Penn State Sophomore Creates Groundbreaking App “Meet and Eat”
Penn State sophomore Ryan Nair has developed a groundbreaking app called “Meet and Eat” to address the common struggle of Penn State University Park students finding someone to share meals with. Inspired by his own experiences and those of his friends during their freshman year, Nair envisioned an app that could connect students in dining halls, fostering friendships and ensuring no one has to eat alone.
Nair’s concept for Meet and Eat gained early recognition at the prestigious Penn State hackathon, “HackPSU,” where it emerged as the first-place winner. Encouraged by this triumph, Nair dedicated himself to further refining the app, shaping it into its current form.
With features allowing users to create profiles, view dining hall menus, and find meal companions, Meet and Eat promises to revolutionize the social dining experience for Penn State students.
To develop the app, Nair utilized the Swift programming language created by Apple and integrated Penn State Eats as its back-end server. The Google Firebase platform was also employed for seamless data storage.
Nair’s incredible achievements with Meet and Eat earned him the opportunity to participate in Apple’s prestigious “Swift Student Challenge.” Among 350 students who clinched victory in the challenge, Nair secured a coveted spot as one of the nine finalists who were granted the privilege of meeting Apple CEO Tim Cook at Apple Park. This unforgettable encounter not only motivated Nair to consider publishing his app on the App Store but also provided him with valuable feedback and encouragement.
Currently, Meet and Eat is exclusively available at Penn State’s University Park campus, where it has already garnered an enthusiastic user base. Looking ahead, Nair envisions expanding the app’s availability to other universities, but no official plans have been disclosed as of now.
With its ability to eliminate the isolation that often accompanies solitary meals, Meet and Eat has the potential to become a staple tool for college students nationwide.
Analyst comment
Positive news. The market for Meet and Eat is likely to grow as it addresses a common struggle for college students and has already gained recognition and a strong user base at Penn State University Park. Expansion to other universities could further increase its popularity and establish it as a staple tool for college students nationwide.
