Infrastructure Masons (iMasons), along with Grundfos, ElephantVoices and the Open Compute Project (OCP) recently partnered with Southern Methodist University (SMU) to convene students, industry leaders, and mission-driven organizations for a high-impact hackathon focused on solving real-world challenges in the digital infrastructure industry. The initiative served as the inaugural pilot to build a pipeline from the next generation of professionals directly to core companies in the sector in order to address the industry’s growing talent gap.
Held April 11–12, 2026 as part of HackSMU, the event transformed pressing problems into tangible outcomes, demonstrating how emerging talent can apply AI to address some of today’s most pressing issues—from water sustainability to wildlife conservation.
A Weekend of Innovation and Collaboration
More than 220 students participated, forming 76 teams of up to four people who worked intensively over 24 hours to develop solutions aligned with challenge statements from Grundfos and ElephantVoices.
The teams were evaluated by a panel of judges based on technology, presentation, innovation and creativity, execution and relevance to theme.
Students were not only coding—they were engaging directly with industry mentors, refining ideas in real time, and presenting solutions that balanced technical feasibility with real-world impact.
Advancing Water Resilience with AI
For Grundfos, students tackled the growing strain on water infrastructure in rapidly expanding urban regions. Teams built prototype tools designed to:
- Identify commercial and industrial buildings suitable for rainwater harvesting
- Analyze satellite imagery and environmental data to assess water reuse potential
- Incorporate cost, regulatory, and sustainability considerations into decision-making
Several teams successfully developed early-stage web-based platforms that combined geospatial data with AI models to evaluate building-level opportunities for water reuse—an approach that has strong potential for further development within industry applications.
Among the standout teams, Super Pumped was awarded first place for its innovative and practical approach to transform how industrial water reuse systems are identified, evaluated, and sold. Rain Collect earned runner-up award, creating an app that identifies high-value buildings across US cities by combining satellite imagery analysis, financial data, and regulatory signals into a single viability score surfaced through an interactive map.
Unlocking Elephant Communication
The challenge from ElephantVoices pushed students into a different domain—bioacoustics and conservation. Teams worked with real-world audio datasets to:
- Isolate low-frequency elephant vocalizations (rumbles)
- Remove overlapping mechanical sounds such as airplanes, cars, and generators
- Use spectrograms and machine learning techniques to improve signal clarity
Project Tusk emerged as the winning team, demonstrating a highly effective method for isolating elephant calls while preserving acoustic integrity, and going one step further to identify sounds from individual elephants. Tusk N Tidy was named runner-up, creating a smart audio library for elephant sound reduction, as well as verifying and translating what elephants are saying on an interactive platform.
These solutions have the potential to significantly expand the pool of usable data by incorporating and harmonizing datasets from a range of open-source and research-driven repositories—enabling researchers to analyze a broader, more diverse set of elephant vocalizations and accelerating efforts to better understand elephant communication and behavior.
Powered by Industry and Philanthropy
The success of the hackathon was driven by a strong ecosystem of partners:
- Open Compute Project (OCP) served as the hardware sponsor, underscoring the importance of scalable, open infrastructure in AI development
- Poul Due Jensen Foundation provided financial support, enabling event operations, student participation, and prizes
- iMasons members contributed as mentors, judges, and speakers, bringing industry insight directly to student teams
Measurable Outcomes
The weekend delivered meaningful results that extend beyond the event itself:
- 427 students registered from 27 different schools to be part of the event
- 221 students engaged in hands-on AI problem-solving
- 76 teams formed, with balanced participation across both challenge tracks
- 25+ solutions developed per challenge, ranging from early concepts to functional prototypes
- Winning teams selected for follow-on engagement, with opportunities to present solutions internally to sponsoring organizations
- 52 students sent in resumes to apply for jobs in the digital infrastructure industry
Building the Future of Digital Infrastructure
The hackathon demonstrated the core mission of iMasons: to connect the next generation of talent with the infrastructure challenges that matter most. By exposing students to real industry problems—and supporting them with mentorship, tools, and access—iMasons is helping to shape a workforce that is both technically capable and purpose-driven.
From designing smarter water systems to advancing conservation research, the outcomes from this weekend reflect a broader shift: AI is not just a tool for innovation—it is a bridge between industries, disciplines, and global challenges.
As iMasons continues to expand its AI initiatives, the global institution remains focused on scaling this model—bringing together academia, industry, and philanthropy to drive people, planet and policy in the digital infrastructure sector.
Links with Further Information
- List of projects and their solutions HackSMU VII: Southern Methodist University’s premier hackathon — 24 hours of coding, creativity, and collaboration in the heart of Dallas. – Devpost
- Coverage from CBS News Texas SMU engineering students explore commercial rainwater reuse
- Photos from the event https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-Lt9r2vUY0dSr2mwd_3rg3kYhSmJAEzo?usp=sharing
About Infrastructure Masons
Infrastructure Masons (iMasons) is a global, nonprofit, professional association of individuals connected and empowered to build a greater digital future for all by uniting people that innovate to drive efficiency. Since its launch in 2016, the organization has brought together 6,000 individuals representing US $1.5T+ in infrastructure projects across 130 countries. iMasons provides an agnostic platform for members to connect, grow, and give back.
To date, iMasons has contributed USD 1+ million in scholarships, launched Member Focus Groups and opened regional and local Chapters across four continents. In 2022, iMasons spearheaded the Climate Accord, uniting leaders on carbon reduction in digital infrastructure. In 2025, iMasons launched a power initiative that brings together industry stakeholders and the energy sector to address U.S. power capacity timing challenges and accelerate time to power. iMasons publishes an annual State of the Digital Infrastructure Industry report with input from its global community of technology, operations and business professionals.
To learn more, visit imasons.org.