pandas on Apache Spark (ft Databricks cofounder) / AI-powered musical creativity

Our next event features Reynold Xin, co-founder of Databricks, telling us how we can finally make pandas-based projects scalable using Databricks' new open source "Koalas" project. We'll follow that up with Google's Hanoi Hantrakul telling us about "Magenta", Google's initiative to use AI to enhance human creativity (with special live musical demos).

Summer is here and the SF PyData meetup group is heating up! This one's looking like a scorcher.

As always, we'll also have time for you to meet, mingle, and discuss all things data with other Bay Area Python and data enthusiasts!

## Agenda:

6:00 - 6:45pm: Mingling
6:45 - 6:50pm: Opening remarks
6:50 - 7:35pm: Tech-Talk-1: Koalas: pandas APIs on Apache Spark
7:35 - 8:05pm: Tech-Talk-2: Magenta: Exploring the role of machine learning in creativity
8:05 - 8:30pm: Mingling
8:30: Event over!

Many thanks to Microsoft for volunteering to host and Databricks for Sponsoring.

Doors will close at 7:15 so please arrive before then.

## Koalas: pandas APIs on Apache Spark

#### Abstract
In this talk, Reynold will present Koalas, a new open source project that was announced at the Spark + AI Summit in April. Koalas is a Python package that implements the pandas API on top of Apache Spark, to make the pandas API scalable to big data. Using Koalas, data scientists can make the transition from a single machine to a distributed environment without needing to learn a new framework.

Reynold will demonstrate Koalas' new functionalities since its initial release, discuss its roadmaps, and how he envisions Koalas could become the standard API for large scale data science.

#### Speaker Bio
Reynold Xin is a cofounder and Chief Architect at Databricks. In the open source community, Reynold is known as a top contributor to the Apache Spark project, having designed many of its core user-facing APIs and execution engine features. Reynold received a PhD in Computer Science from UC Berkeley, where he worked on large-scale data processing systems.

## Magenta: Exploring the role of machine learning in creativity

#### Abstract:
Hanoi will be giving an overview on Magenta, an open source team at Google led by Doug Eck, exploring the role of machine learning in the creative process. The talk will cover exciting and recent developments in the world of AI-generated art as well as live musical demos!

#### Speaker Bio:
Lamtharn (Hanoi) Hantrakul - AI Resident, Google Brain

Hanoi - like the towers? No. Like the city? Yes! Hanoi's Thai parents fell in love there and nicknamed him after the charming city. Born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, he is currently an AI Resident with Google Brain. His research focuses on real-time Neural Audio Synthesis: rendering sound directly using deep neural networks.

Hanoi strives for technologies that are transcultural at heart; diversifying software, hardware and AI to encompass underrepresented cultures such as those from his home region of Thailand and beyond. He is most proud of fidular, a modular fiddle system he designed and engineered that enables components like resonators and strings to be swapped across cultures. The system is currently on display at the Musical Instruments Museum in Phoenix, AZ, and has been recognized internationally by the A’ Design Award and Core77 Design Award.

Hanoi hold degrees in Applied Physics and Music Composition, both with Distinction from Yale University. In his MSc thesis at Georgia Tech, he developed machine learning models for an ultrasound sensor that enables amputees to perform high-dexterity tasks like playing piano; an impossible feat using today’s sensors on conventional prosthetics.

He also writes music under the moniker "yaboi hanoi". Find his tunes on Instagram and Spotify!