BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
X-WR-CALNAME:pitttechcounciltechfest2026
X-WR-CALDESC:Event Calendar
METHOD:PUBLISH
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
PRODID:-//Sched.com Pittsburgh TechFest 2026//EN
X-WR-TIMEZONE:UTC
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T120000Z
DTEND:20261030T130000Z
SUMMARY:TechFest Parking LOT 2 (overflow LOT 1)
DESCRIPTION:Enter Robert Morris University at 6001 University Boulevard Moon Township\, PA 15108. Drive straight on&nbsp\;University Blvd. to the upper parking lot behind the UPMC Events Center.&nbsp\;Overflow flow in Parking Lot 1.\nSee map below-
CATEGORIES:
LOCATION:UPMC Events Center\, UPMC Gate\, Parking Lot 2\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:fc502a26f70c699b949ccb1531b4c0aa
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/fc502a26f70c699b949ccb1531b4c0aa
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T123000Z
DTEND:20261030T130000Z
SUMMARY:Registration @ UPMC Gate Lobby
DESCRIPTION:Enter into the UPMC Gate\, shown below\, through&nbsp\;Parking Lot 2\, located&nbsp\;6001 University Boulevard Moon Township\, PA 15108. Parking Lot 2 is located right on University Blvd. in the upper parking lot behind the UPMC Events Center.\nOverflow flow in Parking Lot 1.\n\n
CATEGORIES:
LOCATION:UPMC Gate Lobby\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:4d9df5b498993f061e18058fe794a20c
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/4d9df5b498993f061e18058fe794a20c
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T130000Z
DTEND:20261030T134500Z
SUMMARY:Welcome + Keynote Starring Ralph CreweRalph Crewe\, Co-Founder and Chief Communications Officer\, Perforated AI. Writer and Producer at Practical Engineering (alongside host Grady Hillhouse)\, Host of Nerd Nite\, Pittsburgh
DESCRIPTION:\n
CATEGORIES:KEYNOTE
LOCATION:Main Event Space: Peoples Court\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:468620d89d55910dcc24711a6992dd4b
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/468620d89d55910dcc24711a6992dd4b
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:Acquisition as a Career Path: What Happens When a Software Developer Buys a Trades Business
DESCRIPTION:Most developers who want off the ladder think about founding a startup. There's another door: buying one. After 13 years in software I bought a fabrication shop outside Pittsburgh. This talk covers how I built a buy box and screened deals\, why I chose the trades\, and the ownership lessons that generalize to any acquisition — hiring\, cash flow\, key-person risk\, and process. Plus what a developer background is actually worth as an owner\, and where it got in my way.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:West Concourse\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:818d5be816d32fd1eaa55e7a3e22750f
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/818d5be816d32fd1eaa55e7a3e22750f
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:AI and Small Businesses
DESCRIPTION:The core idea is to discuss how AI is impacted all of us. With small businesses making up the majority of employment in the United States\, we must not overlook their needs\, as technology grows and adapts so rapidly. Many small businesses are currently overwhelmed and ill equipped to tackle these present challenges. It is for that reason the AI in Action Hackathon was created. Now\, we can bring together not only the small businesses who need help\, but also the students best equipped to help them. Through this unique event\, the Pittsburgh region becomes more interconnected as well as better equipped to handle to ever changing world of AI.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:South Concourse\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:335184795df876261e4ca95c37c93f6d
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/335184795df876261e4ca95c37c93f6d
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:AI Talent is Hiding in Plain Sight. Is it You?
