We are once again running the annual Cherry Blossom Prediction Competition, open to all! As part of the competition this year, the Washington Statistical Society is hosting the hackathon “Petals and Probabilities,” where students will work together to predict when the cherry trees will bloom this spring, followed by networking. It is not necessary to participate in the hackathon to enter the competition, but if you’re interested in coming to the hackathon, read on!

The hackathon will be an in-person event hosted at Georgetown University (111 Massachusetts Avenue) on February 21st, 2026 from 9 AM to 4 PM. The featured lunch speaker is Scott Olesen, Lead Data Scientist at the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Free food will be provided, and monetary prizes will be awarded.

Interested students from undergraduate through PhD should bring a laptop and register before the event (at this link). Reach out to hackathon lead organizers Ujjayini Das (ujstat at umd.edu) and Patrick Roney (pcr44 at georgetown.edu) with any questions about the hackathon. Sponsors include the Washington Statistical Society, the American Statistical Association, and the Massive Data Institute at Georgetown University. Competition organizers are Jonathan Auerbach, David Kepplinger and myself.