Main Content
This conference brings together professionals, industry experts, faculty and students to discuss current issues in technology. Hosted by the School of Engineering & Technology, the day-long conference is held on the University of Washington Tacoma campus.
Join us at the 23rd South Sound Technology Conference held on the University of Washington Tacoma Campus in William W. Philip Hall, March 8th from 9:00am until 3:00pm.
This years South Sound Technology Conference will focus on Machine Learning (ML) and AI integration, covering a wide range of topics, from the theoretical underpinnings of ML to the practical applications of AI. Real-world applications: Speakers will share real-world examples of how ML and AI are being used to solve problems in a variety of industries. Discussion will include the challenges and opportunities of integrating ML and AI into existing systems and processes such as healthcare and security. Also covered will be the ethical considerations and implications of ML and AI, such as bias, fairness, and transparency to ensure that ML and AI are used responsibly. Finally, there will be an opportunity to discuss future directions including emerging trends and new areas of research that will impact our lives in the years to come.
Morning Keynote Speaker
Florence Chang - President, MultiCare Health Systems
Bradd Busick - Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, MultiCare Health Systems
Guest Speakers
Courtney Acoff -District Representative, Pierce County
Brandon Berg - Sr. Staff Program Manager, Strategic Business Initiatives, Infoblox
Joshua Berger - Founder & President/CEO, Maritime Blue
Katalina Biondi - UW Tacoma Alumnus and Machine Learning Engineer (DevOps), The Cigna Group
Martine De Cock - Professor, School of Engineering and Technology; Researcher in Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning
David Fischer - CEO, Tacoma Arts Live
Erik Hanberg - Director of Audience Development, KNKX
Juhua Hu - Assistant Professor, School of Engineering and Technology; Director, UW Tacoma Center for Data Science
Chris Lloyd-Jones - Head Architect & Strategy, Office of the CTO, Avanade
Karina Martija-Harris - Program Manager, Tacoma Maritime Innovation Incubator
Mark Monlux - Freelance Illustrator and Cartoonist, Monlux Illustration
Don Morrison - Founder & CEO, TractionSpace
Christian Reed - Talent Pipeline Manager, Workforce Central
Matt Tolentino - Assistant Professor, School of Engineering and Technology; Founder and CEO, Namatad
Michael Turek - Director, MSBA Lecturer, UW Tacoma Milgard Center for Business Analytics
Allyson Turk - ACE Program Coordinator, Tacoma Arts Live
Jennifer Webster - Cyber Analysis and Analytics Group Lead, Pacific Northwest National Labs
2024 Program Agenda
UWT – William Phillip Hall – 1918 Pacific Ave. Tacoma, WA 98402 United States
Welcoming Remarks: 9:00 - 9:20 a.m.
Land Acknowledgement
Co-Chairs Andrew Fry and Tamsin Bell
UWT Chancellor Sheila Lange (Video)
Morning Keynote: 9:25 - 9:50 a.m.
Bradd Busick - Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, MultiCare Health Systems
Introduction by Florence Chang - President, MultiCare Health Systems
Morning Panel, "Machine Learning, AI and Healthcare": 9:50 - 10:35 a.m.
Katalina Biondi - UW Tacoma Alumnus and Machine Learning Engineer (DevOps), The Cigna Group
Christian Reed - Talent Pipeline Manager, Workforce Central
Network Break: 10:40 - 11:10 a.m.
Showcase Tables
Midday Remarks: 11:10 - 11:20 a.m.
Introduction by Pierce County District Representative Courtney Acoff and Congressman Derek Kilmer (video)
Midday Panel, "Industry in Machine Learning and AI": 11:30 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.
Panel Chair: Andrew Fry - Directory of Industry Partnerships, School of Engineering and Technology
Brandon Berg - Sr. Staff Program Manager, Strategic Business Initiatives, Infoblox
Karina Martija-Harris - Program Manager, Tacoma Maritime Innovation Incubator
Don Morrison - Founder & CEO, TractionSpace
Michael Turek - Director, MSBA Lecturer, UW Tacoma Milgard Center for Business Analytics
Midday Remarks: 12:20 - 12:30 p.m.
