HACK-A-THON

Come see the inaugural Hack-A-Thon.

  • WHEN: Saturday, December 13, 2025

  • WHERE: Waikīkī Aquarium

  • COST: Free. RSVP Here

  • THAT COST AGAIN: Thatʻs right, 0. Nada. Free 99.

  • WHAT TO EXPECT: Free admission to the Aquarium. Exhibitors with fun games and educational opportunities for all ages. Bring a beach chair, mat, or umbrella if you wish (Hack-A-Thon runs rain or shine). Food and drinks for sale (please no outside food and beverage). And of course, the single greatest marine debris cutting competition in the history of the cosmos. Weʻre talking a flurry of innovation not seen since the Big Bang. Sparks flying. Nets falling. Ideas forged in steel. Your own eyes will bear witness to debris hacked in ways your mind never imagined possible. All for free.

  • Parking: Street side along Kapiolani Park. There is another parking lot just across the field from the Aquarium on Paki Ave.

Hack-a-thon format

The Hack-A-Thon will take place in several rounds, during which the contestants will test their tools in the following challenges, until a winner is crowned:

Competitors

  • Kalaʻi Sim- Million Watt Secret Weapon- Youʻve heard of shipwrights, playwrights, but have you ever seen a sparkwright? Come to the Hack-A-Thon to see a mind crackling with the sparks of ingenuity. By trade, a conservationist and electrician, by birth a raging storm given human shape. This man brought us the Rope Slayer, what gift will he bestow on the Hack-A-Thon?

  • Sydney West- Makaira Blade- Sydney West is the engineer behind the Makaira Blade, a precision tool forged from physics, mathematics, and deep devotion to the ocean. A lifelong roboticist and UH mechanical engineering student, she brings serious systems thinking to the art of cutting marine debris free.

  • Beckham Roberts- Bulldog Blade- Behold Beckham, suma cum laude son of the Le Jardin Bulldog Builders, a craftsman who walks the narrow plank of mathematics. From the dusty scrolls he has deciphered the sacred geometry of knife making. Will his wizardry translate to the holy grail- the folding marine debris blade rumored, but not seen since the time of the ancients? Come find out at the Hack-A-Thon

  • Kamu Agullana- Kung Fu Grip- Hailing from 76 South, Kamu Agullana runs on trucks, steaks, and the iron code of Older Brothering. Five stars in everything that matters, one star in patience—and that’s how you know it’s real.

  • Grim Reaper- Scythe- Took time from his busy schedule to compete in the Hack-A-Thon.

  • Colin Yeo- A PMDP internship survivor and, by quiet consensus, the greatest Kapiolani Park lacrosse player of all time, Colin Yeo arrives with steel-toe boots and unshakable confidence. He builds like a veteran and explains things to elders with unnecessary clarity.

  • Liam Martin- Light Axe- Liam Martin, Punahou prodigy of heat and havoc. He apprentices not on the hammer and anvil, but the searing seam of matter itself. Liam is assured to bring the Hack-A-Thonʻs hottest tool.

 

WHO WE ARE

WHO ARE WE

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP) is a non-profit organization created to protect the sensitive wildlife and critical habitats of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (Northwest Hawaiian Islands) from the threats of marine debris. We thrive on teaming with motivated and skilled people from all backgrounds to accomplish our mission. Visit our Instagram for photos and videos of our operations.

Papahānaumokuākea MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT

Papahānaumokuākea MaRINE NATIONAL MONUMENT

Beyond the inhabited Main Hawaiian Islands, stretching to the northwest, is the PMNM, the largest protected conservation area in the U.S. It is home to over 7,000 marine species, a quarter of which are found only in the Hawaiian archipelago. Unfortunately, it also accumulates garbage from throughout the North Pacific. The stewardship of this unique place is a worthy application of the skills and knowledge you have developed as a student at UH.

CURRENT CUTTING DIFFICULTIES

Cutting difficulties

PMDPʻs focus is the removal of derelict fishing gear (DFG), comprised mainly of old fishing nets. The DFG is often large (over 1,000 pounds), tangled, crusted with fouling organisms, and difficult to cut for removal. A number of tools have been tried, but there is still considerable room for innovation and optimization. 

Small serrated knives (Spyderco) are capable of cutting the derelict fishing gear, but are inefficient due to their size. Larger knives (bread knives) have worked well, but dull quickly. All knives also require tension in the material to be cut, which is not always a characteristic of a bundle of fishing nets swaying in the ocean. A tensioning tool could be incorporated into the cutting tool design to increase its efficacy.

Loppers or garden shears have also been used, but have many of the same problems as the knives. They require two hands to use, which makes keeping tension on the DFG even more difficult. Most commercially available handheld products are also too small for use on large nets.

Pneumatic, battery powered, or other power tools are of particular interest, but none of the tested products has yet proven adequate. Your creativity, design skills, and fabrication expertise are needed to solve this problem!

E-mail for more info