engineering

It’s not often that college students have a chance to solve cybersecurity challenges, delve into data mining, and take a salsa dancing lesson over the same weekend. But those who attended PatriotHacks, Mason’s second annual collegiate hackathon, did just that at the MIX@Fenwick, October 18 to 20.

With a twist or shake of your wrist, your smartphone can interpret motion to take a picture, turn on a light, and more. Last year, George Mason University computer science professors Parth Pathak and Huzefa Rangwala were brainstorming how similar technology could help society in even greater ways. Their idea? To automatically translate sign language into text or speech.