UC Physics Hackathon
Berkeley Society of Physics Students
About the Competition
UCPH is the first ever UC Wide physics Hackathon organized by SPS at Berkeley. Teams get 39 high-octane hours to meet peers from other UCs, experiment in an unrestricted setting, apply classroom knowledge, and win money!! Participants are asked to develop theory, build and improve experimental setups, take data, and computationally analyze the results to confirm or refute their theory. Any resource is allowed, except other people. The only person you may discuss with is your team member.
Interested? Teams consist of 2 people and can register for the competition here. Deadline to register is March 12, 2021. Any number of teams may participate from each UC campus.
Prizes
- 1st Place Team: $150
- 2nd Place Team: $100
- 3rd Place Team: $50
Team Presentation Timing
| Allotted Time (minutes) | Sub-Event |
| 8 | Team Presentation |
| 4 | Q&A |
| 3 | Peer Grading |
Problems
Teams choose 1 of 3 problems to explore during the tournament. Problems take inspiration from the physical and mathematical beauty of the world around us. Each problem has theoretical and computational components, such as those at the 2021 International Physicists' Tournament, but please note that our problems are more defined and much more accomplishable within 1-2 days.
Prior theory and coding knowledge is not necessary (but helpful). Both are approachable and can be learned during the competition. Relevant theory can be learned by skimming research papers and Googling. YouTube and Google can help you find excellent resources for learning the essentials of Python coding (such as W3 Schools)
Presentations
Any presentation format is allowed, but a slideshow is recommended due to the virtual, Zoom format. Emphasis should be placed on clearly communicating your prompt, theory, experimental setups, data analysis, and interpretation of results. You may find pictures, videos, tables, graphs, and formulae useful in this process.
Grading
In the spirit of scientific discourse & collaboration, teams will participate in peer-grading. Each team will have access to a document visible only to them and the organizers where both team members will give scores for each of the other teams. An example spreadsheet can be found here. Anyone found to have plagiarized will be disqualified.
Grading is based on two parts: the team presentation and following Q&A. When grading the team presentation, consider how well experimental data was collected/analyzed and the strengths or assumptions of the theory. General discussion questions should be constructive, seeking to clarify presentations or work towards better solutions
| Team Presentations | Score (1-5) |
| All Parts of Prompt Answered? | |
| Theoretical Basis | |
| Experimental Setup & Data Collection | |
| Data Analysis & Interpretation of Results | |
| General Discussion | Score (1-5) |
| Scientific Discourse & Civility | |
| Usefulness of Discussion | |
| Final Score | 3/4 Team Presentation + 1/4 General Discussion |
Questions
For more information, contact our competition coordinators, srkadam "at" berkeley.edu and sid.mal "at" berkeley.edu.
