» Final Agenda

Sandhu Conference Center

7:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. | Registration 

8:30–10:00 a.m. | Technical Sessions 

Astroinformatics: Learning from Data in the Astronomical Sciences 1 
Chair: Kirk Borne, George Mason University 

1. Citizen Science and Astroinformatics - Data Science at the Frontiers of Astronomy  | Kirk Borne, George Mason University 
2. Crowd Sourcing vs. Computational Intelligence - Some Lessons from the Zooniverse | John Wallin, Middle Tennessee State University 
3. Filtergraph: An Innovative Online Portal for Rapid and Intuitive Visualization of Massive Multi-Dimensional Datasets | Dan Burger, Vanderbilt University 

Data Science and Climate 1 
Chair: Amy Braverman, JPL 

1. Low-Rank Spatial Models for Large Remote-Sensing Datasets | Matthias Katzfuss, University of Heidelberg 
2. Likelihood-based Climate Model Evaluation | Amy Braverman, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
3. Informing climate retrieval development using data mining | Lukas Mandrake, Jet Propulsion Laboratory  

10:00–11:30 am | Technical Sessions 

Learning from Data 
Chair: James Gentle, George Mason University 

1. Learning from Data, Big and Small | Kirk Borne, George Mason University 
2. Leveraging as a Paradigm for Statistically-Informed Large-Scale Computation | Michael Mahoney, Stanford 
3. Machine Learning Explorations of Citizen Science Data | Arun Vedachalam, George Mason University 

From Large Earth Science Datasets to Compelling Scientific Results 
Chair: Charles Ichoku, NASA GSFC 

1. Experience in Extracting Scientific Information from the Data Collected by Back-Scattered Ultraviolet (BUV) Instruments Flown on Satellites Since 1970 | Pawan K. Bhartia and Joanna Joiner, NASA GSFC 
2. Assessment of aerosol intercontinental transport with big data from EOS satellites | Hongbin Yu, NASA GSFC 
3. Implications of Satellite Swath Width on Aerosol Optical Thickness Statistics | Peter Colarco, NASA GSFC
4. Improving our Understanding of Land-Use Change and Fire in Southeast Asia by Using Advanced Mathematical Techniques, Models, and Multiple Remotely Sensed Measurements in Tandem | Jason Blake Cohen, National University of Singapore

11:30–1:15 p.m. | Lunch Break and Poster Session (Provided: Beckman Center 404)

1:15–1:45 p.m. | Official Welcome

Official Opening, Introductions and Welcoming Notes 

• Introductions | Hesham El-Askary, Chapman University
• Welcoming Remarks | James Doti, President Chapman University 
• Welcoming Remarks | Janeen Hill, Dean Schmid College of Science and Technology 
• Welcoming Remarks | Menas Kafatos, Director Center of Excellence in Earth Systems Modeling & Observations, on behalf of Chancellor, Chapman University 

1:45–2:45 p.m. | Panel Discussion

Panel Discussion by Experian: The Future of Digital Wallets
Moderator: Mark Kapczynski, VP, Strategy, Experian Consumer Services

1. Panelist 1: Dan Elvester, Director, Business Development, Experian Decision Analytics
2. Panelist 2: JP Voisinet, Strategy Associate, Experian Consumer Services
3. Panelist 3: Wences Casares, CEO, Lemon Wallet
4. Panelist 4: Andy Johnson, SVP Data, Experian Marketing Services
5. Panelist 5: Eric Haller, SVP, Data Lab, Experian

2:45–3:20 p.m. | Keynote Speaker 1

Keynote Speaker 1: Edward Wegman, George Mason University  - View Abstract
Title: Big Data: Technology and Analysis

3:20–3:30 p.m. | Q&A 

3:30–3:55 p.m. | Afternoon Break 

4:00–4:50 p.m. | Keynote Speaker 2

Keynote Speaker 2: Tarek El-Ghazawi, George Washington University  - View Abstract 
Title: Processing Big Data and Crunching Numbers for Big Simulations- The Advances in High-Performance Computing

4:50–5:00 p.m. | Q&A 

5:00–5:50 p.m. | Keynote Speaker 3 

Keynote Speaker 3: John Vigouroux and Michael Goldsby, Frost Venture Partners
Title: The Changing Role of Big Data in Healthcare 

5:50–6:00 p.m. | Q&A 

Beckman Center 404

6:00–8:00 p.m. | Networking and Opening Reception 

Sandhu Conference Center | Data Theory and Earth Science Sessions

Argyros Forum | Health Care Sessions

7:30–8:00 a.m. | Registration 

8:00–9:30 a.m. | Technical Sessions 

Astroinformatics: Learning from Data in the Astronomical Sciences 2 
Chair: Kirk Borne, George Mason University 

1. Things that go *Bang!* in the Night: Automated Classification of Transient Events in Sky Surveys | George Djorgovski, California Institute of Technology 
2. Find Rare Astronomical Objects Using Efficient Bayesian Networks | Ashish Mahabal, California Institute of Technology 
3. Data Triage of Astronomical Transients and Variables: A Machine Learning Approach | Umaa Rebbapragada, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4. Application of PCA to the Atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn: Temporal and Seasonal Changes | Padma Yanamandra-Fisher, Space Science Institute

