Innovation took center stage across campus last weekend, as students gathered for Macathon 2026. For twenty-four hours, students worked through the night as they raced to identify real-world problems and build solutions that matter. The department of Entrepreneurship & Innovation is proud to congratulate this year’s student finalists and winners.
Teams were paired with alumni judges to help bring ideas to life. After the twenty-four hours were up, each team presented their concept to the judging panel. The highest-scoring teams were rewarded with cash prizes.
Macathon 2026 Winners
- First Place: Team Pangea (Lorenzo Gurrola Dec. ’26, Su Kyaw ’27, Joseph Saputra ’27, Elma Mostic ’28, Zai Spencer ’28, Makol Deng ’27) developed The Privy – privacy for every public bathroom right in your pocket.
- Second Place: Pando (Dahlia Myers ’29, Evelina Hatrick ’29, Sunny Lu ’30, Jayling Goolsby ’29, Isa Rodriguez ’29, Mara Fletcher ’29) for Sidekick: relief and agency to kids with misophonia; (a noise cancelling device that discreetly rests behind the ears and is set to a preferred level to block out what is needed without blocking out social interaction)
- Third Place: JanZ (Shona Jalilova ’29, Isa Pena Maldonado ’29, Lyusi Davtyan ’29, Aliona Fedorovic ’28, Masha Antonova ’28, Senia Stasiukevich ’29) for Bestea: Flip and Sip With Your Bestea, an all in one filtration system and with a mug that removes microplastics from your teabags
- Dave Mao Keeping It Real Award: Believers! (Gabby Bui ’29, Daniel Wiltse ’27, David Rios Torres ’27, Dylan Riley ’30, Emilia Torrens ’29, Siqi Weng ’29)
- People’s Choice Award (New This Year): Sankofa (Wethu Mhlanga ’29, Terrence Odandi ’29, RJ Gudina ’29, Jeremy Rafidimanana ’29, Ismail AboElMagd ’29)
The Dave Mao Keeping It Real Award recognizes a team representing the spirit of the event—playfulness, joy, and possibility.