Fish-PACE Hackweek 2026

26 January 2026 - 30 January 2026
Virtual
Event Book Resource Book

About Fish-PACE Hackweek

NEW DATES January 26-30, 2026!


New satellite missions for the ocean environment—NASA's PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) launched in February 2024 and the upcoming GeoXO (Geostationary Extended Observations)—are poised to revolutionize ocean color observation by providing much higher spectral resolution and more frequent, near-real-time data. These advanced missions will significantly enhance our ability to monitor dynamic coastal ecosystems, improving both the accuracy and timeliness of environmental assessments and decision-making. In the Fish-PACE hackweek, you will learn to work with the new PACE hyperspectral data and tackle applications for fisheries and ocean ecosystem research.

Hackweeks are participant-driven events that strive to create welcoming spaces for participants to learn new things, build community and gain hands-on experience with collaboration and team science. During Fish-PACE, we will have a combination of science lectures and coding tutorials and group projects (pitched by participants).

2026 Event Starts In:

Days Hours Minutes Seconds


Schedule

All times listed below are UTC -7 (Pacific Daylight Time). Consult this Time Look Up for times in your location.

7:00 - 10:30

East Project Time

10am to 1:30pm ET

7:00 - 7:45

East Project Introduction

Welcome, Introductions, & Housekeeping slides

Presenter(s)
Ryan Vandermeulen

7:45 - 8:45

East Group Project Brainstorming (3 rotations)

9:00 - 9:30

East Project Pitching

1 slide pitch

9:30 - 10:30

East Group Project Breakout Rooms

Each project will have a breakout room and start to get organized.

10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 11:30

Science Lecture

PACE Mission Overview

Presenter(s)
Jeremy Werdell

11:30 - 12:15

Science Lecture

Hyperspectral Products for Fisheries Applications

Presenter(s)
Ryan Vandermeulen

12:15 - 12:30

Break

12:30 - 13:00

Coding Tutorial 1

Orientation for the Hackweek JupyterHub slides hub

Presenter(s)
Eli Holmes

13:00 - 14:00

Coding Tutorial 2

PACE Data Access

Presenter(s)
Eli Holmes

14:00 - 14:30

Break

14:30 - 17:30

West Project Time

2:30pm to 5:30pm PT

14:30 - 15:15

West Project Introduction

Welcome, Introductions, & Housekeeping slides

Presenter(s)
Eli Holmes

15:15 - 16:00

West Group Project Brainstorming (3 rotations)

16:00 - 16:30

West Project Pitching

1 slide pitch

16:30 - 17:30

West Group Project Breakout Rooms

Each project will have a breakout room and start to get organized.

7:00 - 7:30

East Tutorial

Fish-PACE Hackweek Collaboration via Git and GitHub slides

7:30 - 10:30

East Project Work Time

Each project will have a breakout room.

9:00 - 10:30

East/West Open Helpdesk with Mentors

Bring your questions and go into breakout room with a mentor

Presenter(s)
mentors

10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 -11:45

Science Lecture

Harmful Algal Blooms and Hyperspectral Ocean Color Data

Presenter(s)
Shelly Tomlinson
Sachi Mishra

11:45 - 12:15

Break

12:15 - 13:00

Coding Tutorial 1

Hyperspectral Visualization I

Presenter(s)
Ryan Vandermeulen

13:00 - 13:15

Break

13:15 - 14:00

Coding Tutorial 2

Matchups of in-situ Data with Satellite Data

Presenter(s)
Eli Holmes

14:00 - 14:30

Break

14:30 - 15:00

West Tutorial

Fish-PACE Hackweek Collaboration via Git and GitHub slides

15:00 - 17:30

West Project Work Time

Each project will have a breakout room.

7:00 - 7:30

East Group Check-ins (Rose, Bud, Thorn)

Presenter(s)
Ryan Vandermeulen

7:30 - 10:30

East Project Work Time

Each project will have a breakout room.

9:00 - 10:30

East/West Open Helpdesk with Mentors

Bring your questions and go into breakout room with a mentor

Presenter(s)
mentors

10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 -11:45

Science Lecture

Phytoplankton Community Composition from Ocean Color

Presenter(s)
Priscila Lange

11:45 - 12:15

Break

12:15 - 13:00

Coding Tutorial 1

Phytoplankton Community Composition (MOANA)

13:00 - 13:15

Break

13:15 - 14:00

Coding Tutorial 2

Hyperspectral Visualization II

Presenter(s)
Ryan Vandermeulen

14:00 - 14:30

Break

14:30 - 15:00

West Group Check-ins (Rose, Bud, Thorn)

Presenter(s)
Eli Holmes

15:00 - 17:30

West Project Work Time

Each project will have a breakout room.

7:00 - 7:30

East Group Check-ins (Rose, Bud, Thorn)

Presenter(s)
Ryan Vandermeulen

7:30 - 10:30

East Project Work Time

Each project will have a breakout room.

9:00 - 10:30

East/West Open Helpdesk with Mentors

Bring your questions and go into breakout room with a mentor

Presenter(s)
mentors

10:30 - 11:00

Break

11:00 - 11:45

Science Lecture

Optical Light Fields and Fish Behavior

Presenter(s)
Christopher Haak

11:45 - 12:00

Break

12:00 - 12:45

Coding Tutorial 1

Exploring Patterns in Hyperspectral Data

Presenter(s)
Ryan Vandermeulen

12:30 - 12:45

Break

12:45 - 13:30

Coding Tutorial 2

Simple Machine Learning Tasks with Satellite Data

Presenter(s)
Eli Holmes

13:30 - 14:00

Break

14:30 - 15:00

West Group Check-ins (Rose, Bud, Thorn)

Presenter(s)
Eli Holmes

15:00 - 17:30

West Project Work Time

Each project will have a breakout room.

7:00 - 10:30

East & West Project Work Time

Each project will have a breakout room.

10:30 - 11:00

Break

10:30 - 12:00

Project Presentations

East teams will present their projects to the entire hackweek.

12:00 - 13:00

Break

13:00 - 14:30

Project Presentations

West teams will present their projects to the entire hackweek.

14:30 - 15:00

HackWeek Wrap-Up

Presenter(s)
Ryan Vandermeulen
Eli Holmes

Meet the team

The people on this page have helped organize the hackweek. You'll find a few specializations listed per person if you're wondering who to reach out to during the event!
Ryan Vandermeulen
NMFS Satellite Coordinator
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Eli Holmes
NMFS Open Science
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Sunny Hospital
PolarWatch Coordinator
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Cara Wilson
Program Lead CoastWatch and PolarWatch
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Kim Hyde
Research Scientist
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Morgaine McKibben
Research Scientist
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Dale Robinson
West Coast CoastWatch Coordinator
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Jon Peake
Data Scientist
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Madison Richardson
CoastWatch Contractor
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Christopher Haak
Research Scientist
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Jeremy Werdell
Research Scientist
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Priscila Lange
Research and Innovation Coordinator
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Sachi Mishra
Satellite Oceanographer
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Shelly Tomlinson
Research Oceanographer
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Our Sponsors and Partners

NASA/GSFC/PACE
NOAA Fisheries
CoastWatch
Openscapes
OceanHackWeek
NANOOS