Electronics

Want to mess with some electronics? Or perhaps contribute to HacDC's main group project? HacDC's latest event brings hardware projects to the community. We will focus primarily on the main project (Space Blimp!) but please feel free to bring some of your own projects to show off and work on!

***Join us for an evening in an electronics lab where we will attempt to run clean scans of gold samples, and then clean up that data with post processing.*** This is a high sensitivity experiment, and we do not plan on being successful so early. But we've had promising results lately - so we will be putting in the time. We are NOT meeting at our usual location, but rather at Steve's house/lab. If you RSVP, you will get a DM with the address but it's located in Silver Spring. We will attempt full, clean lab - clean tip repeated scanning tests to see what we can learn and improve. We will experiment with online attendees, but if all possible showing up in person is strongly encouraged. Online join link is: - [https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers](https://meet.jit.si/mocomakers) Our community is building (and documenting for other teams) how to build a scanning tunneling microscope using a mix of common and 3D printed parts. This will allow us to scan and visualize a single atom - an ambitious we are doing over the course of a few months. The MoCo Makers community is one of the most innovative and competent groups in Maryland, and we've done everything from [publishing cancer research](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38136356/), to [launching products](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gotim/cozy-curvy-multi-contour-pillow), [winning grants](https://covidinfocommons.datascience.columbia.edu/awards/2014255), and inspiring thousands. Now our biggest challenge yet has appeared. We are building a Scanning Tunneling Microscope, that will allow us to scan and visualize single atoms. To get a better idea of what we are doing, see our reference project here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3OqTEq08g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3OqTEq08g) All starting CAD, code, and reference files should exist. However, let's be the first Maker community to document the build process and share it with learners around the world. We will be publishing our work here -[ https://hackaday.io/project/202816-qt-panda](https://hackaday.io/project/202816-qt-panda) If you need a ride, let us know.

We planned on playing Manhattan Project: Energy Empire a couple of weeks ago, but it didn't work out. So we are trying again! We have two copies of the game. So we can accommodate 10 players. RSVPs will be set at 10. Anyone joining after the 10 spots are full will be put on the waiting list. If you have a copy of MM:EE, then let us know, and we will increase the RSVPs. Manhattan Project: Energy Empire Description: From the ashes of war, nations rise to power in the atomic age! In ***Manhattan Project: Energy Empire***, each player takes control of a nation struggling for power in the latter part of the 20th century. They build up their nation’s industry, commerce, and government by acquiring resources, building structures, and tapping sources of energy. The major threat in *Energy Empire* is not war, but uncertain global impacts, that result from side effects of industrialization and pollution. Many actions come with a cost. So, as nations become more industrious, they also increase the amount of pollution in the environment. Careful use of science can mitigate the harmful effects of industry, and can also help avert global crises. *Energy Empire* uses worker placement, tableau-building, and resource management mechanics. On each turn, a player can choose to either work or generate. On a work turn, a player plays a single worker on the main board, then uses workers and energy to activate cards in their tableau. Players may spend energy to use an occupied space on the main board, so no spaces are ever completely blocked. On a generate turn, players get to renew their supply of energy by rolling "energy dice" that represent nuclear, coal, oil, solar, and other forms of energy.

In March of 2026, the long-time staple of Kubernetes ingress controllers, ingress-nginx, will stop receiving security patches and regular updates. For many Kubernetes operators, this is a forcing function for us to migrate to a new solution that supports the newer Gateway API. The ecosystem of solutions in this space is large and complex, and operators find themselves weighing a myriad of options. In this talk, I hope to answer many questions that we have had to answer in this space, such as: * What are the advantages of Gateway API over the Ingress API? * Which Gateway API Solution should you use for different scenarios * Why not simply migrate to another ingress controller? * Where does the AWS Load Balancer Controller fit in this new ecosystem? * What does support for WAF, ALB, NLB, etc. look like going forward? **Timeline:** **6:00 PM** \- Doors Open\. Please be prepared to show ID that matches your registration\. **6:30 PM - 7:30 PM** \- Speaker **7:30 PM - 8:00 PM** \- Networking **8:00 PM** \- Event ends\. Conversation continues at Highline for anyone interested\.

