 The Smart Highways Challenge wants to improve the road. (Photo by Flickr user Yarik.OK, obtained under a Creative Commons license) 1776 and Transurban North America are seeking startups looking to revolutionize American road systems.
The two orgs opened applications this week for the Smart Highways Challenge: Smarter, Safer, and More Efficient. It’s an open call for startups solving problems in the following three areas:
If selected as one of the six winners, Transurban and 1776 will award startups with a $25,000 cash prize, acceptance into the Transurban Innovation Lab, and travel and housing expenses to cover the costs of relocating to Northern Virginia for three months starting in early fall.
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 Funding is available to make the jump to Arlington. (Photo by Wikimedia Commons user D. Gordon E. Robertson, obtained via Creative Commons license) Arlington Economic Development (AED) is ready to make it easier for more tech companies to move into the city, they’re backing it up with a grant fund that totals $1 million.
The Gazelle Grant aims to convince more cybersecurity, fintech, edtech, big data/cloud computing, and energy companies to move their offices to Arlington, Va. This incentive project targets companies that fall under the following criteria:
All companies selected will go through a two-level vetting process, conducted by AED and a third-party financial organization, and the final say will be left to the Arlington County Board.  Phone2Action cofounder Ximena Hartsock and Steve Wozniak speak at #GTS17.(Photo via Twitter user @MarkKeam) Two weeks ago, we told you that Phone2Action would be putting social tech front and center through its inaugural Good Tech Summit. Last Thursday, the Rosslyn-based digital grassroots advocacy platform hosted a full day of programming featuring heavy hitters like Apple cofounder Steve Wozinak, Facebook North America Marketing Director Michelle Klein, former presidential candidate and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Marty Moe, president of Vox Media.
According to Gabe Klein, advisor to Phone2Action and founder of CitiFi, this conference has been over a year in the making. “[Phone2Action] feels like there needs to be more collaboration in the industry as it’s growing and in civic tech generally,” he said. There were lots of big takeaways for last week’s summit. Panelist Dan Tangherlini, former GSA administrator and president of Seamless Docs Federal, said he felt especially lucky to be featured alongside O’Malley and Beth Blauer, executive director of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Government Excellence, because, he said:
 Voicehacks presents Alexa Skills Tour (Photo via Twitter) Now that we all know how to keep Amazon’s Alexa software from accidentally ordering dollhouses and cookies, the online powerhouse is teaming up with Voicehacks to show the country how Alexa can help propel businesses forward. From , the Alexa Skills Tour will stop in Capital One Labs in Arlington, Va., for skill building sessions, workshops and demos.
And you don’t want to wait on getting your tickets—because the first 100 participants to sign up get in free! Currently, the speakers lined up include:
 Full house at Social Tables for the latest round of the Vinetta Project competition. (Photo courtesy of Anna Mason) On Tuesday night, Social Tables hosted the second round of Vinetta Project’s annual Venture Challenge for female founders.
The capacity crowd heard pitches from:
In the end, Speirs and Nadeau emerged on top, securing their places in the final round of the $20K competition on Sept. 14. These ladies will be joined by Yulia Yanni of RealAtom and Meghan Buck of VEDA Data, the two semifinalists named in March.  On June 22, ASME will host its annual ISHOW competition in D.C. (Courtesy photo) You may be familiar with social entrepreneurship and impact investing, but the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) wants to remind everyone that hardware engineers have a space in social innovation, too.
In 2015, ASME formally began their Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), a hardware competition for socially minded projects. “Our research showed a tremendous lack of support for hardware innovators seeking to enter global markets and make a societal impact,” K. Keith Roe, president of ASME, noted in the press release for this year’s competition. “With this year’s entries among the most promising we’ve seen since ISHOW first launched, we’re confident they all have the potential to address some of the most challenging issues faced by mankind.” ASME ISHOW runs not only in the United States, but also Kenya and India. Expansion is a top priority for showcase leaders. “From South America to West Africa to Southeast Asia, there are many talented folks that are changing paradigms with their work,” Paul Scott, ASME ISHOW Director, told Technical.ly. “We hope ISHOW can help them on their way in the future.”  WashingTECH host Joe Miller at the mic. (Courtesy photo) Joe Miller was feeling bogged down by the heft of policy research around tech.
As an advisor to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Miller at times felt overwhelmed by a constant stream of policy developments, with only a limited amount of time available to catch up on the incoming news. That’s why, in 2015, he started WashingTECH: a podcast to help others keep up with the tech policy. With the weekly podcast, Miller aims to keep his audience as effective on their job as possible, which is why each of his episodes features career and networking insights from his guests. But just because the focus is policy doesn’t mean that it has to be boring. “They’re not just a bunch of suits,” Miller said of his audience. “They’re diverse, they’re interesting and fun. “This isn’t about some boring CLE event with dry speakers and stale bagels, so I don’t see a need to talk to them like they’re just a bunch of robots or cogs in the wheel.” To keep things fresh, Miller tackles topics that are trending in media coverage. Think privacy issues around social media, online surveillance by police forces or ISIS’ digital footprint. Other episodes have broached subjects like integrating robotics into K-12 education and the impact of autonomous vehicles in the job market, particularly for people of color.  Good Tech Summit ineup includes Facebook's Michelle Klein, former governor Martin O'Malley and (!) Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak. (Photo via Facebook) If there’s one thing the inaugural Good Tech Summit wants everyone to know, it’s that “technology is human.”
Sure, the promo tag line from the event can be divisive, both for those who are resistant and receptive to technology. But for Ximena Hartsock -- cofounder and president of Phone2Action, the Rosslyn-based digital grassroots advocacy platform organizing the event — it’s an essential part of changing the narrative of a rift existing between humans and technology. “Just like technology disrupts industries, humans — and our use of technology — are disrupting technology,” Hartsock told Technical.ly. Phone2Action builds software that empowers their members and supporters to engage in the issues they care about. And on June 15, they’ll be holding the Good Tech Summit at the Carnegie Library of DC. Hartsock and her partners have lined up a robust lineup of speakers, including Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple; North America Marketing Director of Facebook Michelle Klein; and Martin O’Malley, former presidential candidate and governor of Maryland.  2016 finalist for ProjectCSGirls' annual competition. (Photo via Facebook) While you may have been out helping make Wonder Woman an historic box office success, this past weekend ProjectCSGirls celebrated some wonderful entrepreneurs and technologists—who haven’t even started high school yet.
See, the DC-based nonprofit hosted a competition challenging young middle school girls to use technology to create improvements and advancements in society. This year, they asked contestants to focus on issues surrounding “global health, a safer world, and intelligent technology,” according to their website. Hosted at George Mason University and the Marriot Fairview Park Hotel, the organization’s national gala was a two day conference that featured guests speakers, workshops, student pitches and of course the coveted awards ceremony. This year, the finalists created projects that ranged from addressing clean energy sources to streamlining emergency response systems. The judging panel listed ten proposals, helmed by thirteen young ladies, as finalists from across the country:
 It's a coding bootcamp that pays you attend — and gets paid by landing you a job. (Courtesy photo) If you have an interest in software engineering, but aren’t quite sure where to start in the ever-daunting job hunt, the unique incentive structure at Revature might be something worthwhile.
Revature is a Reston-based technology talent company that is focused on training college graduates for in-demand dev positions — and securing their job placement. Here’s how it works:
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