DESCRIPTION:Somewhere in every organization\, someone is using an AI tool that nobody signed off on. They're doing this because it works\, and because waiting for permission wasn't an option. We'll shine a light on the idea that many individuals are keeping some of the greatest value to their organizations and their career prospects hidden out of sight\, due to fear of being caught doing something they're "not supposed to be doing".\n\n\nThis is NOT a playbook for circumventing AI acceptable use policies\, but it IS a session that flips the usual "Shadow AI is a security risk" conversation on its head. We'll unpack what it actually looks like to move from quiet\, unsanctioned AI use to visible\, trusted leadership on AI adoption\, and why the people who make that move first are becoming indispensable to their organizations.\n\n\nExpect to learn from real-world experiences\, gathering insights from an IT services CEO who has personally worked alongside individuals in a wide variety of industries in our region to bring AI usage out of the shadows. Employees from both technical and non-technical backgrounds who became a force multiplier for their organizations\, and opened up a whole new frontier of career opportunities for themselves in the process.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:Conference Room 4\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:312e46fbfa41795c79885ee39bd33958
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/312e46fbfa41795c79885ee39bd33958
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:Leveraging Academic Partnership for Competitive Advantage in Current Technology Space
DESCRIPTION:In the highly active tech landscape of the Pittsburgh region\, where startups and established companies compete for success\, innovation reigns supreme. As the markets evolve with new ideas toppling former dominants\, the quest for smaller\, faster\, and better products intensifies. In this fast-paced environment\, few have the luxury of exploring available resources and solutions via Master of Software Engineering program at Carnegie Mellon University.This presentation will focus on the significance of establishing successful relationships with academia and harnessing such engagements for a competitive edge. Specifically\, we will delve into the partnerships between the Master of Software Engineering program and industry. Through this case study\, we will explore how companies can tap into academic expertise\, research\, and resources to thrive in the ever-evolving tech industry.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:Conference Room 5\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:c4ba429452be68c81c4324e01b94a16c
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/c4ba429452be68c81c4324e01b94a16c
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:Tim Rules for Surviving Tech: They're not what you think they are.
DESCRIPTION:Over my long career\, I've made it a point to collect short phrases that I call: Tim's Rules. &nbsp\; These rules are designed to convey an idea with enough "room" for individuals to assimilate the message into their own operational framework. &nbsp\;The genesis of this idea struck me as I was listening to Kenny Rogers sing "The Gambler." &nbsp\;The lyric\, "you have to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em" became the first rule which sought to convey the idea that no two situations are the same and solutions need to be flexible and adaptive. &nbsp\;Many rules followed. &nbsp\;\n\n\nThis session will use these rules as a starting point to discuss strategies for a successful career in Tech (and more imporantly\, life).&nbsp\;
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:Former Spirit Store\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:c0caade2c2b0198da55bb60f81f6f392
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/c0caade2c2b0198da55bb60f81f6f392
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:AI-First Engineering in Practice: Moving Beyond Code Generation to Systemic Product Delivery
DESCRIPTION:Most engineering teams approach AI opportunistically\, treating it merely as a faster way to write code.&nbsp\;However\, software development represents only 20% of the software value stream\, and localized optimization frequently introduces systemic chaos downstream during testing\, review\, and deployment.\n1\n\nThis hands-on session builds directly upon real-world production methodology to demonstrate how semi-autonomous\, role-based AI agents can be structured across the entire lifecycle—from product definition and architectural design decisions (ADRs) to automated builds and containerized cloud operations.&nbsp\;Using a concrete energy grid intelligence case study (GridPulse)\, we will dismantle the typical "vibe-coding" approach and replace it with an engineering discipline focused on structured context architecture\, explicit API contracts\, and spec-driven development
CATEGORIES:LIVE DEMO AND DISCUSSION
LOCATION:Hall of Colonials\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:b40c05afec86d1e6a45a9b530de3c7c2
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/b40c05afec86d1e6a45a9b530de3c7c2
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:The Next Song Starts in 14 Seconds: Embracing Chaos in Live Software
DESCRIPTION:I run Lead Singer Wanted\, a Pittsburgh-based live band karaoke act: the audience picks the songs\, gets on stage\, and sings lead while a real band plays behind them. I also wrote the software that runs the show\, including QR-code signups\, the singer queue\, synchronized lyrics\, the sheet music on the musicians' iPads\, and the video wall. Oh yeah\, and a Guitar Hero controller drives the whole thing!\n\n\nThe problem: five screens\, four musicians\, and a crowd all have to agree on what is happening right now. Every part of that can fail mid-song\, and there is no maintenance window. When something breaks\, the next song is only seconds away.\n\n\nThe solution turned out to be old-fashioned engineering\, not fancy tools: one small event driving every device\, a deliberately dumb server\, recovery plans written before the failure happens\, and a human kept firmly in charge of anything involving taste\, because a perfectly "fair" queue can still put five slow songs in a row and empty the dance floor.\n\n\nThe impact: a side project that became a production system\, 150+ shows over seven years\, and engineering habits I now use wherever software meets real people.\n\n\nThis is a live demo\, not just a slide deck. You'll scan the QR code from your seat\, sign up like a real audience member\, and we'll build a working queue in the room. And then I'll show you what happens when it breaks! You'll leave with engineering habits you can use immediately. And probably a song stuck in your head.\n\n\nYou don't need permission\, a big team\, or a maintenance window to build real production software. Pick something you love and let real users break it. The show must go on!
