DETROIT – TechTown Detroit, in partnership with Wayne State University, will host the Cleveland Water Alliance Erie Hack Semi-Final on April 13. Finalists will compete for $100,000 in prize money in May.
Erie Hack is a months-long, international water innovation accelerator and competition that has brought together coders, developers, engineers and water experts to generate creative solutions to challenges facing the Lake Erie watershed. The competition focuses on creating publicly accessible mobile apps, open data and new technology to elevate the value of clean water and leverage its potential to drive the economic vitality of the Great Lakes region.
Up to 18 teams representing four hack locations (Buffalo, Cleveland/Erie, Detroit/Windsor and Toledo) will pitch their project to a panel of judges from environmental, entrepreneurial, and tech backgrounds. The Detroit Semi-Final will be emceed by WDIV Channel 4 meteorologist Andrew Humphrey.  The finalists will advance to compete for $100,000 in prize money at the Erie Hack Water Innovation Summit on May 2 and 3 in Cleveland.
Teams developed their products and pitches during a series of ideation sessions and hacking days, held in each regional location. Teams with the most promising ideas will receive additional acceleration and other support from their host organization and other partners. Semifinals will be held April 13 from 5-8pm at TechTown, 440 Burroughs, Detroit.
“We’ve seen numerous promising ideas, from a water remediation system using nano-sensors to specialized drones that help protect water supplies,” says Paul Riser, TechTown’s managing director for technology-based entrepreneurship. “During this final stretch, we’ll pressure-test those ideas, then support the teams in moving them forward, with an end goal to make a meaningful impact on the Lake Erie watershed.”
Erie Hack is presented by Cleveland Water Alliance, the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, Wayne State University and TechTown.  Platinum sponsors include: AT&T, Cleveland Port, The George Gund Foundation, HIMSS,  The Joyce Foundation and NEORSD. Collaborators include GE, NASA Glenn Research Center, IBM Watson IoT, DigitalC, Great Lakes Observing System, NSF International, FreshWater Forum of the Cranbrook Institute of Science, WEtech Alliance, Venture Michigan, Mobile Technology Association of Michigan, Michigan’s University Research Corridor, GreeningDetroit.com, WDIV Channel 4 in Detroit, WKYC in Cleveland, Community Foundation of Toledo, Burton D. Morgan Foundation, and the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.
The Erie Hack Semi Finals are open to the public. RSVP at eriehacksemifinal.eventbrite.com
For more information, visit eriehack.io.