Students from two of Alabama’s historically Black colleges and universities clashed last week in a friendly contest to devise creative solutions to tough issues in the first-ever HBCU Hackathon.

The event, hosted by the Birmingham Chapter of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) and the Alabama Power Foundation, pitted four teams from Alabama A&M University and Tuskegee University in a battle that culminated in the teams pitching their ideas to a panel of judges before a live audience.

Before the pitch event at Alabama Power’s headquarters in Birmingham, the teams had three weeks to formulate their ideas, brainstorm potential solutions and pull together their presentations. The teams were scored for creativity, innovation and the potential impact of their ideas, and how well they delivered presentations. On the table: a $6,000 prize for first place and $4,000 for second place.

The Hack N Parlay team from Tuskegee University took home the second-place prize. (Desmond Wilson)

Employees from Alabama Power and Alabama-based employees of Southern Company and Southern Nuclear served as pitch coaches for the students. The students met with the coaches at least once weekly while preparing their 10-minute presentations. The students could consult academic advisers about the projects.

Hackathon judges and volunteers were comprised of Alabama Power, Southern Nuclear and Southern Company employees and managers, as well as leaders from Georgia Power and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

During the event, students took part in a speed networking session and a panel discussion with energy experts from the participating companies.

A student participates in the speed networking session at the HBCU Hackathon. (Desmond Wilson)

“One of the purposes of the American Association of Blacks in Energy is to encourage African American students to pursue careers in the energy sector,” said Ernest Burnley, AABE Birmingham Chapter president and a Southern Nuclear manager.

“Our chapter is invested in our HBCU students,” Burnley added. “This was an opportunity for Tuskegee University and Alabama A&M University students to highlight their talents and to gain exposure to new careers and to energy professionals.”

Grabbing first place was “The Maroon 5ive” team from Alabama A&M for proposing a way to address ongoing wastewater issues in Lowndes County, where municipal sewage systems don’t reach the homes of many poor, Black families, and septic systems are cost-prohibitive or don’t work well. The team proposed installing small chemical package systems and innovative deployment of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping to treat water and improve drainage.

Taking second place was Tuskegee’s “Hack N Parlay” team with its idea for detecting and addressing air pollution issues in underserved communities of color. It proposed creating a Pollution Identifier Network (PIN) – a series of pollution sensors on commercial buildings, traffic lights, homes and automobiles that would measure neighborhood air quality and provide real-time data to regulators.

Southern Company Manager Jonique Parker offers insights during the panel discussion. (Desmond Wilson)

Margaret White, Community Initiatives manager at the Alabama Power Foundation, provided opening remarks at the pitch event along with Jonathan Porter, Alabama Power senior vice president of Customer Operations, who is a Tuskegee University graduate.

“The Alabama Power Foundation is dedicated to investing in students attending historically Black colleges and universities in Alabama,” White said. “Our support of the Birmingham Chapter of the American Association of Blacks in Energy Hackathon reflects our commitment to ensuring HBCU students can achieve their career goals.”

Learn more about the AABE Birmingham Chapter here. Learn more about the Alabama Power Foundation at powerofgood.com.

Students and coaches pause for a group photo at the HBCU Hackathon. (Contributed)