CATEGORIES:LIVE DEMO AND DISCUSSION
LOCATION:Conference Room 1\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:9c435fc12918ef0180769bc205c929c4
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/9c435fc12918ef0180769bc205c929c4
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:Community Is the Moat Now
DESCRIPTION:In the age of AI\, your product is a commodity. Your community isn't.\nWhen anyone can ship a working product by talking to an AI\, product stops being a defensible advantage. Features get cloned in a weekend. What can't be cloned is a room full of people who trust you\, use the thing\, and tell each other about it. Distribution was always the hard part. AI just made it the only hard part.&nbsp\;\n\nThis session talks about how to use community as both the go-to-market and the moat\, and shows how startups actually build one: choosing the room before the roadmap\, measuring social and business impact\, and treating every community event as part of the business plan.
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:Conference Room 3\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:95ba0897f9bb0d942c496dec75eab2e1
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/95ba0897f9bb0d942c496dec75eab2e1
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:Cybersecurity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
DESCRIPTION:Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming the most productive\, and potentially overprivileged\, member of your workforce. Employees are feeding sensitive information into AI tools\, organizations are connecting coworkers to corporate data\, and autonomous agents are gaining the ability to read\, write\, execute\, and make decisions. Meanwhile\, attackers are using the same technology to accelerate phishing\, vulnerability discovery\, impersonation\, and social engineering.\n\n\nThe numbers suggest this is no longer theoretical. Employee use of unapproved “shadow AI” had tripled to 45%\, while vulnerability exploitation became the leading breach entry point at 31%. At the same time\, OWASP now identifies prompt injection\, sensitive-information disclosure\, supply-chain risk\, and excessive agency among the major security risks facing generative AI systems.\n\n\nIn this energetic\, practical session\, we will separate AI hype from AI risk and fearmongering and discuss how to embrace AI without accidentally giving it the keys to the kingdom.
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:Conference Room 2\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:11ff48138c35c3d75eff0db6a90d29a6
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/11ff48138c35c3d75eff0db6a90d29a6
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:Reliable DevOps with Nix and NixOS
DESCRIPTION:Imagine a development environment built on a package repository more than twice the size of Ubuntu's or Fedora's. &nbsp\;One that can be brought up on a new machine simply by cd'ing into your worktree. &nbsp\;Using a single tool with built-in support for the package ecosystems of dozens of programming languages.\n\nImagine a CI/CD pipeline that uses this same tool to provide caching of build artifacts for everyone on your team. &nbsp\;An OS that provides atomic updates and trivial rollbacks. &nbsp\;And cloud deployments that precisely replicate EC2 images & docker containers.\n\nCome to this talk to learn how Nix provides all of these capabilities\,&nbsp\;and how it can be adopted incrementally into your projects.\n\n\n\n
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:People's Gate\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:f04c21e7dec246d535e7c6ced5069709
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/f04c21e7dec246d535e7c6ced5069709
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T140000Z
DTEND:20261030T144500Z
SUMMARY:Stop Just Writing Code: How AI Makes You a Better Product Engineer
DESCRIPTION:Software engineering can no longer mean operating in "ticket-taker" mode—passively implementing specs in isolation. As the traditional Venn diagram of code\, product\, and design increasingly converges\, engineers who can comfortably navigate that overlap become exponentially more impactful teammates.\nAI isn’t just an autocomplete tool\; it is the ultimate lever to help you take on those broader responsibilities without burning out.\nThis session cuts through the high-level hype to look at how AI actually changes a developer's daily workflow. We will cover how to use AI as a strategic sounding board—whether you are debugging complex systems\, building new full-stack features\, or navigating architectural trade-offs. You will learn how to automate the repetitive parts of development while maintaining strict code quality\, freeing you up to focus on the overall product vision and user impact.
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:Harshman Rotunda\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:415d2fe3f60d29767ba2536a92dbf1fc
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/415d2fe3f60d29767ba2536a92dbf1fc
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:Security Risks of NFC
DESCRIPTION:Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology is everywhere: your credit card\, hotel room keys\, smart phones\, and your office badge\, but not all NFC is created equal. Some NFC protocols have security vulnerabilities that have been known about for years and are trivial to exploit. The worst part? They are still widely used. This talk will explore two protocols with known vulnerabilities\, demonstrate how easily these exploits can be performed\, and provide suggestions for how you can protect yourself.
