Virginia Tech to host annual data science Blacksburg event
Agenda includes a keynote speaker and networking event.
The Women in Data Science (WiDS) Blacksburg event is part of the mission to increase the participation of women in data science. Photo by Melissa McKeown for Virginia Tech.
Now in its eighth year, the Women in Data Science (WiDS) Blacksburg event is set to take place Monday, Feb. 23. The event is free and open to everyone — regardless of gender — with an interest in data science.
WiDS Blacksburg is an independent event organized by Virginia Tech to be a part of the mission to support women in data science and to feature outstanding women doing outstanding work.
There are two events on the agenda of this year’s WiDS Blacksburg regional conference: a lunch and learn session featuring keynote speaker Allison Rajakumar and an evening networking mixer. The lunch and learn will take place from 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., while the networking mixer is scheduled from 5:30–7 p.m. in the atrium of the Data and Decision Sciences Building.
Rajakumar is a director of data science and statistics at Lubrizol, where she leads a team applying statistics, machine learning, and AI to solve real-world problems in chemistry, materials, and product development. Her talk, titled “A Data Science Journey in Specialty Chemicals: Lessons from Q.LIFE,” focuses on Lubrizol’s advanced predictive modeling system and highlighting the operational discipline, techniques, and processes required to maintain such a widely used platform.
During the networking event, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with other members of the local data science community, while also exploring different areas of the “dataverse” through poster presentations given by Virginia Tech students.
The Women in Data Science initiative was launched at Stanford University in 2015 with a one-day technical conference. Soon after, volunteer ambassadors tooks WiDS around the world by organizing similar conferences in their own communities. Now there are more than 200 events held around the world each year, as WiDS Worldwide programs have upskilled and mentored over 150,000 participants in more than 160 countries.
For up-to-date details on WiDS Blacksburg, visit the event website. Attendees are asked to register by Sunday, Feb. 15. The event is free and open to everyone — regardless of gender — with an interest in data science.