Dark early. Bring a light. Loop around Lake Accotink. **Meet at Lake Accotink Park carousel parking area.** Trail is fairly flat, paved and gravel, easy, brisk walking. A few steep sections Views of Lake Accotink About 4 miles. We will leave promptly at **600 pm**, please arrive early so you are ready. We walk briskly, not this is not an evening stroll. Parking area gates close at 730 so we need to be out b then. The rest rooms at the meeting spot are closed for renovation. Make sure to bring water. We will meet at the traffic circle near the carousel. Goggle maps calls it Lake Accotink Park. You can park at the Hemming Ave lot, or under the railway bridge. the lot at the carousel is small and usually full.

**Pre-Registration is REQUIRED. RSVP here - [https://luma.com/6twkovvg](https://luma.com/6twkovvg)** ## ODSC AI x Snowflake Present: AI Innovation in the Capital **Our premier Washington D.C. AI Meetup of March 2026!** Skip the usual AI hype and join us in the District for an evening of technical deep dives and high-level networking. We’re bringing together **D.C. builders, data scientists, and engineers** to discuss how to bridge the gap between AI experimentation and enterprise-grade deployment. Come for the networking, stay for the expert insights from the Snowflake team, and leave with a sharper strategy for scaling AI in 2026. ## The Session **Topic: Engineering the Future of Enterprise AI (Title TBA)** *Official topic and abstract coming soon!* While the specific title is under wraps, **Matt Harris** typically explores the intersection of high-performance data architecture and generative AI. Expect a session focused on how organizations can leverage Snowflake’s evolving ecosystem to build secure, scalable, and governed AI applications that go beyond the chat box and into core business logic. **Speaker:** Matt Harris, Principal AI Strategy Architect (FSI at Snowflake [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-d-harris/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-d-harris/) Matt is a veteran in the data space, serving as a Principal Solutions Engineer at Snowflake. He specializes in helping complex organizations transform their data architecture into a competitive advantage. With deep expertise in the Snowflake Data Cloud, Matt focuses on making advanced data science and AI accessible, governed, and ready for production environments. ## Why Attend? * **Network with the Best:** Connect with AI practitioners and data leaders in the D.C. tech and public sector ecosystem. * **High-End Experience:** Enjoy bites and refreshments in a professional, collaborative environment. * **Exclusive Insights:** Get a direct line to Snowflake’s technical leadership on where enterprise AI is headed next. ## Agenda * **6:00 PM – 6:30 PM:** Networking & Bites/Drinks * **6:30 PM – 7:15 PM:** Presentation by Matt Harris, Principal Solutions Engineer at Snowflake * **7:15 PM – 7:30 PM:** Interactive Q&A * **7:30 PM – 8:00 PM:** Networking & Closing **Venue:** Mindspace, 1301 K Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20005 **RSVP now to secure your spot!** ## Useful Links * **Free access to more talks/trainings:** [Ai+ Training platform](https://aiplus.training/) * **ODSC Blog:** [https://opendatascience.com/](https://opendatascience.com/) * **Join the Community:** [Slack Channel](https://www.google.com/search?q=https://odsc.ai/slack) * **Code of Conduct:** [https://odsc.ai/code-of-conduct/](https://odsc.ai/code-of-conduct/)