CATEGORIES:DEMO + CHALLENGE + TECH WORKSHOP
LOCATION:Harshman Rotunda\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:4b5900192a8c1d11aff671a60d3f9b00
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/4b5900192a8c1d11aff671a60d3f9b00
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:Code Tourists vs Owners
DESCRIPTION:I have long held a firm belief in the power of long-term code ownership and deep knowledge. &nbsp\;A recent nearly-catastrophic security bug initially underlined my belief in ownership and the risk of code tourists. &nbsp\;But a bit of reflection forced me to consider whether universal tourism might be the wave of the future. &nbsp\;If so\, what will that mean for how we build? Growing up in a tourist town\, and subsequently traveling the world for work and pleasure\, I've seen tourism from both sides. I'm going to squeeze this analogy until it begs for mercy.&nbsp\;
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:Former Spirit Store\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:3d09d8050a7ab1f3808208b8f1d25af4
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/3d09d8050a7ab1f3808208b8f1d25af4
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:Future-Proofing Isn't About Technology. It's About People.
DESCRIPTION:Every few months we're told another breakthrough will transform the workplace. New models arrive. We develop new "best practices." Today's "must-have" tool may already have a newer competitor before implementation is complete. So how do we get off the hamster wheel and build organizations with staying power?\nThe organizations that thrive won't be the ones chasing every new platform. They'll be the ones that understand what makes them uniquely competitive\, know what their people do best\, and build a workforce capable of adapting to whatever comes next.\nDrawing on real-world experience leading AI adoption and workplace transformation initiatives\, this session explores why successful technology implementation is fundamentally a people strategy. Instead of focusing on the next tool\, we'll explore the questions leaders should be asking:\nWhy do smart employees resist technology they know is useful?Why do promising AI initiatives stall?What actually builds trust during times of change?How do you prepare your workforce for technology that doesn't exist yet?Participants will leave with practical strategies and a people-first roadmap for building adaptable organizations through trust\, employee engagement\, thoughtful governance\, and continuous learning. Because future-proofing isn't about keeping up with technology. It's about building organizations that know how to adapt when technology changes.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:West Concourse\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:e8f39dcc44da16f04397f2ebe36c3d30
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/e8f39dcc44da16f04397f2ebe36c3d30
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:Let Me Show You How The World Ends: Using Domain Storytelling to Survive Infrastructure Doomsday
DESCRIPTION:If your infrastructure disappeared tomorrow\, would you understand how to rebuild it? Not just what needed to be restored or what configuration might need to be reapplied\, but what depends on what\, which teams need to be engaged\, and that one command\, run by that one person\, that one time\, that somehow became the thing standing between you and recovery.The truth is\, creating infrastructure is often the easy part—especially today\, when an answer is only a prompt away. The hard part is understanding the story behind it: why things exist\, when they need to happen\, and how the pieces depend on one another. That story is unique to every environment\, and too often only exists in the memories of the people who built it.By utilizing Domain Storytelling\, we can preemptively survive our infrastructure doomsday scenario. Through a collaborative visual exercise\, we can identify actors\, systems\, decisions\, and dependencies so that the entire organization can understand how an environment would need to be rebuilt. We’ll also explore how these stories can reveal a team’s gaps in understanding\, uncover issues with circular dependencies\, and use these conversations to drive changes in the in the architecture and operational practices themselves. Most importantly\, these stories become living artifacts that evolve alongside our infrastructure\, ensuring that our understanding grows as our environments change. Because when doomsday arrives\, the difference between recovery and rebuilding from scratch is not whether you have a backup. It’s whether your organization knows the story that got you there.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:Conference Room 5\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:c113775ee03d63b8782557deb9d4d7e5
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/c113775ee03d63b8782557deb9d4d7e5
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:Rising Agent Orchestration Patterns for AI Coding
DESCRIPTION:Most of us who write software are spending our time trying to understand how to best leverage the power of AI Coding models to improve our efficiency. In this talk I'll discuss why you should care about agent orchestration\, and some successful patterns that we've seen being used.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:South Concourse\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:4371a6a0957f13aa3e832d498969ae15
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/4371a6a0957f13aa3e832d498969ae15
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:Strategist\, Systems Builder\, Customer Whisperer: The Product Leader in the AI Era
