HARRISBURG, PA – On February 27, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) hosted its 11th annual Data Analytics Summit, transforming once again into a hub for educators, technologists, business and government leaders, students, and professionals of all kinds to learn about the latest techniques, technologies, and big ideas in the world of data science and data analytics.
The theme of Data Analytics Summit XI was, “Empowering Tomorrow: Data Analytics and Integrating Advanced Technologies for Impact.”
Patricia Mooneyham, Director of Professional Development at HU, remarked: “From the entire Professional Development Team, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of Data Analytics Summit XI. This annual event was an opportunity for HU to showcase our academic programs as well as our relationships with government and industry experts. We hosted over 300 participants for this hybrid event, nearly 200 of whom attended in person with us in downtown Harrisburg. It truly takes a village to create these amazing educational opportunities, so thank you for donating your time to make this year’s event a success!”
HU’s Program Lead for Analytics, Dr. Roozbeh Sadeghian, added: “We are proud of the resounding success this annual event has become! Our over 300 attendees experienced dynamic discussions, insightful presentations, and meaningful connections across the data analytics community. This year’s chosen theme, centered on integrating and making the best use of advanced technologies, resonated strongly with our audience, sparking engaging conversations on cutting-edge innovations and their real-world applications. We are grateful to all the speakers, panelists, and participants who contributed to making this summit an enjoyable and impactful gathering of thought leaders, industry professionals, and students. We look forward to continuing this momentum in the years to come!”
Deserving of special mention are the current and former Harrisburg University students who contributed to the Summit by presenting original research and expert lectures.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Meetu Malhotra ‘27 is a current student in HU’s Data Science Ph.D. program.
I had the opportunity to deliver a lecture at the Data Analytics Summit entitled, “Greener Bytes: Exploring the Environmental Impact and Solutions for LLMs.” In this session, I presented a comprehensive overview of Large Language Models (LLMs), highlighting their evolution, their diverse applications across various industries, and the related challenges. The focus was on the carbon footprints generated by LLMs, and I shared insights and strategies for quantifying carbon emissions. I outlined actionable solutions that companies can implement to mitigate their environmental impact. The goal was to emphasize the urgent need for sustainable practices in AI development and to encourage industry leaders to adopt greener technologies for a more sustainable future.
Did you know that training a single large transformer model like BERT produces ~284 tons of CO2, which is equivalent to the CO2 emissions of five cars over their entire lifetimes? I hope that the key takeaways from my presentation resonate with attendees, inspiring them to consider the environmental implications of their work with LLMs. Ultimately, I aim to foster meaningful discussions and drive the adoption of practices that prioritize sustainability in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.
AWESOME ALUMNUS
Jonathan (Jeng-Shiuan) Ma ‘25 is an alumnus of HU’s Analytics Master’s Degree program.
Our research integrates tonic pitch identification with deep learning and traditional machine learning algorithms to classify Carnatic Raga music. Signal processing, in combination with deep learning techniques, has not been extensively applied to Raga identification. By leveraging these approaches, we aim to address the inherent non-linearity challenges in Raga classification. Using Mel-spectrogram representations of audio data, we employ techniques such as transfer learning and ensemble learning to achieve high-accuracy classification of Carnatic Raga music.
Presenting this research at the Summit was an invaluable experience, allowing me to showcase months of dedicated work alongside my professors. Attending the 2024 HU Data Analytics Summit was a pivotal moment for me; seeing my professors present their research on stage inspired me to set a goal of presenting my own work the following year. This year, I am proud to have achieved that goal, contributing to the broader conversation on data analytics and its applications in music classification.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS AND SPONSORS
Harrisburg University thanks Deloitte’s Mike Bechtel for delivering this year’s keynote address.
HU also extends an especially grateful round of applause to our Platinum sponsor, Deloitte, and our Gold sponsors, AWS, Google Cloud, and KPMG. We couldn’t do what we do without your gifts of time and treasure. For helping to make sure the event went off without a hitch and made as big an impact as possible, we thank you!
Thank you to all who attended! Your presence and engagement make this a transformative experience each year – it’s more of a movement than an event. Thank you for attending, and we hope to see you again next year! Keep an eye on Harrisburg University’s News Blog, Events, and Summits pages or follow our social channels (below) for more information about our upcoming conferences.
ON THE HORIZON
- May 1: OneHR Conference: The premier HR event in Central PA, this event draws over 1,000 HR professionals, industry experts, and thought leaders. This year’s theme is “Destination Collaboration.”
- May 8, 15, 22: Transforming the Future with Microsoft Generative AI: This free, 3-part community forum covers integrating generative AI into workflows and how to make the most of AI to drive productivity, engagement, and business success.
- June 5: AI in Transportation Summit: Serving transportation, technology, construction and engineering professionals across the public and private sectors.
- August 14: PATechCon 2025: Presented in partnership with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, this is the largest governmental tech conference in PA.
- September 9–11: J-DAMMIT 2025: The Joint-Defense Advanced Manufacturing Meeting for Innovation and Transition features collaborative discussions and hands-on demonstrations of advanced manufacturing techniques being implemented to support the Warfighter.
ABOUT HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY
Harrisburg University was recently recognized by US News & World Report as one of the nation’s most innovative colleges. HU is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and is a private, nonprofit university offering bachelor’s and graduate degree programs in the fields of science, technology, and mathematics. For additional information about HU’s affordable, demand-driven undergraduate and graduate programs, please call 717.901.5146 or email Connect@HarrisburgU.edu. Stay updated by following Harrisburg University on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X (Twitter).
