Join us for the Kohl Centre at Virginia Tech's dynamic virtual speaker series showcasing cutting-edge data science tools and their real-world applications.

This series aims to make modern analytics more accessible and demonstrates how researchers and practitioners leverage data science to address complex problems across various disciplines. The series is open to everyone.

Upcoming speakers

Rami Krispin

Senior Manager - Data Science and Engineering at Apple

RSVP FOR KRISPIN'S PRESENTATION >>
  • Topic: Analyzing Time Series at Scale with Cluster Analysis in R
  • Date: June 30, 2025 at 11 am EST

Abstract: One of the challenges in traditional time series analysis is scalability. Most of the analysis methods were designed to handle a single time series at a time. In this workshop, we will explore methods for analyzing time series at scale. We will demonstrate how to apply unsupervised methods such as cluster analysis and PCA to analyze and extract insights from multiple time series simultaneously. This workshop is based on Prof. Rob J Hyndman's paper about feature-based time series analysis.

Bio: Rami Krispin is a data science and engineering manager who mainly focuses on time series analysis, forecasting, and MLOps applications. He is passionate about open source, working with data, machine learning, and putting stuff into production. He creates content about MLOps and recently released a course - Data Pipeline Automation with GitHub Actions Using R and Python, on LinkedIn Learning, and is the author of Hands-On Time Series Analysis with R.

Focus of research: Time series analysis and forecasting

Jose Fernandez

Professor of Economics and Department Chair, University of Louisville

RSVP FOR FERNANDEZ'S PRESENTATION >>
  • Topic: Application of data visualization in applied economics
  • Date: July 14, 2025 at 11 am EST

Abstract: Coming soon

Bio: Fernandez’s research focuses on a wide range of risky behavior and mental health topics with a special focus on suicide and substance abuse, including opioid-related healthcare utilization. Fernandez has over 20 articles appearing in well-respected journals such as the International Economic Review, The Journal of Economic Education, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, and Health Service Research Journal. He has appeared in over 100 local, regional, and national media interviews, including NPR’s Planet Money and the Indicator.

Dr. Fernandez is a faculty scholar at the Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky, a member of the Statutory Committee Consensus Forecasting Group for the State of Kentucky, the former President of the American Society of Hispanic Economists, of the CoCo Chair of the Committee on Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession of the American Economic Association, and the chair of the Economics Department at the University of Louisville.

Steven Ge

Professor at South Dakota State University and Founder/CEO of Orditus

RSVP FOR GE'S PRESENTATION >>
  • Topic: The application of data science tools and statistical/econometric methods
  • Date: July 21, 2025 at 11 am EST

Abstract: Coming soon

Bio: Dr. Ge's teaching and research focus on bioinformatics, artificial intelligence (AI) and data science. Bioinformatics is a discipline that combines statistics, computer science and biological context to analyze large genomics datasets.

Focus of research: 

  • Development of tools (iDep and ShinyGo) and resources (pathway databases) for the interpretation of large genomic data.
  • Using AI, especially Large Language Models like ChatGPT, to help analyze and visualize data.

Previous speakers

Qiusheng Wu

Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

  • Topic: Open Geospatial Data Science in Action: Interactive Visualizations and Data Analytics
  • Presented: June 16, 2025

Abstract: The rapid growth of geospatial data and the increasing demand for open-source solutions have significantly reshaped the field of geospatial data science. This presentation delves into the development and practical applications of open-source Python packages tailored for geospatial analysis. We will showcase powerful libraries such as Geemap, Leafmap, and SAMGeo, and GeoAI, which simplify complex workflows in data processing, visualization, and analysis. These tools empower researchers, developers, and organizations to harness the full potential of spatial data, driving innovation and collaboration in geospatial data science and GeoAI.

Bio: Dr. Qiusheng Wu is an Associate Professor and the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Geography & Sustainability at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He also serves as an Amazon Scholar. Dr. Wu’s research focuses on geospatial data science and open-source software development, with an emphasis on leveraging big geospatial data and cloud computing to study environmental change, particularly surface water and wetland inundation dynamics. He is the creator of several widely used open-source Python packages, including geemap, leafmap, segment-geospatial, and geoai, which support advanced geospatial analysis and interactive visualization. His open-source work is available at https://github.com/opengeos.

Focus of research: Geospatial Data Science, open source software development, and cloud computing.