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, the Department of Defense's technology accelerator, will hold one of Colorado's biggest hackathons of the year on the weekend of April 6 at CU's Idea Forge.

We'll invest $15,000 in up to four winning teams, awarding those who can help the state of Colorado with new concepts in critical infrastructure protection, resilience and physical cybersecurity. Two teams at random will win a day of paintball and barbeque with Green Berets from 10th Special Forces Group.
 
This will be a hackathon unlike any other you've participated in. This isn't just coding! Alongside computer science expertise, we need traditional engineers who can work on physical concepts related to facility resilience and business students who can think about stakeholders, costs and pitch. This hackathon will be engineers, business students, hackers and folks of all stripes working together on both digital and physical concepts, solving real-world problems.

We've spent the last few months interviewing senior leaders and practitioners in cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, Homeland Security, utilities and hospitals, first responders and the Colorado National Guard to find out what keeps them up at night. We'll present their challenges to you, and you'll be hacking on pressing, real-world problems, for real-world sponsors, to win real-world investment.
 
Expect an amazing weekend, from beginners to experts. Come as a team, a pair or an individual. Come to have fun, eat free food, see cool tech and meet cool people, or come to win. Teams from CU Boulder will be competing against teams from Nebraska via live link.

We'll have mentors in technology, business, cybersecurity and first response on site so that you can sharpen your concept in response to real-world customer demand. We'll have senior leaders from these communities to judge your concept and choose winners.

Lloyd Thrall is director for the Rocky Mountain region of the MD5 National Security Technology Accelerator.