UAlbany Students Compete in the 2025 MIT Reality Hack
ALBANY, N.Y. (Feb. 18, 2025) — A group of University at Albany students attended the 2025 MIT Reality Hack, one of the largest extended reality (XR) hackathons in the world — and took home several first prize awards.
At the event, participants compete for prizes by building an application using immersive technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. Major companies like Meta, Qualcomm, Styly, OpenBCI, Cognitive 3D, Snap AR, Lambda, Noblis and Shapes XR bring their latest hardware and software to hack with.
About 1,100 students applied to take part in the hackathon and only 450 were chosen to attend, including eight from UAlbany. Catherine Dumas, a visiting assistant professor in the Information Sciences & Technology Department in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC), brought the UAlbany students to MIT, where she has been a member of the Reality Hack organization for five years.
“I am so fortunate to be a part of a thriving and rapidly growing XR community in both industry and academia through my involvement with the MIT Reality Hack,” Dumas said. “This network offers valuable opportunities for our students interested in developing XR games and experiences, helping them secure internships and launch successful careers after graduation. This is even more exciting given that CEHC will be rolling out game design & development degrees at both the undergraduate and master’s level in Fall of 2025. The skills that our students will be learning from these new programs will include XR development which increases their career opportunities beyond the game industry."
Informatics senior Athina Halkiadakis took home a top prize of $1,500 and a Meta Quest 3 VR Headset. Her team's project, called “Through Their Eyes,” is a VR tool that allows people with colorblindness to see color.
“I learned so much through the experience, met so many talented and passionate individuals, and would recommend this experience to anyone and everyone,” Halkiadakis said.
Isaiah Williams, a cybersecurity junior, took second place in his category with his team’s project, “AutoChef,” a tool to help stop food waste in refrigerators. The AI tool monitors food in the refrigerator and tracks the shelf life and then sends an alert before the food goes bad. The team even developed a full walk through in virtual reality on how the product works for the average consumer.
“It was incredible to step into the world of XR and network with professionals,” Williams said. “I was not sure how I’d perform initially, being new to all of this, but once I realized how I could apply the skills I’m learning at UAlbany, I was able to build something incredible with my teammates.”
Brenda Padilla De Jesus is a freshman studying cybersecurity. Her team’s development, “Paw Pals Connect,” is a mixed reality app that allows its users to connect with their peers’ pets. The pets in the app will react to your traits and actions, making it seem like you are having a real interaction. These pets will also help bring you to other animals, creating a social aspect to connect with others and their animals. This project won first place in its category.
“As a freshman cybersecurity student, I didn't come into this event having as much experience as some of my peers, however, keeping an open mind and jumping right into it taught me more than I ever would in a classroom,” De Jesus said. “The hands-on collaboration is priceless and gave me the opportunity to connect with others.”
Other projects from UAlbany students included informatics senior Akifah Ahmed’s “HangarPro VR,” which won first in its category. In addition, informatics senior Kendra Lau’s “The People's Garden,” won an honorable mention, and computer science senior Brennan Worth McGarey’s “FarSight,” took first place in its category.