21 Thursday, August 1, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, August 1, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com n MHacks to host the largest college hackathon in country Event to be held in Big House, anticipates 1,200 contestants By GIACOMO BOLOGNA Daily Staff Reporter In February, more than 500 students from across the country attended the first ever MHacks hackathon at the University, taking over Palmer Commons and setting a new college hackathon attendance record. But when organizers sought a location for the September 20-22 event, they realized one of the only locations on campus big enough to hold the anticipated 1,000 hackers was the nation's largest footballvenue - Michigan Stadium. Hackathons are competitions where "hackers" develop apps and programs in a period that usually spans between 24 and 48 hours. Participants often forgo sleep to create the most polished product possible, and there are no limitations on what they can make. MHacks only asks that competitors don't continue past work or use parts of past work. Engineering junior Thomas Erdmann, the director of the hackathon, said given the expected scale of the event, housing it in Michigan Stadium isn't a stretch. He said Palmer Commons was overflowing during February's event and though the Ross School of Business was considered as a possible venue for the upcoming hackathon, it was deemed not large enough. Though Oosterbaan Field House could have held the event, Erdmann said they settled on the Big House instead. The hacking will take place in indoor luxury suits overlooking the field. "It's going to be epic," Erdmann said of the hackathon, which will give out about $30,000 in prize money, but will have no attendance cost and even reimburse some attendees for travel costs. Within the first 24 hours after tickets were made available online Tuesday, Erdmann said 1,000 tickets were claimed. While Erdmann said MHacks is renting Michigan Stadium for the event, he declinedto comment on the rental fees as well as the total budget of MHacks. He said, however, there is a tremendous financial interest in field of computer science. "There's an incredible demand right now for engineers," he said. "There's so much money going into technical companies and technical start-ups." The event has yet to announce this year's slate of sponsors, but last year's included Facebook, Groupon and Ann Arbor Spark. "It's not inexpensive," Erdmann said."What's important is that we're going to be able to provide an incredible experience for the people attending." Tom Zurbuchen, a professor and an associate dean of entrepreneurial programs in the College of Engineering, is the faculty advisor of MHacks. He said MHacks is one of several highly visible and student-led entrepreneurial events held at the University. Zurbuchen said MHacks is a telling representation of what's great about the University in the way the event facilitates a massive collaboration in which people of different disciplines work together. He added that Michigan Stadium is an ideal venue for the event. "What speaks better about competition than being leaders and coming together as a team in The Big House?" he said. "This is what Michigan is about, these mega-solutions ... I'm really proud of the students." Erdmann said MHacks, together with PennApps at Pennsylvania State University and hackMIT at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, make up the three biggest college hackathons. PennApps and hackMIT are aiming for 900 and 1,000 students, respectively, Erdmann said, but he remains confident that MHacks will hold onto to its title as the biggest college hackathon. "I'm pretty confident that MHacks will still be the largest student hackathon in the world," he said. Still, Erdmann emphasized that the focus is on the experience, not the number. "Being the biggest isn't what's most important," he said. "Our number one goal ... is to provide a really incredible experience for each and everyone of attendees." Tentatively, MHacks is See MHACKS, Page 3 dhjA~an&U* 420 Maynard St. AnnArbor, MI 48109-1327 www.imichigandaily.com KATIE BURKE MERYL HULTENG Editor in Chief Business Manager CONTACT INFORMATION Nesoomof Sun-Thurs 1 am.-2a~m. 734-763-2459 ot.3 News Tips ,,.,usichigzndaiyc., Corrections crron michr4igandailycom Letterstothe Editor othedaiIy@michigandaziy.com or visit michgandalycom/leters Photo Depiartnent poto@mihigandaiycom ts Section varsu.ichundaleao"' Editorial Page opinion@michigndailycom Sports Section sports michiandaiycom Magazine statement. ichigandaicy.com Adveting n e:73r4-764-554 QassifledS Phone: 734-764-0557 Department classified@michigandailycom Catching up with No. 1 overall pick Jake Long By ALEXA DETTELBACH Daily Sports Writer In 133 years of Michigan football only two Wolverines have been selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. There was running back Tom Harmon in the 1941 Draft, who was chosen by the Chicago Bears. Then a short 67 years later, left tackle Jake Long was selected No. 1 overall by the Miami Dolphins in 2008. Long has had a successful NFL career thus far, having made four Pro Bowls in five seasons with the Dolphins. But the left tackle finds himself on a new team this season - the St. Louis Rams - after he left Miami in free agency this past offseason. After being redshirted his first year on campus, Long took over the starting job at left tackle duringhis redshirt freshmenyear and solidified the position for then-quarterback Chad Henne (now with the Jacksonville Jaguars) for four years. Long eventually became a two-time All-American, two-time Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year and a two-time First-Team All- Big Ten selection. Long spoke with the Michigan Daily over the phone