ACM Austin September Tech Talks: Hybrid Search, AI NPCs & Secure Containers

Join ACM Austin for an evening of cutting-edge insights on search, AI, and secure containers. Connect with Austin’s tech community while learning from three expert speakers advancing open-source innovation, game AI, and software security.

What’s Included

• Free food & drinks (sponsored)
• Three expert technical talks
• Live demos & practical takeaways
• Networking with Austin’s tech community
• Interactive Q&A with the speakers

Event Details
Location: CGCS – ACC Rio Grande Campus, Building 3000
1218 West Ave Bldg #3000, Austin, TX 78701
Parking: Free at ACC Rio Grande Parking Garage
824 W 12th St, Austin, TX 78701 (open until 10:00 PM, no permits required)
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM (including networking)

Featured Speakers
Hari Narayanan
Hybrid-Vectorizer: Better Search for Your Tabular Data
Most tools make search easy for text, but they fail on real-world tabular datasets that mix text, numbers, and categories. Hybrid-Vectorizer is an open-source Python package that bridges that gap by turning rows of mixed data into unified embeddings for meaningful similarity search. In this talk, Hari will show how it works — with a real dataset example you can try yourself. Hybrid-Vectorizer makes your tables searchable. And it’s free, open source, and ready to use in Python today.

Farhan Shahnewaz
Designing Intelligent NPCs – From Game Worlds to Real-World AI Applications

• Cloud-based AI architectures for scalable NPCs
• Real-time interaction models with LLMs and multimodal AI
• Cross-industry use cases: training, education, e-commerce
• From prototype to production: lessons learned

Pragya Keshap
Running Docker in a Lockbox: Using Intel SGX and AMD SEV for Secure Containers

• Why Docker abstracts software but not hardware
• Live demos of container pitfalls across hardware
• Binary inspection for hidden dependencies
• Strategies: baseline builds, multi-arch testing, driver alignment
• Actionable checklist for reliable deployments

Who Should Attend

• Software engineers working with AI/ML
• DevOps and platform engineers
• Security-focused developers
• Anyone exploring advanced AI or secure containers
• Tech professionals eager to learn and network

Sponsor for Food & Drinks
Thank you, Siddhant Sharma
Technoventions LLC is a STEM Research & Development services platform dedicated to accelerating technology inventions. With an integrated focus on education and protecting Intellectual Property (IP) rights, Technoventions partners with academic and industry professionals to transform ideas into protected inventions. The company provides strategic guidance on the patenting process while also supporting research publications, proof-of-concept prototyping, and developing integrated hardware–software solutions on patented technologies. Actively growing and engaged in more than a dozen projects, Technoventions bridges the gap between research and commercialization, empowering innovators to bring impactful technologies to life.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/technoventions-llc/
FREE Substack Newsletter: https://substack.com/@technoventions

Important Notes

• RSVP required (helps us plan food & drinks)
• Bring business cards for networking
• Perfect for both seasoned engineers and newcomers

Want to Speak at ACM Austin?
We’re always looking for passionate technologists! Submit your proposal here:
👉 https://sessionize.com/austin-acm-meetup/

ACM Austin welcomes technologists of all backgrounds and experience levels. Come learn, connect, and be part of Austin’s vibrant tech community.