36 Hours. 10 Teams. One City. Applications open for the Tennessee Quantum Hackathon
The 36-hour innovation challenge will take place Nov. 13–15 in Chattanooga. It's perfect for college students who are ready to explore practical quantum applications.
Another Chattanooga quantum milestone!
The city is set to host the Tennessee Quantum Hackathon, hosted by The Company Lab (CO.LAB) in partnership with the Chattanooga Quantum Collaborative (CQC) and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) this fall.
How it works
Any quantum-curious college student in the Southeast can apply — no quantum experience or Tennessee college enrollment required. Students can apply solo, with a partial team or with a full team. Hackathon organizers will run pre-event matchmaking to help mix disciplines and form full teams as needed.
Come event weekend, Friday will be reserved for a keynote presentation, team formation and official release of the electric power challenge. Saturday will be for all-day building and mentorship. On Sunday, teams will pitch their submissions to the judges for a chance at $4,500 worth of prize money.
UTC, EPB, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, IonQ and Quantinuum will help shape the challenge and form mentor and judge teams.
“Innovation accelerates when people with different perspectives tackle the same challenge,” said Tasia Malakasis, CEO of The Company Lab. “The Tennessee Quantum Hackathon brings students, researchers and industry leaders together around a real opportunity for Tennessee.”
Riding Tennessee’s quantum wave
Quantum computing could generate up to $150 billion for the global electric power sector by 2035. Chattanooga and Tennessee as a whole have moved fast to claim a piece of that future, as evidenced by our recent quantum roundup. And to Charlie Brock, CEO of the Chattanooga Quantum Collaborative, this hackathon will just add to that roundup.
“The Tennessee Quantum Hackathon creates another point of connection within work that is already happening across our state,” he said.
The innovation challenge is funded in part by a $1.33 million National Science Foundation grant awarded to UTC to blueprint a QuantumGrid Innovation Hub exploring quantum’s role in a more resilient electric grid.
Learn more and apply by Oct. 13.
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