How do we keep the lines of communication open in the face of disaster? Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is serving up fresh ideas as part of the “Call for Code” hackathon challenge in partnership with IBM, David Clark Cause, United Nations Human Rights, and The American Red Cross.

Lake George, N.Y. – The world’s most advanced environmental monitoring system – developed through The Jefferson Project at Lake George – is being used to understand and protect Skaneateles Lake, a central New York drinking water source now threatened by toxic algae. Building on a connection through the New York State Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) Initiative launched in late 2017, the Jefferson Project installed a custom-designed robotic sensing platform on Skaneateles, and began collecting data just prior to an early-August HABs event this year.