Power in Numbers: Growing Atlanta's Data Science Talent

Atlanta's traffic isn't the only thing jammed up!

Data scientists in Atlanta would love to jump into Big Data. But where and how can these software engineers, statisticians, business analysts and project managers get the right skills?

Big Data players are also stuck. Where and how can they find the right talent to extract insights from the massive amounts of data they collect?

As part of Big Data Week Atlanta 2013, Data Science ATL is going change this. This event will bring together several speakers, each presenting a short talk on how individuals and employers can grow Atlanta's native data science talent pool. They will present concrete ideas and examples about how individuals can acquire critical data science skills and how companies can support them.

We may not be able to solve Atlanta's traffic jams. But we can help make Atlanta a dream come true for Big Data players and Data Scientists alike.

Update: Our speaker lineup is now here!

Our speakers for the event are experts from a range of backgrounds, providing a rich diversity of opinions on how to develop Atlanta's data science talent.

Keynote lecture: David Schweidel and Manish Tripathi

From clickstreams and retail sales to ticket sales and social media, marketers have a wealth of data at their disposal. But, what can we do with it? Professors David Schweidel and Manish Tripathi from Emory University's Goizueta Business School will discuss recent analytic advances in marketing, and the opportunities for data scientists to play a critical role in the areas of social media intelligence and sports marketing.

David Schweidel received his PhD in marketing from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2006. He joined Goizueta in 2012. Manish Tripathi received his PhD in marketing from Northwestern University and joined Goizueta in 2008.

The startup perspective: Blake Patton and Joe Reger Jr.

Blake Patton is the General Manager of Georgia Tech's ATDC. Joe Reger is the Cofounder and CTO of a big data and analytics company called Springbot that has offices in the ATDC. Together they will share their thoughts on how Atlanta can grow its blossoming data science community.

The individual perspective: Nikolaos Vasiloglou II

Nikolaos Vasiloglou II is the founder of Ismion Inc, an Atlanta-based machine learning consultancy. He has a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech, specializing in machine learning. He will be talking about his experiences working with machine learning problems across several domains in different Atlanta-based companies, and the lessons he has drawn from them.

The policy perspective: Hans Utz

Hans Utz is the Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the city of Atlanta and plays a role in crafting the Mayor's policies on economic development. He also has prior experience in strategy and management consulting with big data firms as they grapple with the transition from "traditional" big data clients to new industries and applications. He will be discussing Atlanta's strengths and challenges as a technology center, and how the technology community can partner with city government to set and drive policy that attracts and retains a talent base to encourage Atlanta's growth as a big data hub.