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‘You don’t have to be an engineer to do this:’ Local founders say ‘no code’ apps are changing the game
Let’s say it’s 1985, long before “no code” is a thing. You’re lacing up your Keds to hit the cineplex and watch “The Breakfast Club” again when, suddenly, a person from the year 2020 steps through your Michael Jordan poster wearing, for some reason, a surgical mask. They look tired. After terrifying you with grim…
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Big data isn’t dead, says AI expert
It takes a while to scroll all the way to the bottom of the Google Scholar page for Atif Farid. As senior research scientist of Ontrak, Inc. and AI professor at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, Farid has authored or co-authored over 50 research articles on topics ranging from cloud computing to service-oriented architecture…
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Heartland Developers Conference 2020 goes virtual
It’s fitting that an annual conference for software developers is using technology to continue this year’s event during a global pandemic. The 17th annual AIM Heartland Developers Conference will take place virtually on Sept. 24 via the industry-leading Hop.in conference platform. This year’s breakout tracks include AI, design, container orchestration, IT culture, frameworks, .NET, DevOps…
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Local programming instructor champions the life-changing power of coding
Vanessa Kasun is debugging some code, finalizing her presentation for the upcoming Heartland Developers Conference on Sept. 24. The topic? How to build a React app from the ground up. Kasun, an instructor at AIM Code School, will take HDC attendees from installation of the Node.js open-source cross-platform Javascript runtime environment to launching a simple…
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Creighton Bluejay baseball uses student team to bring data insights into focus
A team of student data analysts is helping Creighton baseball gain the most out of new tech equipment. An initiative out of Creighton University is assisting the Bluejay baseball team while also providing students with real-world sports analytics experience. The blending of both fields creates a winning atmosphere for players and students alike, says Creighton…
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Noni Williams: In push to fight unconscious bias with technology, do not fear failure, fear complacency
This thinkpiece by Noni Williams forms part three of SPN’s three-part series investigating unconscious bias in the hiring process (be sure to read part one and part two). Williams is a Data Analyst at Kiewit with a passion for automation and the use of data to solve complex problems. Here, she analyzes the advantages and…
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Side-eyeing bias in the hiring process
Last year, Silicon Prairie News took a look at racism in tech education and the tech hiring process in a two-part series, “It’s Time.” We’re taking another look at this important issue with a three-part series inspired by the summerlong national reckoning with racism in the U.S. Before landing the role of Happiness Engineer at…
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Advent, LLP invents the future of intellectual property law
From his father, Ryan Grace inherited more than a love of fishing. He caught the invention gene as well. In 2007, Grace, the founding partner of Omaha-based Advent, LLP—an intellectual property, innovation and technology law firm with clients around the globe—teamed up with his father, Ted Grace, to come up with an invention that would…
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Bay Area AI engineer turned VC joins retired Nebraska STEM educator to strengthen local tech, startup ecosystems
Joshua Armah, president of Wiase Research Institute and managing partner of Wiase Capital, got hit in the head with a baseball bat when he was 14 years old. A former Boy Scout turned teenage runaway on the streets of Atlantic City, New Jersey, he was trying to save his friend from a beatdown. Stepping up…
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Lincoln startup Pawlytics solving a doggone problem for animal shelters
Pawlytics founder Lizz Whitacre has four dogs, three cats, one ferret and two horses. The serial entrepreneur joked that the office of her Lincoln-based tech startup could double as a petting zoo. “Everything I’ve ever done has been related to trying to save animals, while trying to figure out how to make a bunch of…