GOES-R Hackathon Overview video transcript

We’re excited to announce the first-ever GOES-R Hackathon launching virtually this September.


The GOES-R Series program is a collaborative NOAA NASA mission which launches and operates the nation’s most advanced fleet of geostationary weather satellites. 


These satellites are constantly scanning the earth to produce advanced imagery and atmospheric measurements of Earth’s weather, oceans and environment, as well as real-time mapping of total lightning activity. Additional instruments monitor solar activity and space weather.[a]


Over 22 thousand miles above the equator, the GOES-East and West satellites view the entire Western hemisphere.[b][c]


GOES-R is inviting undergraduate students to utilize its satellite imagery to develop solutions to contemporary environmental issues through a Hackathon competition. These challenges will cross-cut disciplines, encouraging collaboration between meteorologists, computer scientists, social scientists and earth scientists. Teams of 3-6 students will be matched with 1 to 2 mentors, who will advise idea development. 


Here’s a brief outline of the program schedule. All participants will be invited to attend opening and closing ceremonies featuring NOAA executives. 5 live training sessions will be held to review foundational remote sensing science and detail the GOES-R Series data products. There will be six participating institutions. And the competition itself will last one weekend, for a duration of 48 hours in total. At the end of the event, project submissions will be judged and winning teams will be rewarded for their efforts. There is no cost to attend. Once again, all programming will be virtual.


Through the mentorship, training sessions and competition, you’ll have access to subject-matter experts who can guide your project and answer questions. These specialists will range from remote sensing experts, to atmospheric and earth scientists. At training sessions, you’ll engage with representatives from Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services. 


We’re thrilled to be partnering with the NOAA CESSRST consortium. We welcome all undergrads from these institutions, regardless of major, to participate in the Hackathon. They are:
* The City College of New York
* Hampton University 
* San Diego State University
* University of Maryland Baltimore  
* University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez 
* and University of Texas El Paso 


We will be accepting a limited number of teams, on a first come first served basis.  We recommend registering as soon as possible to guarantee your spot in the competition.The virtual programming will kick-off on September 13th with a pre-orientation session. The opening ceremony is scheduled for September 24th. Immediately following the ceremony, the hackathon competition will begin, lasting from 5pm Friday to 5pm Sunday. One week later, we will reconvene to award the best submissions and hear closing remarks.


The GOES-R Team is looking forward to working with you. Visit goes-r.gov/users/hackathon.html to learn more and to register your team today.