Ember to Aftermath
Inventions for the full arc of wildfire — before the burn, during the crisis, and through the years of recovery.
Santa Fe, New Mexico · October 27, 2026 · One day · Up to twelve teams
New Mexico Tech Week · INVENTION SPRINT · FOUNDERS DAY · A RealmIQ Event
THE PREMISE
Wildfire is no longer an event; it is a decade. The months of preparation before, the hours of crisis during, and the years of watershed damage, displacement, smoke-related illness, and rebuilding after — all of it is one continuous arc, and every part of it is patent-rich, life-affecting, and underserved by the usual sources of innovation.
Ember to Aftermath convenes cross-disciplinary teams in Santa Fe for a single day of invention across that full arc. The brief is open across three windows: harden the place before the burn, navigate the crisis itself, or rebuild what comes after — homes, health, watersheds, livelihoods, communities.
THE TEAMS
Each team is four to six humans plus one AI collaborator — a full team member, not a tool. Teams bring their own AI: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or whatever they already work with. Teams form on-site after the opening keynote. We will seed a few archetypes and let people choose:
• Defense & Hardening — roofers, materials people, retired firefighters, builders, designers.
• Detection & Alert — electricians, software developers, mesh-network people, community organizers.
• Evacuation & Shelter — EMTs, veterinarians, logistics people, urban planners, livestock owners.
• Health & Aftercare — nurses, respiratory therapists, mental-health professionals, first-responder veterans.
• Watershed & Land — ecologists, hydrologists, ranchers, Indigenous and Hispano knowledge holders, soil scientists.
• Recovery Navigation — insurance professionals, attorneys, contractors, community organizers, displaced-family advocates.
THE TOOLS
Each team brings its own AI collaborator — Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or whatever they already work with — as a full team member.
Brainstorm (optional) — HAIIC's invention-specialized scaffolding for teams that want guided ideation and prior-art checking from the start. Available throughout the day.
Patent Forge (post-event) — for inventors who want to convert a hackathon concept into a draft patent application after the day ends. No commitment required at the event itself.
IP & SPIRIT
HAIIC claims no ownership of anything teams produce. Inventions belong entirely to their creators. Participating organizations and sponsors likewise make no claim. We are here to demonstrate what diverse human-AI teams can do in a day and to put our tools in front of people who can use them. Teams who want to pursue protection can opt into the Innovation Commons Framework afterward — the three-way split of any net licensing revenue between inventors, UBI and workforce-transition programs, and AI safety research — or they can take their inventions and walk away with our blessing.
THE DAY
9:00 AM
Opening keynote (Jeff Boortz). Teams form. Sprint begins.
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Speaker Lineup
David Perez, Founder/CEO of New Mexico Innovation Hub
Stephen Guerin, Founder of SimTable
William A. Foster IV, Forest Markets Manager at the New Mexico Energy, Minerals & Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) Forestry Division in Santa Fe
Laura McCarthy, New Mexico State Forester
Curt Doty, Moderator
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Lunch.
1:00 – 3:00 PM
Mentorship rounds — HAIIC team plus invited Santa Fe mentors. Brainstorm in active use.
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Five-minute pitches. Up to twelve teams. Individuals not on a team may join one that had room.
4:00 – 5:00 PM
Judging.
5:00 PM
Winner announced.