DESCRIPTION:The product leader's job doesn't get harder because of scale\; it gets harder because the job changes. And now AI has quietly rewritten the job description and forgotten to tell anyone.\nWhen anyone can generate a 20-page strategy doc in five minutes\, knowledge stops being the moat — beautiful\, fluffy documents nobody reads\, and a creeping anxiety that "anybody can do this job now." The tool commoditized knowing. It didn't commoditize judgment.\nIn this talk\, I'll make the case that the modern product leader is three people at once: a strategist who knows where to point the tool\, a systems builder who designs how the system decides and moves\, and a customer whisperer who spends the time AI gives back getting closer to the people the dashboards can't see. Drawing on how we've upleveled our operating muscle at k-ID — where all our management and operational tools are wired together\, 40% of the team has built their own agents\, and our CEO shipped an end-to-end customer product in 20 minutes with one click — I'll show what each of those three roles looks like when speed is abundant and judgment is the scarce resource.\nSpeed is the vehicle. Judgment is the driver.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:Conference Room 4\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:468487923a6c897617802ba68098f8d4
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/468487923a6c897617802ba68098f8d4
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:Agentic SDLC in Action using Project Squad and the GitHub Copilot CLI
DESCRIPTION:Assembling a team of AI agents shouldn't mean hand-crafting each one from scratch or stitching together agents and skills from popular repos. With Project Squad and the GitHub Copilot CLI\, you simply describe your project\, requirements and tech stack and Squad casts the right team for the job.\n\n\nIn this live\, hands-on session\, you'll watch agentic SDLC in action as Squad casts and orchestrates a team of specialized agents: breaking down your requirements\, routing each one to the right "team member" based on skillset\, and driving the work forward from start to finish\, through pull requests\, tests\, and CI. We'll go from idea to a running app\, narrating the decisions\, the hand-offs between agents\, and the quality gates along the way\, compressing what would normally take a disciplined team days or weeks into a single session.\n\n\nYou'll leave with a clear mental model of how agent orchestration across the SDLC actually works\, where it shines\, where a human stays in the loop\, and how to start experimenting with this workflow in your own repos right away.
CATEGORIES:LIVE DEMO AND DISCUSSION
LOCATION:People's Gate\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:1bfc3a630c1fce4b7e1fa9af2597789b
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/1bfc3a630c1fce4b7e1fa9af2597789b
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:AI on the Front: How Autonomous Vehicles Will Shape the Conflicts of Tomorrow
DESCRIPTION:As unmanned ground\, air\, and maritime vehicles make their way onto the battlefield\, how can these vehicles be used to support logistics\, evacuate wounded soldiers\, and identify and act upon threats? What technologies enable autonomous vehicles to navigate GPS-denied areas and complete missions in communications-degraded environments? What is the role of the warfighter and the war planner in this new age of autonomy? The next major conflict will be decided in no small part by how state and non-state actors answer these questions.\nThis presentation will provide an overview of the current state of autonomous vehicles actively used in the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East\, the technology that underpins their success\, and the challenges presented by their adaptation.\n
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:Hall of Colonials\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:394ec0fd72e7046dd278300f46168f7a
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/394ec0fd72e7046dd278300f46168f7a
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:Human-AI Collaboration for a More Resilient Power Grid
DESCRIPTION:As extreme weather\, wildfire risks\, aging infrastructure\, and growing electricity demand place new pressure on the power grid\, utilities and communities need better tools for resilient decision-making. In this talk\, I will discuss how human-AI collaboration can support grid infrastructure planning and operations by combining data-driven prediction\, uncertainty quantification\, and optimization with human expertise. Drawing on recent research in outage analytics\, distributed energy adoption\, wildfire risk\, and grid resilience\, I will show how AI can help decision-makers anticipate infrastructure vulnerabilities\, evaluate tradeoffs\, and respond more effectively under uncertainty. The talk will emphasize a practical question: how do we design AI systems that do not replace human judgment\, but instead make expert decisions more reliable\, transparent\, and scalable?
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:Conference Room 1\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:5b28443452f16e2b415ba1093fae400b
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/5b28443452f16e2b415ba1093fae400b
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:Human-Centered Design in the Age of AV: Designing Technology That Feels Human
DESCRIPTION:As AV systems become more advanced\, the human experience can easily get lost in the technology. This session introduces DONATE—Discover\, Observe\, Navigate\, Align\, Test\, and Elevate—a practical human-centered design framework created specifically for AV experiences\, including interactive touchscreens\, software\, and integrated environments.\n\n\nThrough real-world examples\, attendees will learn how to uncover the right problem before designing a solution\, observe actual user behavior\, balance technical and human needs\, align diverse stakeholders\, test ideas before investing in a large-scale rollout\, and continuously improve after launch. The session will also explore accessibility beyond basic compliance\, methods for managing competing priorities\, and ways to create a single source of truth throughout complex projects.\n\n\nAttendees will leave with an adaptable process that helps reduce risk\, improve usability\, strengthen stakeholder alignment\, and create AV experiences that feel more intuitive\, inclusive\, and valuable to the people using them.