**Schedule** 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm - Sign-in/Meet and greet/networking 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm - Break the Cloud Lock-in: Building Adaptive Intelligence Orchestration with DIO 7:00 pm - 7:45 pm - Leaning on the SQL: Crafting Resilient Data Layers **Talk and Speaker Details** **Time**: 5:30 pm est. **Title**: Break the Cloud Lock-in: Building Adaptive Intelligence Orchestration with DIO **Summary**: AIaas are often stuck in a binary choice: pay the "token tax" for convenient Cloud APIs or manage the complexity of local open-source models (Llama/Mistral) yourself. The future belongs to a hybrid architecture—but the routing logic shouldn't be spaghetti code. In this session, we introduce DIO (Distributed Intelligence Orchestration), a new open-source framework designed to bridge on-premise infrastructure and cloud capabilities. We will move beyond theory and look at the code behind the Federated Decision Engine (FDE)—the algorithm that allows you to dynamically route prompts based on privacy, cost, complexity, and more. **Session Takeaways:** \- The DIO Architecture: A technical deep dive into the open\-source framework that decouples your application from specific model providers\. \- Live Integration: How to implement the DIO SDK to build a "Smart Router" that connects the best of both world for Cloud & On Prem Intelligence\. **Speaker**: Snow Zhao **Speaker Bio**: Founder & CEO of AIgentic \| Ex\-Meta engineering leader\. Building the future of professional services with precision & trust\. Snow has decades of Silicon Valley experience building and scaling technology organizations at Facebook, Block (Cash App), and Groupon. She is currently building at AIgentic, an applied AI company designing robust, trustworthy AI systems for professional industries. She leads global teams that delivered secure, high-performance systems used by billions, from product infrastructure behind Messenger’s rewrite and end-to-end encryption, to architecting enterprise AI platforms that bridge traditional sectors with digital transformation. Her work has spanned mobile, security, open-source, federated architecture, AI-powered automation, cross-platform software ecosystems, and more — always guided by the principle that engineering excellence is a human discipline as much as a technical one. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- **Time**: 7:00 pm est. **Title**: Leaning on the SQL: Crafting Resilient Data Layers **Summary**: Most apps need to persist data. The mechanisms for persisting vary, from key-value pairs to relational databases to files and more. SQLite is the de-facto standard for persistence in mobile apps: it ships with every Android and iOS app. This session looks into best practices for SQLite data persistence, drawing from practical, digestible, real world examples. We look into when one should lean on the SQL versus when to perform data manipulation in application code. We look at some examples of constraints that you might have written in Kotlin/Swift, and how expressing them in SQL instead can offer data consistency and integrity benefits. A major focus of the session is on migrations. Data schemas inevitably evolve, and executing migrations carefully is essential, as mistakes can have severe consequences, including data corruption. We look into best practices for migration, including when to do migration in application code versus in SQL. We also examine some real world migration examples beyond the simple case of adding a column with a default value. Finally we look at migrations that cross data sources. This could occur if for example you were persisting data in a key-value store but you now want to migrate that to a database table. This must be done in application code but can you still take advantage of database migrations? Can you cover your migration code with unit tests? **Speaker**: Kiran Raon **Speaker Bio**: Two decades as a developer, got into Android in 2010. Adopted Kotlin in 2017, had my first attempt at KMP in 2019 (when it was still called KMM). Worked on and off with iOS and web client technologies throughout my career, also dabbled in other cross platform technologies. Full-fledged Mobile developer since 2023. **How to find us:** 1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, VA 22102 We'll be located in C2 **100 D/E**. The area is publicly accessible. If you can't find it, you can ask the front desk for directions to the **C2 100 D/E** **Attending Virtually?** [https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84418455380?pwd=fJczZgKv2BaGVPLi7azEr3XAJMPvBR.1](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84418455380?pwd%3DfJczZgKv2BaGVPLi7azEr3XAJMPvBR.1&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw2giIJenXoEsPXfYgNs_atJ) Meeting ID: 844 1845 5380 Passcode: 369382 **Parking**: You can park at 1680 Capital One Drive; this garage has a sign indicating public parking. Or at the WEGMANS parking lot.

Every year MoCo Makers is proud to partner with the DMV Petri Dish to celebrate Pi Day, 3/14, which is a celebration of the mathematical "transcendental number" pi - 3.14159.... Pi day is also a great excuse to be social and eat Pie! This event is open to all backgrounds, even if this is your first event! We are meeting at the 7 Locks Brewery, and they kindly let us bring our own food. No worries if you don't drink alcoholic drinks, all are welcome. Bringing your own food is encouraged but not required. If you are planning to bring something, please enter your name, item name, and quantity in the spreadsheet below: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ldQxYBECyxwTeX_woLhbQZlj0EkAyB5qrc-Q16hBOn0/edit?usp=drivesdk There will be a countdown leading up to 1:59 pm, complete with disco ball drop. 🪩 Dr. Cheryl Lohman is sponsoring an assortment of chef-crafted savory-style pies, and they come well reviewed (just ask past attendees). Join us for some good times, and tasty eats!

**Welcome to Flourish Collective meetup!** Join us for a time of **inspiration, connection, and empowerment** with Christian businesswomen who are ready to grow in both their faith and their businesses. We’ll start with a brief introduction and **icebreaker activities** to help you connect with others in the group. Then, we’ll dive into a **motivational session** on **combining faith with business**—how to lead with purpose, integrity, and impact in today’s world. Whether you’re just starting your business journey or are a seasoned entrepreneur, you’ll leave feeling encouraged and equipped to take your next steps! We'll also spend time in **prayer** and discussing how we can support each other’s businesses and walk together in faith. *** ### **Agenda:** * **10:00 AM - 10:30 AM** – Welcome & Introductions * **10:30 AM - 11:00 AM** – Icebreaker Activities (get to know each other) * **11:00 AM - 11:30 AM** – **Inspiring Talk** on Integrating Faith and Business * **11:30 AM - 12:00 PM** – Prayer & Business Support Circle (share your challenges & successes) *** ### **Why You Should Attend:** * **Connect** with like-minded Christian businesswomen who share your passion for success and purpose. * **Learn** how to integrate your faith into your business for greater impact and fulfillment. * **Grow** spiritually and professionally as we build a supportive community together. *** ### **What to Bring:** * An **open heart** and willingness to connect. * Your **business ideas, questions, or challenges** you want to discuss with the group. * A **positive attitude** ready to grow and inspire others! ### **Blessings!** **Helen Ogbu, CPA**

