About the Hackathon
Our Mission
The Machine Learning for Microscopy Hackathon accelerates the use of AI in microscopy and materials research. By connecting microscopy and machine-learning communities, we foster collaboration, open science, and reproducible workflows for imaging, spectroscopy, and automated experimentation.
Hackathon History
The first edition took place at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2024, with 250+ registrants and 80+ active participants from around the world.
The 2025 edition marked a major milestone, evolving into a massive 3-day multi-site hybrid event. As highlighted in our 2025 Event Summary, it connected over 250 participants across 12+ global sites and generated more than 70 innovative projects, proving the power of real-time collaboration across worldwide research centers.
Now, the upcoming 2026 edition aims to push these boundaries even further, bringing new challenges and expanding our global community of AI/ML and microscopy innovators.
Core Organizing Team
How It Works
| Element | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Teams | Interdisciplinary groups mixing microscopy and ML backgrounds; remote and on-site collaboration. |
| Data & Tasks | Real microscopy datasets and challenges spanning imaging, spectroscopy, and automation. |
| Mentorship | Guidance from domain experts and tool builders; cross-site office hours and Slack support. |
| Outcomes | Working prototypes, analysis notebooks, and open-source contributions that persist post-event. |
Partners & Support
The hackathon is supported by the AI Tennessee Initiative and the Center for Advanced Materials & Manufacturing (CAMM), with participation from University of Tennessee Knoxville, North Carolina State University, and Italian Institute of Technology (Genoa, Italy).
Sponsors
Our primary sponsors provide critical support for enabling open, collaborative AI-driven microscopy:
Partners
Our partners empower open science and innovation in AI for materials research:
To be decided
Get Involved
Connect on Slack, meet collaborators, and find a team.
The link to join Slack workspace will be published soon
Register for the hackathon and choose your preferred site (or Online).