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:Conference Room 3\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:c78ffe908b7e7e29124feee2ddbeda2c
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/c78ffe908b7e7e29124feee2ddbeda2c
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T150000Z
DTEND:20261030T154500Z
SUMMARY:Rebuilding the Foundation: Change Management for Digital Transformation with AI-Powered Analytics
DESCRIPTION:Legacy systems don't just slow analytics—they limit what an organization can ask of its data. This session examines an end-to-end digital transformation journey at a century-old industrial distributor\, involving the retirement of aging\, siloed technologies and the transition to a modern data platform designed for scale.\nBut the harder challenge was not the technology—it was the people. Every migration meant replacing tools and processes that teams had relied on for years. Success depended as much on change management as on architecture: identifying and sequencing the rollout\, managing resistance\, communicating a vision people could embrace\, and building trust before the new platform had proven itself.\nWith the foundation in place\, the transformation opens a new opportunity: combining AI with analytics to move beyond static dashboards toward more adaptive\, predictive\, and actionable insights.\nAttendees will hear what can break during a transformation of this scale—both technically and organizationally—and leave with a practical framework for leading change through a major technology shift: not simply managing the project plan but managing the people who must adopt and sustain the change.
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:Conference Room 2\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:4155f4761951f44a8e247d554ee8d652
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/4155f4761951f44a8e247d554ee8d652
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T160000Z
DTEND:20261030T164500Z
SUMMARY:Lunch- Find Your Flock
DESCRIPTION:Find the room and tables that best fit your role! \n\n1. Software Developers & Engineers\nFor: Software Developers\, Software Engineers\, Full-Stack Developers\, Application Developers\, DevOps Engineers\nGrab your lunch and sit with the people who speak your language-code\, systems\, releases\, bugs\, and everything in between. Compare tech stacks\, career paths\, AI tools\, and the challenges of building technology in today’s rapidly changing environment.\n\n2. Cloud\, Infrastructure & IT\nFor: IT Professionals\, Systems Administrators\, Cloud Engineers\, Network Engineers\, Infrastructure Engineers\nA lunch for the people keeping technology running behind the scenes. Connect with peers working in IT\, infrastructure\, cloud\, networking\, and systems to swap ideas\, compare challenges\, and talk about where the field is headed.\n\n3. AI\, Data & Analytics\nFor: AI/ML Professionals\, Data Scientists\, Data Analysts\, BI Professionals\, Automation Specialists\nBring your curiosity-and your biggest AI and data questions. Connect with others working with AI\, machine learning\, analytics\, and automation to share what you’re experimenting with\, what’s working\, and what you think is coming next.\n\n4. Cybersecurity\nFor: Cybersecurity Analysts\, Security Engineers\, SOC Professionals\, Risk & Compliance\, Information Security\nCyber professionals face some of the most rapidly evolving challenges in technology. Sit down with fellow security-minded professionals to compare experiences\, discuss emerging threats and technologies\, and build connections with others working to protect their organizations.\n\n5. UX\, Product & Design\nFor: UX/UI Designers\, Product Managers\, Product Designers\, User Researchers\, Digital Experience Professionals\nWhere technology meets the human experience. Connect with professionals focused on designing products and experiences people want to use. Share ideas about research\, design\, product strategy\, AI\, and the evolving role of the customer in technology.\n\n6. Tech Leaders & Emerging Leaders\nFor: Team Leads\, Project Managers\, Engineering Managers\, Technical Leaders\, and professionals aspiring to leadership\nLeadership in technology looks different than it did five years ago. Join fellow current and emerging tech leaders for an informal conversation about managing teams\, influencing without authority\, developing talent\, navigating AI\, and building the leadership skills needed for what’s next.\n\n7. The Tech Wild Card Table\nFor: Technologists who don't fit neatly into one category—or aren't sure where they belong yet.\nA place for people working across multiple technology disciplines\, exploring a new area of tech\, or simply looking to meet a variety of peers. Come with your lunch\, your questions\, and your curiosity.
