TAO 2026 OREGON TECHNOLOGY AWARDS EVENT

TechStart Hosts a High School Computer Science Showcase

By Linda Barney, Barney and Associates

The Technology Association of Oregon (TAO) celebrated innovation at the 42nd 2026 Oregon Technology Awards event held on May 5, at the Hilton Hotel in Portland, Oregon. As part of the TAO awards event, the TechStart non-profit organization located in Portland, Oregon hosted a Computer Science High School Student Showcase. 

Student teams from various Oregon high schools and organizations displayed their projects relating to computer science, engineering, programming, game design, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and STEM. The students were in a separate room and were able to show off their projects and interact with Oregon Technology Awards attendees. Teams presenting included:

  • Sherwood High School: Godot Game Design and Blender Graphics projects

  • Sunset Hight School: Engineering and programming projects

  • Century High School: GameMaker and MakerSpace projects

  • Southridge High School: Hawkbot1cs Robot demonstration

  • iUrban Teen: Robotics and STEM

Student Projects 

The Bread Fellows team from Century High School located in Hillsboro, Oregon displays their Oregon Games Programming Challenge (OGPC) fame project named Twisted Petal.

Sunset High School (SHS) located in Beaverton, Oregon brought six students to the Showcase event. SHS teacher Jason Galbraith states, “Our engineering students showed off a variety of projects built in classes, including drones, 3D prints, and laser cut projects. Computer Science students demonstrated programs from artificial intelligence, software engineering, and video game design.”

Erin Hamilton of iUrban Teens states, “Our youth were able to talk with attendees about our career pathways and demonstrate our nascent Robotics program.”

The Showcase allowed students to interact with technology industry attendees. The students indicate that attendees who viewed the projects were very engaged and provided some good feedback. 

TechStart is Proud to Sponsor the Student Showcase

K-12 computer science, engineering, programming, game design, robotics, STEM, AI, and software development education is critical to Oregon’s future. TechStart is proud to sponsor the 2026 Student Showcase at the TAO 2026 Oregon Technology Awards event,” states John Tortorici, TechStart Chair of the Board.