Congressman Adam Smith (Video)
Lunch/Keynote: 12:30 - 1:00 p.m.
Introduction by Tamsin Bell - Vice President of Business Development, Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County
Keynote Speaker: Jennifer Webster - Cyber Analysis and Analytics Group Lead, Pacific Northwest National Labs
Lunch Panel, "Infrastructure and Research for Machine Learning and AI": 1:00 - 1:50 p.m.
Panel Chair: Joshua Berger - Founder & President/CEO, Maritime Blue
Martine De Cock - Professor, School of Engineering and Technology; Researcher in Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning
Juhua Hu - Assistant Professor, School of Engineering and Technology; Director, UW Tacoma Center for Data Science
Chris Lloyd-Jones - Head Architect & Strategy, Office of the CTO, Avanade
Networking Break: 1:50 - 2:10 p.m.
Showcase Tables
Midday Remarks: 2:10 - 2:15 p.m.
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (Video)
Afternoon Panel, "Machine Learning AI in the Arts": 2:15 - 3:00 p.m.
Panel Chair: David Fischer - CEO, Tacoma Arts Live
Erik Hanberg - Director of Audience Development, KNKX
Mark Monlux - Freelance Illustrator and Cartoonist, Monlux Illustration
Allyson Turk - ACE Program Coordinator, Tacoma Arts Live
Conference Over/Birds of a Feather - Pitch Competition: 3:00 p.m.
Center for Urban Waters
326 D St
Tacoma, WA 98421
Questions? For more information about the conference contact:
Andrew Fry or call 253-692-4583.
Tamsin Bell or call 253-383-4726.
Event Details
March 8, 2024
9 a.m - 3 p.m.
William W. Philip Hall, UW Tacoma
Theme: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).
2024 Conference Chairs
Co-Chairs
Andrew Fry - Directory of Industry Partnerships, School of Engineering and Technology
Tamsin Bell - Vice President of Business Development, Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County
Honorary Co-Chairs
Congressman Adam Smith
Congressman Derek Kilmer
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland
Sponsorship Opportunities
Previous Conferences
The 2019 South Sound Technology Conference was held on Friday, March 8, 2019.
Honorary co-chairs:
Congressman Denny Heck
Congressman Derek Kilmer
Congressman Adam Smith
South Sound Technology Conference 2019
8:30 Registration Opens
9:00 Welcome and Thank you
- Mark Pagano, Chancellor of the University of Washington Tacoma
- Dr. Raj Katti, Dean of the Institute of Technology
- Andrew Fry, Director of Industry Partners and Lecturer, Institute of Technology
9:15 Congressman Derek Kilmer
Addressing the Conference via video
09:20 - 9:45 Creating a Technology Industry Ecosystem
- Eli Moreno, Developer, Entrepreneur, and Investor
- Matt Knox, CIO of Sound Physicians
- Terry Gifford, Manager over Operational Systems and Critical Infrastructure Protection for TPU
- Chris Kradjan, Partner, National IT Practice Leader, Moss Adams
9:50 – 10:40 Resources and Initiatives for Creating a Tech Industry Ecosystem
- Moderator: Andrew Fry Director/Lecturer at UW Tacoma, School of Engineering and Technology
- Lee Reeves, Thomas Kuljam, Kristine Grace, Samantha Allen
10:45 Namatad Update
- Dr. Matt Tolentino, CEO Namatad
- Student Senior Projects in AI and Machine Learning
11:55 Break
Congressman Denny Heck
- Video Greeting
12:00 Lunch Keynote - Women in the Technology Industry
- Nancee Winslow CTO Propel Insurance
12:25 Lunch Panel
- Moderator Alex Nutter
- Megan Cohill, Melanie Stanley, Monika Sobolewska, Nancee Winslow
1:15 Industry Spotlight and Student Projects
- Jerry Bui, Executive Director, Digital Forensics
2:00 Birds of a Feather and Conference Close
The 2018 South Sound Technology Conference was held on Friday, March 9, 2018.
