frank Reyes, and Ryan Bailey)

Tinkerers Track Judges
(From left to right: Jaspreet Singh Riar, Derek Tishler, Keely DeGroot, and Tim Balz)

A special shoutout to the 15 AWS mentors on-site, providing expert guidance and helping teams bring their cloud-powered ideas to life! ☁️

Thank you for trusting Groundswell Startups with your time, energy, and wild ideas. This weekend proved that when innovators, dreamers, and doers come together, magic happens.

You can view the highlights and gallery here 👉 spacecoastinitiative.com

A big “Thank You” to our Sponsors

This event wouldn’t be possible without the support of our amazing sponsors, who are helping power innovation across the Space Coast and beyond.