Data Science and Climate 2 
Chair: Amy Braverman, JLP

1. Statistical Downscaling of two-Dimensional Wind Fields | Mark Nakamura, University of California, Los Angeles
   
2. Understanding Climate Change - A Data Driven Approach | Vipin Kumar, University of Minnesota
   
3. A Software Architecture for the Systematic Analysis of Climate Science Data | Dan Crichton, Jet Propulsion Laboratory  

Healthcare Process Reform 
Chair: Arnold Goodman, Collaborative Data Solutions 

1. Process Analysis of Healthcare to Better Manage Stakeholder Goals, Funding, Engineering, Delivery, Culture, Big Data and Accountability | Arnold Goodman, Collaborative Data Solutions 
2. Benchmarking Healthcare Provider Performance: Some Statistical Considerations | Susan Paddock, RAND Corporation 
3. Make More Accurate Genomic Conclusions from Sequence Findings by Reducing a Basic Uncertainty in Associating Genes with Diseases | Arnold Goodman, Collaborative Data Solutions 

9:30–11:00 a.m. | Technical Sessions 

JCGS Highlights at the Interface Auditorium 
Chair: Richard Levine, JCGS Editor, San Diego State University 

1. Optimization Algorithms for Convex Clustering | Eric Chi, University of California, Los Angeles 
2. Tapered Covariance: Bayesian Estimation and Asymptotics | Benjamin Shaby, University of California, Berkeley 
3. A Discussion of Graphical Inference | Heike Hofmann, Iowa State University 

Analysis of Big Data for Atmospheric Aerosol Research 
Chair: Olga Kalashnikova, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Co-Chair: Michael Garay, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

1. Scientific Discovery and Anomaly Detection in Large Aerosol Data Sets | Kiri Wagstaff, Jet Propulsion Laboratory 
2. Giovanni-4: the next generation of an online tool for satellite data visualization, exploration and inter-comparison | Christopher Lynnes, NASA/GSFC 
3. Applying Spatial Statistical Data Fusion on MISR and MODIS Aerosol Data | Hai Nguyen, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Healthcare Futures (Panel Discussion)
Chair: Mark Kapczynski, VP, Strategy, Experian Consumer Services

1. Panelist 1: Dan Johnson,President, Experian Healthcare
2. Panelist 2: AnatolyKvitnitsky, Strategy Associate, Experian Consumer Services
3. Panelist 3: John Benson, CEOVerisys
4. Panelist 4: Katie Vahle,CEO, CoPatient
5. Panelist 5: Greg Jackson,Chief Data Officer, EverydayHealth

11:00–11:30 a.m. | Morning Break 

11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. | Technical Sessions 

Educating Data Scientists 
Chair: Hadley Wickham, Rice University 

1. Research and Teaching for Large Complex Data Must Integrate the Components of Data Science: The Divide and Recombine (D&R) Illustration | William Cleveland, Purdue University 
2. Statistics Education Under the Data Deluge | Rob Gould, University of California, Los Angeles 
3. Designing the Data Science Curriculum | Jeff Hammerbacher, Cloudera 

Statistical Learning in Earth Systems Science 
Convener: David A. Van Dyk, Imperial College London 
Chair: Richard Levine, JCGS Editor, San Diego State University 

1. Co-clustering Spatial Data Using a Generalized Linear Mixed Model With Application to the Integrated Pest Management | Daniel Jeske, University of California, Riverside 
2. Using state-space models for variance matrices to study climate patterns | Yaming Yu, University of California, Irvine 
3. Nonlinear Models for Predicting Plankton Ecosystem Dynamics | Barbara Bailey, San Diego State University 

Application of Big Data and Analytics to the Healthcare Setting (Panel Discussion) 
Chair: Janeen Hill, Chapman University 

1. Panelist 1: Paea LePendu, Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research (BMIR) 
2. Panelist 2: Lorraine Fernandes, Information Management, IBM 
3. Panelist 3: Graham Nixon, Chief Health Informatics Officer, Veteran Affairs San Diego Healthcare System 
4. Panelist 4: Charles Boicey, CPHIMS Informatics Solutions Architect 

1:00–2:30 p.m. | Lunch Break, Keynote Speaker and Poster Session (Provided: Beckman Center 404) 

Keynote Speaker 2 “Earth Systems Science Data”: Jack Kaye, NASA - View Abstract
Title: Earth System Science: Data Challenges Created by Observations and Models, and their use for Science and Applications 

2:30–4:00 p.m. | Technical Sessions 

Cloud Computing and Big Data
Chair: Michael Fahy, Chapman University 

1. Rc²: R and SAS collaboration in the cloud | James Harner, West Virginia University
2. Cloud-Enabled Processing & Exploitation of Remotely Sensed Data | Michael Limcaco, Amazon Web Services
3. An Introduction to Hadoop for Big Data Applications | Gayn B. Winters, Technical Program Manager, Technology Consultants

