UMaine students’ affordable housing pitch places second in competition

A team of University of Maine students, one graduate and one undergraduate, placed second in the 2024 Hack-A-House: A Housing Affordability Hackathon organized by Ivory Innovations, a nonprofit operating as an applied academic institution at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. 

Students across the country pitched new ideas for housing solutions to the housing affordability crisis; submissions this year encompassed about 400 participants across more than 60 schools. This year is the first that a team from UMaine has presented work in the annual student competition.

UMaine’s team, BlackBear, consisted of Liam O’Brien, an interdisciplinary Ph.D. student with a concentration in building science, and Albert Putnam, an undergraduate student double majoring in construction engineering technology and sustainable materials and technology. O’Brien and Putnam presented their idea on innovation incentives for mass timber, titled “Building Innovation Centers: A holistic approach to education in the built environment.” The full presentation is available to read online. It highlights the significance of workforce training and education within the construction sector to aid in the adoption of new bio based building materials and technology. This program would provide public access to technical information in one centralized location, with UMaine to act as the first place-based hub.