This meetup is designed to be an open forum amongst our community. We intend for it to be an opportunity for members to showcase what projects we've been working on this year related to Linux and AWS. If you are a current (or aspiring) professional looking for a practical way to build your experience with Linux and cloud computing, this event is for you! About us: Respect The Tech is an organization focused on information technology education and innovation. Our mission is to innovate technology education through virtual labs and gamified training. All of our team members are experienced professionals in the cybersecurity and cloud computing field. We are based out of the DMV and aim to serve the DMV with the same tools that enabled us to be successful with technology. ______________________________ Requirements: A functional laptop AWS account created and ready to use (free tier recommended)

DC Film Society's 33rd Annual Party Watch the Oscars Broadcast ... LIVE ON THE BIG SCREEN! It's the next best thing to being there! Sunday, March 15, 2026 The Arlington Cinema 'N' Drafthouse 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA. (1/4 mile east of Glebe Road) **TICKETS**: $15.00 for DC Film Society members and WIFV members. $20.00 for the general public. Purchase advance tickets below. Same-day, on-site ticket sales start at 5:30pm. (CASH/CHECKS ONLY) The doors open at 6:00pm and the Red Carpet pre-show starts at 6:00pm. The Oscars broadcast is at 7:00pm. https://www.arlingtondrafthouse.com/shows/357590 Come on out to celebrate, jeer and cheer this year's Academy Awards at the Washington, DC Film Society’s annual Oscars Watch Party, “And the Winner is…” on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Advance tickets are ON SALE NOW online. On-site door sales that night start at 5:30pm, followed by doors open for Red Carpet shows at 6:00pm, then the ceremony starting at 7:00pm. All proceeds support DC Film Society’s parent organization, the Washington DC Int’l Film Festival - Filmfest DC.

Kevin Rhodus from Lucy Deep Park Northside is coming to talk to us about his extensive neighborhood Christmas light display that is open in November and December every year north of Dublin. 9 houses over 12 acres and over 120,000 individual controlled lights that sync to music which you can tune into on your radio! Quite impressive! https://ldplights.com/ We'll dive into the tech that runs the show -- should be a blast to hear about this very elaborate display! While we continue to pursue a more permanent venue for this Meetup, we’ll be using public library facilities based on availability. This session will be at the Dublin Library in the Meeting Room 2

Discover Kiro, AWS’s innovative development environment that adapts to your workflow. Whether you prefer specification-driven development or a more intuitive, vibe-based approach, Kiro empowers you to build applications your way. In this session, speakers will explore Kiro’s core functionality and its evolution through re:Invent 2025, along with demonstrations of prompts used to create APIs, hooks, and steering documents. In the latter part of the session, watch as we build a complete example from scratch, showcasing Kiro’s agentic AI workflow in action for spec-driven development and vibe coding. What You'll Learn - Core Kiro concepts and development philosophy Feature evolution: pre and post re:Invent 2025 Practical examples: API creation, hooks, and steering docs Live coding demonstration with real-time problem solving Who Should Attend - Developers, solutions architects, and technical leaders interested in modern AWS development tools and AI-assisted coding workflows. **Speakers Bio:** Matthew Jorat: Matthew Jorat is a Customer Solutions Manager at AWS with nearly three decades of expertise in AI, cloud transformation, migration, modernization, IT, technology, and business. His career spans infrastructure engineer, solutions architect, security auditor, customer success director, support and services director, and operations officer. He was an early adopter of AWS services as a customer, and his current role at AWS uniquely blends his technical and business skills as he partners with executive teams to translate strategic priorities into measurable business outcomes through cloud adoption, AI implementation, and operational excellence. Matt leads end-to-end AI initiatives for enterprise customers, identifying high-impact use cases and maintaining relentless focus on measurable ROI. He holds eight AWS certifications and serves as Adjunct Professor at Franklin University teaching cloud computing and AWS architecture. His expertise encompasses GenAI, agentic AI systems, migration, modernization, and optimization strategies that drive transformation at scale. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjorat/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjorat/) Girish Bhatia: Girish Bhatia is a seasoned technology delivery leader with deep expertise in cross-domain program management. He holds multiple AWS certifications, including AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, AWS Certified Developer – Associate, and AWS Generative AI Practitioner, and is also an AWS Community Builder. Girish brings over two decades of experience in the information technology industry. Throughout his career, Girish has led major technology-driven business transformation from modernizing on-premises applications to driving large-scale cloud migrations. His work includes API-based integration platforms, data-center and mainframe modernization, and enterprise cloud adoption initiatives. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Girish works at a tech-forward fintech company. He is passionate about AWS serverless architectures, Generative AI and emerging cloud technologies. An avid learner and builder, he continues to explore and apply the latest innovations in AWS to help organizations accelerate their digital transformation. https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/[https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/girishbhatia/) **THANK YOU** *Franklin University* for hosting our meetup! To learn more about *Franklin University*, please visit their website: https://www.franklin.edu/ **DIRECTIONS** Franklin University Fisher Hall 300 E. Main St, Columbus, OH 43215 Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jxjBA2hUmS5qrvhq8 Parking is FREE! Please park in Lot C in front of Fisher Hall. See attached map. NOTE: Map the address only. When mapping with Google Maps it may use the Fisher Hall at OSU, which is NOT correct. **Want to sponsor the pizza and/or bar tab?** Please contact me if you would like to sponsor this meetup's pizza and/or bar tab: angelo@mandato.com

