Druin Helps Organize Challenge Aimed at Creating Apps to Save the Bay

Mon Aug 04, 2014

Allison Druin, a member of the Center for Health-related Informatics and Bioimaging, helped organize the state’s first DataBay Reclaim the Bay Innovation Challenge Aug. 1-3, a programming competition aimed at generating new ideas to help the Chesapeake Bay.

The event, which took place Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater and was coordinated by the university’s Future of Information Alliance, was attended by 80 people—from high school students to CEOs of technology companies. The challenge was prompted by Gov. Martin O’Malley’s desire to find new, creative ideas to assist the Chesapeake Bay.

Four teams of finalists — each of which received $1,000 — were selected. The winning programs were: EcoSleuth, an app that allows users to track algae blooms through crowd-sourced reporting; ChesaPeaks, a website that monitors water quality in the state's rivers; BayBucks, an app that rewards environmentally friendly behavior with coupons to local businesses; and MyBay, a program that surveys users on their environmental habits and offers ways to improve them.

The four final teams will now compete for a grand prize of $4,000. They have until Aug. 27 to improve their programs before they make final presentations at the State House in Annapolis.