Projects to Strengthen Responsiveness and Adaptability to Climate-Related Hazards and Disasters Showcased at the 2026 SSU Makeathon
The 2026 SSU Makeathon Competition took place from Friday, October 23 to Sunday, October 25.
Ronhert Park, California, USA — The 2026 Sonoma State University (SSU) Makeathon Competition took place this weekend from Friday, October 23 to Sunday, October 25. This year’s Makeathon theme was “strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries” which is the first target proposed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals to achieve its Climate Action goal.
A total of 22 participants in nine teams competed over a period of 48-hours to create a functioning hardware, software, or art piece in response to the theme of this Makeathon. Although the majority of the members of each team were SSU students, several teams included community members who were not SSU students. Participants with diverse backgrounds joined this competition, including first-year students, as well as junior and senior students from majors such as computer science, electrical engineering, business administration, and environmental science, geography & management.
Sudhir Shrestha, SSU professor of electrical engineering and co-director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center at SSU said, “The event was a great success. There were nine amazing teams, and the ideas were diverse as were the backgrounds of the students. You could really see the effort they put in and their excitement as they presented their projects. They have gained experience that is of far more value than the awards they won. This is exactly the kind of opportunities our students need in this swiftly changing world.”
The Makeathon event kicked-off at 5:00 pm on Friday, October 23, and ended at 5:00 pm on Sunday, October 25. Each participating team delivered a presentation about their project to a panel of seven judges from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm, followed by a demo expo from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Judges rated each presentation and demo across six criteria which were project quality, theme fit, originality, presentation, commercial viability, and artistic appeal. The event ended with the announcement of the winning teams at 7:15 pm. Funding for over $5,000 in prizes and awards for winning teams was generously provided by the Moskowitz Foundation. The winning teams were:
- First place winner: Team Cappers.
- Second place winner: Team Sonoma Stars.
- Third place winner: Team Droplet.
- Best presentation award winner: Team ISL Robotics.
- Most original project award winner: Team Silver Bird.
- Most commercially viable project: Team Dragnipur.
- Most artistically appealing project design: Team Makealot.
Chris Stewart, Co-Founder of Pocket Radar and SSU Entrepreneur-in-Residence said “I was very impressed by the creativity and ingenuity of all the student projects. Each has great potential, and I look forward to seeing the teams develop their ideas further at our Entrepreneurial Pitch Competition this spring.” The 2027 SSU Pitch Competition will be held on April 20, 2027 in Ballroom C & D in the SSU Student Center. For more information, visit https://stb.sonoma.edu/pitch
This event is part of the Inspire Sonoma Speaker Series. There are two more events in the Inspire Sonoma Speaker Series. The first upcoming event will feature Dr. John P. Sullins on Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 12:00 pm in the Sonoma Valley Room in SSU Student Center. The second upcoming event will feature Darren Providence on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, at 7:00 pm in Ballroom A in the SSU Student Center.
Inspire Sonoma brings together Sonoma State University and its surrounding communities through engaging conversations on issues that matter. The partnership includes the Sonoma State University Police Department’s Conversations with Black and Brown in Blue, the Center for Ethics, Law, and Society, the Career Center, and the College of Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts, in collaboration with the cities of Rohnert Park and Cotati. Together, these partners create opportunities to share perspectives, strengthen connections, and inspire a more informed, inclusive, and connected community.