Events
Past Event
Data Science Nights - FALL 2019 KICKOFF Meeting
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
6:30 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
FALL KICKOFF MEETING: Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at 6:30pm in Chambers Hall, Evanston
DATA SCIENCE NIGHTS are monthly hack nights on popular data science topics, organized by Northwestern University graduate students and scholars. Aspiring, beginning, and advanced data scientists are welcome!
LECTURE: "Open standards for machine learning model deployment" with IBM Developer Advocate Svetlana Levitan.
This year, for the fall kickoff of Data Science Nights we are excited to host a representative of IBM Cognitive Applications for Chicago, Svetlana Levitan. Svetlana is a Developer Advocate of IBM with many years of experience with IBM statistical Software SPSS, and Predictive Model Markup Language (PMML). She is the Chicagoland Technical Experts Community Chairperson, a Meetup organizer for Big Data Developers, Open Source Analytics, and Chicago Cloud Developers, and is also part of the Center for Open-Source Data and AI Technologies (CODAIT). This is an excellent opportunity to connect with IBM representatives!
TALK ABSTRACT:
Machine learning and data science are in popular demand. Predictive model deployment is the part of the machine learning process where the practical results are achieved, when the model is used for generating predictions on new data (known as scoring). The deployment used to present big difficulties, as models were typically built in one environment and needed to be deployed in a different one. Often they would need to be re-implemented in a new programming language, that would be very slow and error-prone.
Join us to learn about open standards that have made the process of model deployment easier. Predictive Model Markup Language (PMML) and Portable Format for Analytics (PFA) were developed by the Data Mining Group (DMG). PMML has been around for more than 20 years and is used widely. PFA is an emerging standard that is getting a lot of interest. Open Neural Network eXchange (ONNX) format was recently developed by Microsoft and Facebook as a way to exchange deep learning (DL) models between different DL frameworks, then it was open sourced. It is now very actively worked on by many companies and contributors. Attendees will get a good understanding of predictive model deployment challenges and approaches.
AGENDA:
6:15pm - Refreshments
6:30pm - Presentation by Svetlana Levitan, IBM Developer Advocate, IBM Cognitive Applications.
7pm - Discussion about topics and working groups for future hacking night sessions
For more info: data-science-nights.org
Supporting Groups:
This event is supported by the Northwestern Institute for Complex Systems and the Northwestern Data Science Initiative, in collaboration with ACiDS.
Time
Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Fall 2026 Classes Begin
University Academic Calendar
All Day
Details
Fall 2026 Classes Begin
Time
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Contact
Calendar
University Academic Calendar
NICO Reading Group - Fall 2026 First Meeting
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
6:00 PM
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Chambers Hall
Details
The NICO Reading Group meets for the first this fall on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Please contact Jaeseon Ha if you are interested in joining our group.
About:
The NICO Reading Group brings together people across disciplines to read and discuss important ideas in modern AI. We focus on topics such as AI agents, tuning, harnesses, evaluation, AI for scientific discovery, and applications of AI across different fields. The goal is to understand important ideas in AI more deeply by learning and thinking across disciplines.
Leadership:
Jaeseon Ha, a Kellogg MBA + AI student, will lead the reading group during the Fall 2026 term. Please contact Jaeseon with any questions or reach out to us at nico@northwestern.edu.
Meeting Times:
Date: Biweekly on Wednesday evening, starting on September 23, 2026
Time: 6-7pm
Location: NICO main office, Chambers Hall,
600 Foster St, Evanston, IL 60208
Time
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location
Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO Seminar Series returns on September 30, 2026
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
The Wednesdays@NICO seminar series returns September 30, 2026, running through November 11, 2026, with the following speakers.
9/30/2026 - Luis Amaral, Northwestern University
10/7/2026 - Kristina Lerman, Indiana University
10/14/2026 - Tim Tangherlini, University of California, Berkeley
10/21/2026 - Andreia Sofia Teixeira, Northeastern University London
10/28/2026 - Rafael Prieto-Curiel, Complexity Science Hub, Vienna
11/4/2026 - Hamsa Bastani, University of Pennsylvania
11/11/2026 - Mayank Agrawal, Proof of Human
We will share detailed speaker information, talk titles and abstracts, in the coming weeks.
Location:
In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option TBA
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems, networks, and artificial intelligence. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)