Analytics Day

Congratulations to our 2026 Spring Analytics Day Winners!

Spring 26 Analytics Day Winners smiling with checks

Undergraduates:

3rd place - Macsen Higgins, "Using Differentials in GLM-Predicted Success to Analyze Opioid Rehabilitation Treatment Decisions", Dr. Xinyan Zhang
2nd place - Bryce Wishart, "Steam Marketplace: Deep Model Prediction of Video Game User Ratings", Dr. Muhammad Imran
1st place - Afra Kurudirek and Ibrahim Filik, "RIN: Resilient-Influential Node Detection in Complex Networks", Dr. Mehmet Aktas

Spring 26 Analytics Day Winners smile at camera

Masters:

3rd place - Amandeep Sohal and Liam Townsend, "Risky Business: Identifying Good and Bad Risk Credit Card Prospects", Dr. Sherry Ni
2nd place - Muhammad Awais Arshad, "Influence of Speech Disfluencies and Prompt Optimization on LLM-Based Alzheimer's Detection", Dr. Seyedamin Pouriyeh
1st place - Liam Townsend, "Finding the "Perfect" Restaurant", Dr. Jiajing Huang

PhD:

Chad Bishop, Nnenna Ifeanyi, and Brandi Jones, "Recency-Aware Multimodal Fusion for Irregular Time Series: Extending IMM-TSF from Forecasting to Classification", Dr. Bin Luo

Analytics Day provides our students with an opportunity to discuss their analytical work with thought leaders and practitioners from across the region, giving them the opportunity to discuss collaborative projects with local businesses. This event provides organizations with a platform to meet students at all levels who are considering careers in advanced analytics.

This semester's event will be held on Friday, May 1, 2026, on the Kennesaw Campus at the KSU Center, located at 3333 Busbee Drive NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144.

Director's Corner

Get to see Data Science and Analytics in Action at KSU.

Analytics Day is the marquee event for the School of Data Science and Analytics at Kennesaw State University. The event brings together students, faculty, industry professionals, and business leaders to explore innovative data science solutions developed by KSU students.

Core Analytics Day Pillars

Support the Next Generation of Data Science Talent
Provide Industry Insight and Value to our SDSA Students
Engage with the SDSA Community and Mentor our Students
Discover Opportunities to Collaborate with SDSA

Registration

Online registration is closed. You can register on site at the KSU Center on Friday.

Agenda

7:30 - 8:30 Student Poster Competition (sponsors & judges only)

8:30 - 10:30 Student Poster Presentations and Breakfast

Theme: Responsible by Design: Data Science That Organizations Can Trust

10:50 - 11:00 Sherry Ni, Ph.D.
Director, School of Data Science and Analytics and Professor of Data Science and Analytics, KSU
"Welcome"

11:05 - 11:35 George Kinyua
VP Information Technology, CPRS
"KSU Partnerships: From Project to Business Value"

11:40 -12:10 Tim Jarrell
EVP Power Supply and Emerging Technologies, Cobb EMC
"Building Trust as Data Scientists in an Organization"

12:15 - 12:20 Undergraduate Poster Presentation Winners

12:25 - 12:30 Graduate Poster Presentation Winners

Speakers

George Kinyua

As the Vice President of Information Technology, George leads the IT Team with a focus on solutions architecture, data delivery pipeline optimization, client data capture, reporting, process improvement, and business unit relationship management. He oversees the development and execution of the CPRS IT strategic vision – managing infrastructure, data services, software and product development, and delivery across both onshore and offshore teams. Outside of work, he and his family enjoy attending basketball and football games!

Tim Jarrell

Tim Jarrell serves as Executive Vice President of Power Supply and Emerging Technologies at Cobb EMC, bringing extensive experience in operations, project management, and organizational strategy. He holds both Six Sigma Black Belt and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications.

Tim is an Industry Advisory Board member for the Kennesaw State University School of Data Science and Analytics, where he helps align academic programs with evolving industry needs. He is a recognized leader in the energy sector, serving on the boards of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative and the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, and in advisory roles with the NRECA Distributed Energy Resources group and the SAS Advisory Board.

His leadership has been recognized with numerous honors, including the PMI Atlanta Project of the Year award. Tim is also a graduate of Leadership Cobb, Class of 2012

Our Sponsors

Prize Sponsors

Recruiting Sponsor

Sponsorships available

Poster Sponsor

Refreshment Sponsors

Sponsorships available

2026 Spring Sponsorship Opportunities

If you are interested in sponsoring Analytics Day, please contact Priya Sarathy.

General Information

The School of Data Science and Analytics at Kennesaw State University is a one-stop shop offering general education courses, an undergraduate minor, online certificates, a bachelor's degree, a master’s degree, and we have the first PhD in Data Science and Analytics in the US. Industry and government organizations partner with us to find solutions to their data-centric problems through the Center for Data Science and Analytics (CDSA) and the Human Studies Lab, two of the most successful and dynamic research units at the university.

The KSU Center is located just off I-75 in Kennesaw, only one mile from the main campus of Kennesaw State University. The address is 3333 Busbee Drive NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144. There is plenty of free parking.

If you have any questions about Analytics Day, please contact Nicole Ferguson or Robin Moss.

Spring Analytics Day 2026