A Conversation with Dana Zhang from The Data Science Institute at Vanderbilt

Location: This month we're meeting at Vaco in Brentwood and on Zoom!
5501 Virginia Way Suite 120, Brentwood, TN 37027, United States
https://goo.gl/maps/74bLX6XDS8q8fnFs7
If you're not able to join us in person, join us on Zoom.
(RSVP for the Zoom link.)

Topic: A Basic Introduction to MapReduce and Spark for Scaling Big Data Workloads
We will explain the fundamental concepts of these distributed computing frameworks and how they enable parallel processing on large clusters of machines. Attendees will learn key techniques for splitting data and distributing computation across nodes as well as aggregating the final outputs.

Speaker: Dana Zhang
Dr. Peng “Dana” Zhang is an Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Computer Science and the Data Science Institute at Vanderbilt University. She also serves as the Director of Graduate Studies of the online Master’s Program in Computer Science at Vanderbilt. Prior to joining Vanderbilt, she was a tenure-track Assistance Professor of Computer Science and Data Science at Belmont University from 2019-2021, where she also served as the Undergraduate Data Science Program Director for one year. Dr. Zhang has taught over 20 different courses in computer science and data science and has supervised over 30 undergraduate and graduate students in research. Her experience in working closely with diverse groups of students demonstrates her knowledge and skills in computer science education. Additionally, Dr. Zhang has mentored and led Data Science graduate student teams to deliver replicable, cutting-edge research products for industry and academic partners such as AllianceBernstein, Asurion, Bridgestone, and the US Center for Disease Control.

Join us for the discussion! I'll look forward to seeing you on February 7th!

Nashville Data Nerds is a Data Analytics/Science meetup that meets monthly to explore data topics and to provide connections, resources, and community for data professionals.

The format of the meetings is as follows:
• 5:00pm Doors open for Conversation, Networking, and Pizza
• 5:10pm Zoom opens for Introductions and Conversation
• 5:30pm Welcome, Introductions, and a few Announcements
• 5:45pm Presentation Topic and Discussion
• 6:20pm Open Questions/Discussion
• 6:30pm - 7pm Conversation, Catching up, Building Community

Beginning at 5:30pm, we'll take some time for Welcome and Introductions. Then we'll move into our main presentation/discussion for the evening. We'll have time for questions throughout and participation will be encouraged. Our speakers will appreciate the interaction!

After the discussion, we'll again have some time to stick around for conversation if you have interest ... to get to know each other better.

Sponsors:
Vaco
https://www.vaco.com/
Thanks for the chance to meet in this new location and for providing food and drink for this event!

Fido
[https://www.bongojava.com/pages/fido ](https://www.bongojava.com/pages/fido)
Thanks for hosting Breakfast with Data Nerds.

Acree Consulting
https://acreeconsulting.com
Building Connections, Engagement, and Collaboration in the local Data/Dev community.
Reach out via LinkedIn to Glenn Acree (https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennacree/)
and/or Sam Acree (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-acree-98b91392/)
We'll be eager to connect!

Other Data Nerds Groups and Events:
Breakfast with Nashville Data Nerds
Fido in Hillsboro Village
The 3rd Tuesday of each month
8:30am - 10:00am
Informal gathering to share questions, ideas, connections, and support.

Special Interest Groups:
1) Brilliant Women of Data Science
The 4th Tuesday of each month
6:00pm - 7:00pm
Currently streaming on Zoom.

2) Roundtable Discussion for Directors of DSc
The 2nd Friday of each month
Facilitated by Megan McGee, Jason King, and Glenn Acree
Reach out to Glenn Acree at acreeg@gmail.com if you have interest.