CATEGORIES:NETWORKING
LOCATION:Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:e94ae82c688af82bad7e51b2accf9407
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/e94ae82c688af82bad7e51b2accf9407
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:From Developer Support to Product Marketing: Finding the Role Between Technology and Storytelling
DESCRIPTION:Careers in technology do not always follow a straight path. In this session\, Mackenzie Albitz shares how a computer science background and early career in technical engineering led to an unexpected move into product marketing. Her journey highlights how technical skills can remain valuable even when your job title\, responsibilities\, or career direction change.\n\n\nAlong the way\, Mackenzie will share lessons that helped shape her career\, including the importance of listening carefully\, asking the same question from different perspectives\, and staying resourceful when solving unfamiliar problems. She will also discuss how her engineering background now supports her work in technical storytelling\, helping communicate complex technologies to developer-focused audiences.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:West Concourse\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:67989611bf254939afce5200c65d1146
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/67989611bf254939afce5200c65d1146
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:Replacing Third-Party Search with AI Agents: A Marketplace Case Study
DESCRIPTION:Every growing company buys its way out of hard problems. You're small\, the roadmap is long\, and a small SaaS contract buys you a year of engineering time. That's the right call\, until it isn't.\n\nThis talk is a field report on one of those inflection points.&nbsp\;Courtyard&nbsp\;is a marketplace for physical collectibles\, and for years our search was powered by a third-party vendor. It worked\, until it became a liability. Costs rose\, latency kept increasing\, support was hard to come by. With AI agents becoming more capable\, we were tempted to build a replacement. In this session\, we'll cover the decision\, what implementation looked like\, how maintenance has proven to be after the fact\, and what it's taught us about using AI in software development moving forward.\n\n
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:Harshman Rotunda\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:4a6c7b92ac4ddd30e8372e898d6ccd3d
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/4a6c7b92ac4ddd30e8372e898d6ccd3d
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:The Leadership Skills Technology Cannot Replace
DESCRIPTION:As technology and artificial intelligence reshape the workplace\, leaders must become more intentional about the human capabilities technology cannot replace. This presentation explores how discernment\, empathy\, trust\, adaptability\, and sound judgment influence the way people respond to change and work together. Participants will consider which leadership skills matter most in a technology-driven environment and identify one practical step they can take to strengthen their own leadership effectiveness.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:South Concourse\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:255f0cd53233157d7576d3acedfa0079
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/255f0cd53233157d7576d3acedfa0079
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:The Repricing: What AI Does to the Economics of a Business — and the Careers Built Inside It
DESCRIPTION:Analysis\, drafting\, modeling\, coordination — the work businesses are built out of — just got radically cheaper. That single change reprices two things at once\, and most organizations are only doing the math on one of them. On the business side\, the operating model assumed capacity costs headcount. That assumption is now wrong\, and cost structure\, org design\, and margin all move with it. On the career side\, the entry-level rung was never really about the work product. It was an apprenticeship subsidy: firms paid juniors above their immediate value because grinding through that work was how judgment got built. Companies are now cutting that rung to capture the savings\, without noticing they are cutting their own leadership pipeline. This session works both sides of the same equation. It covers what actually got cheap and what did not\, why AI savings show up as margin in year one and a broken bench in year five\, and what stays scarce when generation is free: judgment\, accountability\, and orchestration. Attendees leave with one test they can apply from either side of the table — is this organization operationalizing AI\, or demoing it?
