On November 12, 2020, the University of Illinois Research Park hosted its eighth annual Big Data Summit virtually through Zoom. The 2020 Big Data summit focused on machine learning, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation. Keynote speaker Phil Hajduk, VP for Information Research at AbbVie, discussed how to turn data into knowledge to solve real problems in developing biologics and improve operations.
This year’s speakers discussed a wide range of topics from AI in life sciences, consumer privacy in advertising, and biases in data sciences. The speakers also ranged from academia, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs.
In addition to the unique mix of presentations, a panel of EnterpriseWorks startup companies discussed how corporate partnerships lead to new innovations. The panel was moderated by Laila Partridge, Managing Director at STANLEY+Techstars Accelerator. The panel included Chinmay Soman, Co-founder and CEO of EarthSense, Daphne Preuss, Chief Executive Officer at Aspiring Universe, Sam Hamedi Rad, COO and Sr. Research Scientist at LifeFoundry, and Mani Golparvar, CTO of Reconstruct.
The day concluded with a networking reception. This not only allowed Big Data companies to talk about new advances in Big Data, but it also provided the opportunity for the community to connect with Research Park companies and to network with industry leaders.
Find photos from the 2020 Big Data Summit here.
2020 Agenda
8:00 AM COFFEE AND CONVERSATION
8:30 AM WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
Laura Frerichs | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park
8:40 AM AWS DEEPRACER LEAGUE
Jarai Carter | Data Scientist, John Deere
9:10 AM NETWORK PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Bryan Elverson | Team Lead, Engineering, Riverbed Technology
9:40 AM ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN LIFE SCIENCES
Yannick Djoumbou Feunang | Data Scientist – Cheminformatics, Corteva
10:10 AM MACHINE LEARNING FOR TUMOR TREATMENTS
John Cole | Chief Scientific Officer, SimBioSys
10:25 AM BREAK
10:35 AM CONSUMER PRIVACY IN DIGITAL ADVERTISING
Larry Lo | VP of Engineering, Data Systems, Amobee
11:05 AM WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT THROUGH AI
Nina Kshetry | President, Ensaras
11:25 AM BIASES IN DATA SCIENCE
Jana Diesner | Associate Professor, School of Information Sciences
11:55 AM KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Philip Hajduk | VP for Information Research, AbbVie
12:20 PM MHUB ACCELERATION INCUBATION – INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS (IIOT)
Haven Allen | CEO, mHub
12:30 PM CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH STARTUPS
Moderator: Laila Partridge | Managing Director, STANLEY+Techstars Accelerator, working in partnership with Stanley Black & Decker
Chinmay Soman | Co-founder and CEO, EarthSense
Daphne Preuss | Chief Executive Officer, Aspiring Universe
Sam Hamedi Rad | COO and Sr. Research Scientist, LifeFoundry
Mani Golparvar | CTO, Reconstruct
1:30 PM MANAGING DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Robert Brunner | Associate Dean for Innovation & Chief Disruption Officer, Gies College of Business
2:00 PM MACHINE LEARNING FOR COVID-19 MITIGATION
Sayantani Basu | PhD Student, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
2:30 PM ALL COVID TESTS (ACT) PIPELINE
Ken Taylor | Cloud Architect, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
2:55 PM BREAK
3:05 PM DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN LIFE SCIENCES
Dirk Tomandl | Principal Scientist and Group Leader Cheminformatics, Corteva
3:25 PM VERIZON 5G INNOVATION HUB
Abhijit Kudrimoti | Distinguished Architect, Verizon
3:45 PM TECH TRAINING PROGRAM
Neal Davis | Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Emilio Ruiz | Tech Training Participant
4:00 PM STUDENT CAREER AND NETWORKING RECEPTION
4:30 PM CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE INNOVATION
Abhijit Chinai | SVP, Analytics Capabilities & Business Development, Synchrony
4:55 PM CLOSING REMARKS
Laura Frerichs | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park
5:00 PM NETWORKING RECEPTION