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Cybersecurity and Big Data are featured at UT System Texas FreshAIR conference

SAN ANTONIO — Breakthroughs in cybersecurity and Big Data technologies will be highlighted this week during the Texas FreshAIR (Academic Industry Roundtable) conference.

Texas FreshAIR is a world-class UT System conference designed to showcase faculty research at the System’s 14 academic and health institutions. It brings academic and industry talent together to foster collaborations that accelerate the commercialization of academic research.

“Texas FreshAIR is packed with influential researchers and thought leaders who will present and discuss technologies that are essential to protecting our nation, growing our economy and delivery health care efficiently,” said Patricia Hurn, Ph.D., UT System’s vice chancellor for research and innovation. “UT System institutions are committed to developing advanced technologies that are ready for commercialization.”

Held at The University of Texas at San Antonio on March 30 and 31, the conference will focus on cybersecurity, Big Data and data analytics. Faculty experts such as Ravi Sandhu, Ph.D., executive director of the UTSA Institute for Cyber Security, will be discussing secure cloud computing and cybersecurity.

His research focuses on security models and architectures, and their applications in cloud, mobile and social computing. His research papers have over 31,000 Google Scholar citations.

UTSA’s cybersecurity program has been ranked No. 1 in America by a national survey of certified information technology security professionals conducted by the Ponemon Institute. Cybersecurity is an important component of UT Network for National Security, one of eight Quantum Leaps proposed by UT System Chancellor William H. McRaven in November as part of his vision to advance the UT System.

The Network is a system-wide alliance to address the most vexing problems, raise them to national prominence, convene world forums, and write, discuss, debate and present solutions. It draws from the expertise of the System’s 40 plus institutes, centers and laboratories addressing critical aspects of national security.

Texas FreshAIR will also focus on data analytics as it relates to health care, a topic that will be discussed by Andrew Futreal, Ph.D., ad interim chair of MD Anderson’s Department of Genomic Medicine. Futreal is also the director of MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program, an ambitious and comprehensive plan to make a giant leap for patients by rapidly and dramatically reducing mortality and suffering in several major cancers.

Other conference speakers and topics include:

Data driven approaches and electronic health records
Joydeep Ghosh, Ph.D., is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UT Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering. Ghosh’s research focuses on data and web mining, machine learning and related topics.

Big Data and health at UT Austin’s Texas Advance Computing Center (TACC)
Niall Gaffney, Ph.D., is the director of data intensive computing at TACC. The computing center designs and operates some of the world's most powerful computing resources. Its mission is to enable discoveries that advance science and society through the application of advanced computing technologies.

Big Data and control diabetes in Rio Grande Valley
Lynda Chin, M.D., is the UT System’s associate vice chancellor for health transformation and chief innovation officer for health affairs. Chin leads Project DOC (Diabetes and Obesity Control), which aims to use social, mobile and cloud technology with cognitive analytic tools to develop health care delivery solutions customized for individual patients.

Lessons learned from a successful data analytics career
Inderpal Bhandari, Ph.D., is IBM’s global chief data officer. Bhandari focuses on enhancing the company’s data strategy; building deep data and analytics partnerships with different business units and external partners; and developing and scaling talent in the areas of data engineering and data sciences.

Internet of Things (IoT) and health care
M. Mobeen Khan, M.B.A., is the assistant vice president for strategy and product management at AT&T. Khan’s responsibilities includes positioning the company as a leader in IoT solutions and building the technology and operational infrastructure to grow the IoT business.

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking basic, applied and clinical research, and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, The University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States. With 14 institutions and an enrollment of more than 217,000, the UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates almost two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public institutions in Texas. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $16.9 billion (FY 2016) including $3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With about 20,000 faculty – including Nobel laureates – and more than 70,000 health care professionals, researchers, student advisors and support staff, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.

News Contact Information

Ken Ma: kma@utsystem.edu   • 512-499-4778 (direct) • 954-621-7961 (cell) 
Jenny LaCoste-Caputo: jcaputo@utsystem.edu  • 512-499-4361(direct) • 512-574-5777 (cell)