**How to take control of your subconscious and harness its power!** Join us for an eye-opening lecture where the speaker will break down complex ideas in a clear and practical way. You’ll gain insights into: ✅ The true definition of the subconscious ✅ How it generates unwanted emotions ✅ Its real purpose and function ✅ What determines the pressure it exerts on you And the most important topic: **How do you take control of your subconscious!** But this isn’t just another lecture where you sit and listen passively. It’s interactive and engaging—you can ask questions at any time. 📅 Reserve your spot now! Seats are limited, so don’t wait too long to sign up. Location: 1266 Dublin Rd, Columbus, OH 43215 Hosted by the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation

One of the most valuable parts of this community is the opportunity to think out loud with other product professionals. This session is built for exactly that. As we wrap up the quarter, it’s a great time to pause and reflect. What’s on track? What needs adjustment? Where could a small shift create bigger impact? Join fellow product professionals for a focused, interactive conversation designed to help you recalibrate for the next quarter. You’ll have the opportunity to share where you are, hear how others are thinking through similar challenges, and gain fresh perspective you can bring back to your team and organization. We’ll gather at 8:00AM, with discussion starting promptly at 8:15AM. 📍 First Watch - 7227 N High St Located in: The Shops at Worthington Ample parking is available. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Start your morning with clarity and connection — we hope to see you there! ☀️

Join the CONNECTED Westerville Mastermind Group for a dynamic afternoon of B2B networking! This event is perfect for professionals looking to expand their business connections, share insights, and foster collaboration within the community. Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, this event offers a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas, build relationships, and grow your network in a supportive environment. Connect with like-minded individuals, explore potential partnerships, and discover new opportunities for professional growth. Don't miss out on this chance to enhance your business network and take your career to the next level with CONNECTED Westerville Mastermind Group! We meet the 4th Monday of every month from 11am-1pm. Welcome and general networking from 11am - 11:30am with core meeting 11;30 - 12:30 and a final round of networking from 12:30 - 1pm.

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 **Abstract** TBD **YouTube Link** TBA

It’s time to take control of your mental health. How do you get rid of stress, anxiety and uncertainty? These emotions are buried deep in your reactive mind. Find out what the reactive mind is, and in the process find yourself. Have you ever suffered from a traumatic experience, a deep loss or been through a painful breakup? Has your ability to communicate suffered as a result? And after that, even though you "moved on" did you find that things were never quite the same? Have you ever looked at childhood photos, or reminisced your early life and wondered where that happiness and spark went? Are your emotions out of your own control? Have you ever felt, even if you aren’t aware of it, that possibly you are getting in your own way of your happiness and success? How does this affect your self-confidence? Find out what is at the root of all stress, anxiety, depression and self-doubt. Find out how and why you hold yourself back from achieving your goals and having the life you have dreamed of. As soon as you learn what is at the root of these unwanted conditions, you’ll see it is something you can DO something about. You will not be labeled or categorized at this MeetUp.