HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.05.15_US_Chief_Data_Scientist_To_Visit_SB_v1CITY OF SOUTH BEND
PETE BUTTIGIEG, MAYOR
Office of the Mayor
CONTACT:
Kara Kelly, (574) 235 -5853
kkelly @southbendin.gov
FOR RELEASE: Friday, June 5, 2015
FIRST U.S. CHIEF DATA SCIENTIST TO VISIT SOUTH BEND SATURDAY
Dr. DJ Patil, Chief Data Scientist at the White House in the Office of Science and Technology,
will join Hack Michiana, a local tech - minded group, from 10 to 11 am Saturday, June 6, for a
public workshop at Wiekamp Hall, Indiana University South Bend to mark the National Day of
Civic Hacking.
Prior to joining the White House, Patil served as the Vice President of Product at RelateIQ. He
previously held positions at LinkedIn, Greylock Partners, Skype, PayPal, and eBay. Patil also
worked at the Department of Defense, where he directed new efforts to bridge computational and
social sciences in fields such as social network analysis to help anticipate emerging threats to the
United States.
"We're delighted that DJ has chosen to visit South Bend," says Santi Garces, head of South
Bend's Office of Innovation. "As an advocate for open -data policies, DJ has done much to drive
the concept forward by encouraging residents to solve problems using technology."
Workshop participants, also partnering with South Bend's Office of Innovation, will work from
9am to 9pm Saturday to address community issues with applications and software systems.
Hack Michiana will review South Bend's open data portal (data. southbendin.gov) and
brainstorm ideas to maximize the usefulness of the information for citizens. Residents of
all technical skill levels are invited to participate. The cost is $15 for snacks and lunch.
In 2013, while working with the City of South Bend, Code for America fellows partnered with
residents and techies to form Hack Michiana with the mission use technology to address local
issues and improve government efficiency and transparency. Code for America, known as the
technology world's version of the Peace Corps, connects web - industry professionals
with municipal governments to promote openness and efficiency.
MI.