Climate Data Analysis: From Satellites to Climate Models 
Chair: Robert Allen, University of California, Riverside 

1. Heterogeneous Warming Agents and Widening of the Tropical Belt | Robert Allen, University of California, Riverside 
2. The Future of Model Evaluation | Charlie Zender, University of California, Irvine 
3. Statistical correction of satellite cloud data for climate change studies | Joel Norris, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego
4. NASA-Unified Weather Research Forecasting Model coupled with the Goddard Satellite Data Simulator Unit: Multi-Satellite Radiance-Based Evaluation of Fully Coupled Regional Atmospheric Model | Toshihisa Matsui, NASA GSFC

Big Data Challenges in Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics 
Organizer: Nadim Alkharouf, Towson University
Chair: Ian Misner, Towson University 

1. Big Data Challenges in the Sequencing of plant pathogen Genomes | Ian Misner, Towson University 
2. Speeding-Up Codon Analysis on the Cloud with Local Map Reduce Aggregation | Atanas Radenski & Louis Ehwerhemuepha, Chapman University 
3. Translational Bioinformatics and Quantitative Biology in Cancer Research: From Big Data Molecular Analysis of Human Disease to Personalized Medicine | Gennady Verkhivker, Chapman University 

Beckman Center 404

4:15–5:15 p.m. | Panel Discussion

NEXUS IS: Applied Analytics in the Enterprise
Moderator: Kevin Griffith, NEXUS IS

• Panelist 1: Colin McNamara, Chief Cloud Architect
• Panelist 2: Paul Caracciolo, Chief Healthcare Officer

5:15–7:00 p.m. | NEXUS IS Sponsored Reception

Sandhu Conference Center 

7:30–8:00 a.m. | Registration

8:00–9:30 a.m. | Technical Sessions

Random Solutions to Big Problems
Co-Chairs: Eric C. Chi, University of California, Los Angeles and Miles Lopes, University of California, Berkeley

1. Implementing Randomized Matrix Algorithms in Parallel and Distributed Environments | Michael Mahoney, Stanford
2. A More Powerful Two-Sample Test in High Dimensions using Random Projection | Miles Lopes, University of California, Berkeley
3. Being Friends with Noise: Probabilistic Machine Learning in Computer Vision and Multimodal Perception | George Papandreou, University of California, Los Angeles

From Large Earth Science Datasets to Compelling Scientific Results
Chair: Mian Chin, NASA GSFC

1. Where does it come from, where does it go? Constraining sources and distributions of atmospheric pollutants with satellite data | Daven Henze, University of Colorado
2. Satellite and Model Data to Support Air Quality Management | Tracey Holloway, University of Wisconsin, Madison
3. Trends in Extreme United States Temperatures | Jaechoul Lee, Boise State University

9:30–11:00 a.m. | Technical Sessions

Visualization of Big Data
Chair: Juergen Symanzik, Utah State University

1. Interactive Visualization of Big Data | Simon Urbanek, AT&T Research Labs
2. Divide and Recombine (D&R) for Comprehensive Visualization of Large Complex Data at Their Finest Granularity | William Cleveland, Purdue University
3. Visualization of "Big Data" in Molecular and Genomic Sciences | Nicholas Lewin-Koh, Genentech

From Large Earth Science Datasets to Compelling Scientific Results
Chair: Hesham El-Askary, Chapman University

1. Satellite observations and computational analysis synergies: aerosol smoke plume heights and impacts of fires on air quality | Maria Val Martin, Colorado State University
2. Detailed global evaluation of aerosol measurements from multiple satellite sensors | Charles Ichoku, NASA GSFC
3. Multi-decadal variations of aerosols from multi-platform data and model from 1980 to 2009 | Mian Chin, NASA GSFC

11:00–11:30 a.m. | Morning Break

11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. | Technical Sessions 

Data Science Methods
Chair: Edward Wegman, George Mason University

1. Multivariate Wavelet Density Estimation for Streaming Data – A parallel programming approach | Kyle Caudle, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
2. Depth Functions and Multidimensional Medians on Proximity Graphs | Mengta Dan Yang, George Washington University
3. Near k-Regular Graphs and Hamiltonian Cycles | Yang Xu, George Mason University 

Massive Data Challenges in Numerical Weather Modeling
Chair: Menas Kafatos, Chapman University

1. Evaluation of surface climate fields in the NARCCAP hindcast experiment using JPL Regional Climate Model Evaluation System | Jinwon Kim, University of California, Los Angeles
2. Use of variable resolution gridding in the Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Model (OLAM) for optimal utilization of resources on large and small computers | Robert Walko, University of Miami
3. Computational Aspects of Regional Climate and Weather Forecasting Applications | Craig Tremback, President ATMET, LLC
4. Development of an Integrated Prediction System for Climate-Environment-Ecosystem Interactions and Corresponding GIS-based Database and Web Display System | Seon K. Park, Ehwa University, Korea