Hack a Teck 2018 ( Sept. - Dec.) Events

Time: 3:00PM - 4:30PM, 12/22/2018

Location:  6678 Owens Dr., Pleasanton

Hack-A-Tech Leader: Andy

Dr. Xidong Wu is currently a principal Machine Learning Engineer/Data Scientist at Workday. Previously Dr. Wu worked as a lead researcher at AT&T labs for 17 years. In both companies, his main focus is to use machine learning techniques to optimize on huge amount of networking and compute performance data for service/operations to minimize cost and maximize profitability. Dr. Wu owns more than 40 issued US patents on software, networking and machine learning.

Dr. Wu presented what is data science and what kind of work a data scientist does exactly. He also shared advices on how to pursue data scientist as a career, based on his personal experience. His delivery was full of valuable information, yet also very humorous. After the presentation, he led the students through a hands-on exercise to fully understand the concept.

Time: 3:00pm - 4:30pm, 11/17/2018

Location:  6678 Owens Dr., Pleasanton

Hack-A-Tech Leader: Bryant

Jerry is a recent UCLA Computer Science graduate who's currently working full-time as a software engineer at Robinhood. He has been teaching courses on programming and competitive mathematics for over 5 years. He interned at Facebook/Instagram in the past summer, and participated in numerous computer science organizations, competitions, and events throughout high school and college.

Jerry gave a comprehensive overview of the paths a student can take to eventually become an engineer. He discussed topics like learning resources, student organizations, competitive programming, hackathons, majoring in CS, internships, and what's really like working as a software engineer in Silicon Valley! Students then split into two groups, one practiced a USACO problem, the other used LightBot to program a robot. Please contact us if you would like to receive the slides shared at this session.

Time: 3:00pm - 4:30pm, 10/20/2018

Location:  7033 Village Parkway, #212, Dublin

Hack-A-Tech Leader: Anson

Dr. Sun has a PhD in Chemistry and a MS in Computer Science.  He is currently a Software Engineering Manager in a cloud company and has  20 years experience in the software industry. 

Dr. Sun introduced cloud computing and explained the aspects of cloud deployment.  He talked about a specific line of duties in the cloud industry – DevOps and about career choices for young students who might choose Software Engineer as the future career. After the talk, students were introduced to Gradle, one of the DevOps software used in real life by the cloud companies.

Time: 3:00PM - 4:30PM, 9/23/2018

Location:  6678 Owens Dr., Pleasanton

Hack-A-Tech Leader: Max

Ms. Wei has over 15 years experience in credit card portfolio management from HSBC, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup, with first hand experience using data mining in developing many business strategies, ranging from new accounts to promotions to collection and recovery.

Ms. Wei presented how big data is used to make lending decisions including how to target credit-worthy consumers, determine the loan amount, and balance credit risk and profit. Each students then practiced on a lending strategy using data provided, and presented the strategy.