recently to talk about his time at school, reflecting on his five seasons with the Dolphins as well as transi- tioning to a new team and recov- ering from his offseason injury. The Michigan Daily: You've had a hectic offseason with changing teams and recovering from injury, but what was it like to make the decision to move to St. Louis? And what has the tran- sition been like after spendingthe first five years of your career with the Miami Dolphins? Jake Long: The transition has been going great. I had an oppor- tunity to come up here and take a visit, meet with the Rams and coach (Jeff) Fisher. I really fellin love with his philosophy and really wanted to be a part of his team and part of the Rams organization because I felt like it was a team that was going somewhere, going to do something and I wanted that, soI picked here. It was a great fit for my wife and I, and I'm just really happy to be here. TMD: What are your initial impressions of your new team and coach Fisher? Long: It's a team on the rise, you know, they did some great things last year and are only get- ting better. I think coach Fisher is a coach every player would love to play for. This team is young, energetic and hungry and made some moves in the offseason, and I think with a lot of work we can do some great things this year. TMD: You have Ohio State- alum linebacker James Lau- rinaitis as a teammate on the Rams - and you used to play with wide receiver Brian Hartline on the Dolphins - what's that like? Do the old college rivalries ever resurface in the locker room? Long: Yeah we mess around and talk about it every now and then, especially when The Game comes on and we bring up some memo- ries. Brian Hartline was a great player, great teammate, and James - I went up against him when we were in college. He was a great player and now with the Rams he's a great leader and I'm excited to play with him. TMD: You're about to play in a tough NFC West division. What are your predictions for the Rams this season? Long: It really is a tough division and that's fun to be a part of because you can test yourself against the best players and the best teams, and that shows you what type of team you are. You want to go against the best in every single game and that's lucky. People will come and play the best on your team and I think we can do some great things. I'm not a guy that predicts wins or losses, butI think we're going to get better everysingle day, work hard in practice and I think we can do some great things this year. TMD: How did the culture of Michigan Football prepare you for the NFL? Long: Having (former Michi- gan) coach (Lloyd) Carr - he is a father figure to everyone. He turned boys into men and just FILE PHOTO/Daily Former offensivetackleiJake Long discusses his NFL career and time at Michgan. taught you to do the right thing. everything he told usto heart, that He taught you to practice hard and would make you a better person, just carry yourself in the right way better player and so I think that's in everyday life and in the NFL. helped me out in the NFL. I learned a lot from him. I also learned a lot from the alumni at To read the rest of the interview, Michigan, but he really prepares along with more sports content, you. If you listen to him and take visit TheBlockM.com EDITORIAL STAFF Elliot Alpem ealper"*michiga"da"ly'co Managing Editor Aaron Guggenheim Maa,gn esE.ditor Eric Ferguson Editorae Editor opinioneditors@ihigandaily.com. Meghnycnald aeig..Eia GrgManocase MsannporasaEditar sportedi@.ichigdaily. John Lnhed M,,esgsnrs Editor jplyn.@ihigadily.om. Meaghan Thompson MnaggCopyEditar fU' archaeologist aids discovery of oldest inland European fort BUSINESSSTAFF Leah Louis-Prescott Sales Manager North Carolina site found containing 16th century Spanish artifacts and ruins By STEPHANIE DILWORTH Daily StaffReporter A group of archaeologists have discovered the ancient remains of the oldest known European fort in the U.S. - Fort San Juan - near Morganton, North Carolina. Assistant Anthropology Prof. Robin Beck, assistant curator of North American Archaeology, is collaborating with fellow archaeologists David Moore of Warren Wilson College and Christopher Rodning of Tulane University to excavate the site. Though Beck and his team began work around the site in 2004 with help from the National Geographic Society and the National Science Foundation, it was not until last month that remains of Fort San Juan were discovered. The fort was hidden beneath a mound of dirt that was built on top of the ruins as a result of the ancient mound-building culture in the Native American community of Joara from 800 to 1500 C.E. Beck said he was excited to discover the fort, adding that these discoveries are what make his job worthwhile. "It's incredible," he said. "It is the reason we do archaeology. In the moment that we realized we had found the fort after 20 years of looking for it, for all of us, there is this euphoria." The fort was built by Spanish captain Juan Pardo and men under his command in the Appalachian Mountains in 1567. Joyce Marcus, Director of the University's Museum of Anthropology and curator of Latin American Archaeology, wrote in an e-mail that Beck's discovery is a significant archaeological finding. "Our Museum and Department (of Anthropology) are filled with scholars who conduct fieldwork to obtain new and important data sets," Marcus said. "As famous See FORT, Page 7 The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published every Thursday during the spring and summer terms hi students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Dailys ofiefor $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are suhjecttos reduced subscription rate. On-campus suhscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.