DSU Computer Science team wins UD “HenHack” competition
A quartet of DSU computer science students recently achieved winning-team status at the University of Delaware’s HenHacks Hackathon.
Held Feb. 28 to March 1, the UD Hackathon – in which 130 teams from 45 universities and colleges competed – challenged more than 450 students to develop computer coding in a number of different categories. The teams competed at either the Beginners or Advanced level, and the DSU students entered the latter, competing in two categories.
The DSU students under the team name “Smooth Cruize” took First Place in the Community Wellness and Social Connections categories.
The Smooth Cruize team members were Mustafa Akilli Jr of Felton, Del.; Evans Armantrading of Dover, Del.; Tyler Ervin of Wilmington, Del.; and Christian King of Dover, Del. All the DSU members are junior Computer Science majors, except Mr. King, who is a junior Information Technology major.
With the recent snow and ice events leaving a number of potholes on the DSU Main Campus, DSU would do well to implement the winning computer coding system developed by Smooth Cruize.
Smooth Cruize created a computer code that allowed them to take video footage from a dash cam (such as found on public transportation vehicles), “and our computer program processes the footage and detects potholes in the road,” Mr. Armantrading said.
The computer program then logs the location and sends the video clips and the location info to the agency – such as the Delaware Department of Transportation – that would send personnel to the road site to repair the pothole, Mr. Armantrading said.
Each member of Smooth Cruize won a Nintendo Switch 2 System, a hybrid gaming console that sells retail for about $450. The team members, however, said they got more out of the Hackathon competition than the first-place prize.
“We wanted to win first place, but we also wanted to have something that we could put on our resumes and be proud of,” Mr. Ervin said.
“One thing I really liked was being able to apply the skills we have learned at DSU over the last two years,” Mr. King said.
“It definitely increased my confidence a lot,” Mr. Akilli said. “It made me feel I am where I need to be to be a tech professional. It also gave me confidence that I will be able to find a job that I will be happy with after I graduate.”
Dr. Marwan Rasamny, DSU Associate Professor of Computer Science, said he has watched this team grow since they were first grouped together as freshmen.
“What makes this moment so meaningful is that their success didn’t happen overnight,” Dr. Rasamny said. “They consistently sought out challenges, supported one another, and took full advantage of every opportunity to learn and compete. As faculty, we couldn’t be prouder of the professionals they are becoming.”
He added that they represent exactly what is possible when talented students embrace opportunity, work hard, and grow together as a team.