NASA and Tech Partners Encourage Information Exchange

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May 16, 2011, 03:00 ET

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA, Google, HP, Microsoft, The World Bank and Yahoo! are inviting software developers, independent computer experts and students to participate in the Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) event on June 4 and 5 at several worldwide locations.

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RHoK is a "hackathon" that brings together the best hackers from around the world to use their skills to make the world a better place by building a community of innovation. They volunteer their time to develop new approaches to disaster relief challenges.

"NASA encourages RHoK developers to use open data sets to create cutting edge applications that can help solve global challenges," said NASA's Chief Information Officer Linda Cureton. "We are excited to support RHoK and explore new ways NASA data can help the world."

RHoK also is an opportunity to meet and work with top software developers and experts, create new applications and win prizes. Events are planned in Hartford, Conn., Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle and Silicon Valley. International venues are in Berlin; Toronto; Aarhus, Denmark; Basel, Switzerland; Bangalore, India; Buenos Aires; Kampala, Uganda; Lusaka, Zambia; Melbourne, Australia; Nairobi, Kenya; Trento, Italy; and Santiago, Chile.

During past events, participants worked on applications that are already making an impact. "I'm OK," a service that lets people inform their families about their status, was used during the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile in 2010. The World Bank is piloting software for visualizing landslide risk in the Caribbean. Other apps have received support and interest from government and non-government organizations around the world.

For more information about the RHoK, the event and registration, visit:

http://www.rhok.org

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

SOURCE NASA