John Correllus, director of business intelligence for the North Carolina Department of Commerce, spoke with MSA students today about the department’s Economic Development Intelligence System (EDIS) online database. Using EDIS, individuals can access reporting and mapping tools that are deployed through SAS’s BI platform. The use of geographic information in conjunction with analytical techniques has been an ongoing area of study for MSA students under the instruction of Dr. Hugh Devine. In the session students were shown a practical application of analytics for economic development along with the integration of mapping tools. Students discussed the reports and maps that can geographically display information such as demographics, consumer expenditures and income.
Institute Opens New Facility
With the opening today of its new facility in the Venture 2 Building, the Institute has consolidated its operations in a single location on Centennial Campus. The new space occupies 8,000 square feet of the building’s top floor and includes a classroom, student work areas, teleconference rooms, and offices for faculty and staff—with ubiquitous, secure wireless Internet access. Situated in the heart of the five-building Venture complex, Venture 2 offers much needed accommodations to operate the Master of Science in Analytics degree program and its current cohort of 35 students. Located in Suite 530, the Institute is neighbored on the fifth floor with NC State’s DELTA unit. Special thanks to the Institute’s associate director, Kathy Green, who led the effort to design and furnish the new facility. UPDATE: An open house for friends of the Institute is scheduled for 12:00-2:00 PM on Friday, December 5.
Analytics Practicum Projects Announced
The Analytics Practicum is a team-based component of the MSA curriculum that gives students an opportunity to work together on real-world projects sponsored by industry. The Institute is pleased to announce our project sponsors for 2008-09 include: Continue reading “Analytics Practicum Projects Announced”
MSA Students Earn Professional Certifications
A special feature of the MSA program is the option for students to gain valuable professional certifications in parallel with their degree. Such certifications include SAS (Base Programming, Advanced Programming, and Predictive Modeling), Six Sigma (Green Belt), and communication skills from industry trainer. Individuals with professional certifications are highly sought after by employers. In the first three months of the program, 95% of the MSA Class of Continue reading “MSA Students Earn Professional Certifications”
Dobson Wins M2008 Award
The Institute is pleased to announce that David Dobson (MSA Class of 2008) has been selected as one of the winners of the student poster contest of the M2008 Data Mining Conference for his paper entitled “Segmenting Textual Data: Analyzing Questions on Auto Insurance Claims.” David will attend the conference in Las Vegas later this month to accept the prize. Dobson is currently a member of the faculty at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Vancouver. Congratulations, David, on the well-deserved recognition of his work!
Institute Welcomes Sudipta Dasmohapatra
Dr. Sudipta Dasmohapatra is our latest addition to the Institute’s faculty to teach during the 2008-09 academic year. Dr. “D.” joined the NC State in 2007 as an assistant professor in Wood and Paper Science. She received her Ph.D. in 2004 in Forest Products Marketing from The Pennsylvania State University. After graduating from Penn State, she worked as a Senior Quantitative Analyst at Yankelovich, Inc. for 3 years. Her interests are in the area of strategic marketing, distribution and value addition strategies and marketing research methods. She teaches a module in Market Science and Customer Analytics.
Fall Classes Begin
Fall semester classes for MSA students begin today with Dr. David Dickey teaching Time Series and Forecasting, and lectures by Dr. Hugh Devine in Geospatial Data Analytics. Students also have coursework in Six Sigma organized by Marissa Langford. Later in the semester, students will complete course modules in Data Cleaning with Dr. Rada Chirkova; Survival Analysis with Dr. Simon Hsiang; Market Science and Customer Analytics with Dr. Sudipta Dasmohapatra; and Logistic Regression Models with Dr. Fikret Isik. The fall semester also includes modules on data mining with Dr. Hsiang.
Jernigan Appointed IT Coordinator
John Jernigan is the Institute’s newly appointed Information Technology Coordinator. John joined the Institute at its inception in 2006 as a graduate assistant and had worked previously for Dr. Rappa in the Open Courseware Laboratory. John earned his B.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from NC State in 2006, and is currently completing his M.S. degree in the same field. In his new role, John provides support for all aspects of student and staff IT requirements.
Students Mark Successful End to Summer
The MSA Class of 2009 marked the successful completion of summer classes today with a luncheon celebration at nearby Lake Wheeler. Students were joined by faculty and staff for a catered lunch at the lakeside facility. Lunch was preceded by a preview of the fall semester by Dr. Rappa. Congratulations to all of the students who dedicated themselves to six weeks of intensive classes since early July. Special thanks go to the cadre of 20 lecturers who participated in this year’s summer “boot camp” program, and to our academic coordinator, Laura Ladrie, for pulling it together.
Analytics in Health and Life Sciences
The Institute hosted several area experts today as part of a special daylong panel on analytics in health and life sciences. The panel was organized by Dr. Charles Coleman, Senior Managing Director at SAS and a member of the Institute’s Executive Board, and included guests: Dr. Heyward Hull, Clinical Professor of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy; David Hadden, Continue reading “Analytics in Health and Life Sciences”