Honorary co-chairs:
Congressman Denny Heck
Congressman Derek Kilmer
Congressman Adam Smith
2018 Topics
- Cybersecurity Panel
- Pacific NW Cybercollegiate Challenge
- Recruiting and Retaining Women in the Tech Industry
- Launching your Entrepreneurial Initiative in the South Puget Sound
- Student Research and Poster Sessions
Sponsor
Featured vendor tables
- UW Tacoma Institute of Technology
- SURGE Tacoma and Union Club Tacoma
|
8:15 – 8:45 a.m. |
Registration and Continental Breakfast |
| 8:45 - 9 a.m. |
Welcome and Thank you Dr. Raj Katti, Dean of the Institute of Technology Andrew Fry, Director of Industry Partners and Lecturer, Institute of Technology |
|
9 – 9:15 a.m. |
Congressman Derek Kilmer Addressing the Conference |
|
9:15 – 9:45 a.m. |
Protecting the Enterprise Roundtable
Matt Knox, CIO of Sound Physicians Terry Gifford, Manager over Operational Systems and Critical Infrastructure Protection for TPU Eric Eid, CTO Columbia Bank, Moderator |
|
9:50 – 10:45 a.m. |
Cyberdefense as a College Sport – The Pacific Rim Cybercollegiate Defense Competition
Daniel Massie, Security Manager for Continuant (former PRCDC participant) Mary Jane Kelly, Privacy Engineer, HP (former team captain, red team) Don McLane, Lab Support Engineer, UWT (organizer) Amelia Phillips, Faculty, CIS/CS, Highline College (Regional Director of PRCCDC) Peter Chu, Secretary of Grey Hat Group
Moderator: Bryan Goda, Professor, Founder of Masters of Cybersecurity and Leadership Program, UWT |
|
10:45 – 11 a.m. |
Break |
|
11 – 11:55 a.m. |
Makers Spaces, Robotics and the Internet of Things
Stephen Tibbits, CEO of FabLab, Clarissa San Diego, Founder and CEO of Makerologist Randy Steele, Olympia School District. K-12 STEM/Robotics experts in the Greater Puget Sound Andrew Sloss, Senior Principal Research Engineer. Arm Research
Dr. Matt Tolentino, University of Washington Tacoma Professor. Moderator |
| 11:55 a.m. - 12 p.m. |
Congressman Denny Heck video |
|
12 - 12:50 p.m. |
Lunch Keynote Panel Recruiting and Retaining Women in the Technology Industry
Sharon Wong, Former Director of Business Development, Cisco Systems Patty Thumann, Project Manager and Former Director of Systems Integration, MorphoTrak Beth Whitezel, Lead Developer at SouthSound911 Jami Goers, Branch Head - Computer Scientist, NUWC Division Keyport Michelle Su Shan Lee, Student at the Institute of Technology UWT |
|
12:50 – 1:30 p.m. |
Breakout Workshops Student projects and panel follow up. |
|
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. |
Launching your Entrepreneurial Initiative in the South Puget Sound
Thomas Kuljam, Director of VIBE (Veterans Incubator for Better Entrepreneurship) David Hirschberg, Founder & CEO, RAIN (The Readiness Acceleration & Innovation Network) Amy McBride, Arts Administrator at City of Tacoma, Spaceworks Incubator Steering Committee Co-Chair Stasha Moreno, Operations Manager, Union Club Tacoma Lee Reeves, Co-Founder of Startup253
Moderator: Andrew Fry, Director of Industry Partners/Lecturer, Institute of Technology/Entrepreneur |
|
2:30 p.m. |
Birds of a Feather and Conference Close |
The 2017 South Sound Technology Conference was held on Friday, March 3, 2017.
Honorary co-chairs:
Congressman Denny Heck
Congressman Derek Kilmer
Congressman Adam Smith
Topics:
Hiring and Recruitment of Tech Workers
Machine Learning and the Internet of Things
Cyber Resiliency
South Puget Sound Tech Company Sampler
Sponsors
Microsoft
Infoblox
Vendor tables
- City of Tacoma
- Infoblox
- Pierce County IT
- SURGE Tacoma
- UW Tacoma Institute of Technology
- FabLab
2017 South Sound Technology Conference Program
|
9:15 am |
Welcome – Mike Wark Cong Adam Smith (invited) Institute of Technology Interim Dean Dr. Raj Katti Chair: Andrew Fry/Co-Chair Dana Son |
Location: WPH |
|
9:30 am |
Morning Welcoming Address Congressman Derek Kilmer |
Location: WPH |
|
9:45 – 10:45 am |
Cyber Resiliency – Preparing for Before and After a Cyber Attack Panel:
Chair: Bryan Goda, Professor, Institute of Technology |
Location: WPH |
|
10:45 – 11:00 am |
Break |
|
|
11:00 – 12:00 pm |
Machine Learning and the Internet of Things Panel:
Chair: Dr. Matthew Tolentino, Assistant Professor, Institute of Technology |
Location: WPH |
|
12:15 – 12:45 pm
|
Lunch Keynote Address Introduction by Congressman Denny Heck Cricket Liu – Chief Infrastructure Architect for InfoBlox Chief DNS Architect and Senior Fellow |
Location: WPH |
|
1:15 – 2:15 pm |
South Puget Sound Technology Company Sampler: Getting to Know Tech in the South Sound Panel:
Chair: Andrew Fry, Assistant Director of Industry Partnerships and Lecturer |
Location: WPH |
|
2:15 – 3:15 pm |
Breakout Session |
|
|
|
Hiring and Retention in Tech Industries Panel:
Chair: Andrew Fry, Assistant Director of Industry Partnerships and Lecturer |
Location: WPH |
|
|
Student Works
|
Location: CP Atrium and CP 106 |
|
3:15 – 4 pm
|
Conference Close – Birds of a Feather Launch Hackathons and Conferences Discussion – Led by Andrew Fry |
Location: WPH |
The 2016 conference was held on Friday, March 4.
Honorary co-chairs:
Congressman Denny Heck
Congressman Derek Kilmer
Congressman Adam Smith
Topics:
- Drones, Drones, OMG Drones
- Women and the Technology Industry
- Building the South Sound Technology Hub
- Little Kids are Coding
- Student Research and Poster Sessions
Sponsor
Microsoft
Vendor tables at the conference
- City of Kent
- City of Tacoma
- FabLab Tacoma
- Highline College Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity and Forensics
- Pierce County IT
- Surge Tacoma
Speakers
- Chris Anderson
2Bridges Technologies - Paul Applewhite
President, Applewhite Aero - Marek Brejl PhD
Founder, Coding with Kids - Trisha Canzler
Mobility Coordinator, ADA Eligibility - Shane Clarke
City Government Solution Engineer - Heavenly Cole
Microsoft TEALS Program, Lincoln High School - George Comollo
Director of the Aviation Program, Green River College - Dominic Cristomo
Math, Science & Leadership Camp - Michaela Eaves
User Experience Designer - Andrew Fry
Assistant Director of Industry Partnerships and Lecturer, UW Tacoma - Linda Gerull
IT Director, Pierce County - Heather Glock
Government Account Manager, Esri - Kirsten Grace
Software Engineer, Microsoft IT - DC Grant
Lecturer, UW Tacoma - Ed Greutert
Regional Manager/Principal, Alta Vista Solutions - Tom Hagen
CEO, Enterprise Initiatives - Denny Heck
Congressman - Mike Henson
NoaNet - Tania Johnson
Software Engineer, Washington State Patrol - Derek Kilmer
Congressman - Kurtis Kingsolver
Kurtis D. Kingsolver, P.C. Public Works Director, City Engineer, City of Tacoma - Emily Linniman
Coding with Kids - Dr. Chris Lum
Research Scientist, University of Washington - Scott McQueen
GeoEngineers/Smartmine - Fred Morris
IID an Infoblox company - William Mounts
Northwest Innovation Collaborative - Adam Smith
Congressman - Cynthia Tee
Executive Director, Ada Academy - Sarah Wilkes
STEM College and Career Readiness Program Manager, TAF Academy - Sharon Wong
Director, Business Development, Cisco Systems - Morgan Zantau
CREATES Architect, UW Tacoma