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:Conference Room 5\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:8415c2a94e094b4e3f78400ac54eb4cf
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/8415c2a94e094b4e3f78400ac54eb4cf
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:Venom in the Pipeline: Why Bad External Data Is Poisoning Your AI
DESCRIPTION:It only takes ½ of a “drop” of venom from an Inland Taipan snake to kill a five-ton elephant. It doesn't take a flood of venom to be lethal. It takes one bite\, from one source\, at the wrong moment.\n\n\nExternal data works the same way. A single bad source flowing into an AI system can trigger the same kind of damage: hallucinations\, bias\, and decisions built on a foundation no one should trust. And unlike a snakebite\, you often don't see it coming until the outcome is already wrong.\n\n\nExternal data is nearly a trillion-dollar global market\, yet the industry still has no reliable antivenom - no consistent standard for verifying where data comes from\, whether it can be trusted\, or whether it's fit for the system consuming it.\n\n\nAndy Hannah\, CEO of Blue Street Data\, has spent his career building the infrastructure to change that. In this talk\, he'll unpack the antidote most AI strategies are missing\, and what it takes to keep the poison out before it ever reaches your models.\nThe payoff isn't just safer AI. It's the trust and harmony between people and machines that only comes when you know exactly what's flowing through the system.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:Conference Room 4\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:8e71d7e9e6d122b08f521e6e38609239
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/8e71d7e9e6d122b08f521e6e38609239
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:AI Agents and the Return of the Spreadsheet
DESCRIPTION:For years\, enterprise software tried to replace spreadsheets with dashboards\, BI platforms\, and purpose-built applications. But spreadsheets never really went away. They remained the place where people modeled scenarios\, explored data\, built forecasts\, and made decisions.\n\n\nAI agents are changing that relationship. Instead of replacing the spreadsheet\, AI can now automate the tedious work that made spreadsheets difficult to build and maintain: writing formulas\, creating PivotTables\, cleaning data\, explaining calculations\, and assembling complex workbooks.\n\n\nIn this session\, we’ll look at why spreadsheets are becoming an increasingly natural interface for AI-powered enterprise applications\, how AI changes the role of traditional BI\, and what this shift means for developers building the next generation of data-driven software.
CATEGORIES:LIVE DEMO AND DISCUSSION
LOCATION:Former Spirit Store\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:6f96accd538db88eef5c9ee30b02522f
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/6f96accd538db88eef5c9ee30b02522f
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:Beneath the Surface of the Docker Ocean
DESCRIPTION:Like other metaphorical objects that float on the water\, Docker has a lot hidden below its surface. &nbsp\;Many of us use Docker or other containerization platforms to run our applications. &nbsp\;But what are containers and images\, and how do these two concepts come together in Docker?\n\nIn this talk we'll build a simple image and start a running container from it. &nbsp\;Then\, like the curious engineers we are\, we'll start poking and prodding this container and its image to learn what's actually going on under the hood.\n\nWe'll see how Linux namespaces and cgroups are used to lie to the running container process about its networking and filesystem environment and its available resources. &nbsp\;We'll see how the overlay filesystem is used to stack the layers of the image up into what the container sees as a unified file system. &nbsp\;And we'll see how the image is stored as a simple collection of tarballs and json files.\n\nFinally\, we'll look at other ways to build images\, and see what's different about the resulting images and containers.
CATEGORIES:LIVE DEMO AND DISCUSSION
LOCATION:People's Gate\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:e65a41ffd197598b93f7db173f36f117
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/e65a41ffd197598b93f7db173f36f117
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:Beyond Connectivity: Building an Industry 4.0 Platform Ready for Industrial AI
DESCRIPTION:Connecting machines to the cloud is only the first step toward intelligent manufacturing. This presentation shares the technical journey of redesigning Conair's SmartServices platform to support large-scale industrial monitoring\, remote machine control\, and future AI-driven insights.\nWe'll cover the end-to-end architecture—from industrial protocols and Azure IoT Edge through cloud services and real-time dashboards—and discuss the tradeoffs between edge and cloud processing\, telemetry retention\, and operating costs. Along the way\, we'll examine how a unified equipment model enables diverse machine types to be monitored through a common interface.\nThe session concludes by exploring how the platform enables predictive maintenance\, anomaly detection\, and optimization using AI\, along with the practical challenges of training and deploying machine learning models in industrial environments.
CATEGORIES:LIVE DEMO AND DISCUSSION
LOCATION:Hall of Colonials\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:9c3c94ab981a283bc1299f17521e7f6c
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/9c3c94ab981a283bc1299f17521e7f6c
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:How to Be an AI Champion: Turning the person who got handed AI into the person who gets the credit.
DESCRIPTION:Someone at your company got handed AI and told to "go figure it out." More and more\, that someone is a technologist — and the instinct is to prove it by mastering the tools. That's the fast climb up "Mount Stupid\," where quiet dabbling turns into shadow AI\, exposed data\, and surprise costs nobody budgeted for.\nThis talk reframes the job. The strongest AI champions aren't the most technical people in the room\; they're the ones who apply judgment to real business problems. We'll break down what the role actually demands: justifying the investment to leadership\, disarming pushback from other teams\, finding where the value truly is\, and catching the quiet killers — data\, process\, and legal readiness — before they sink an initiative.\nYou'll leave able to drive AI adoption that delivers instead of detonates\, and to become the person who gets the credit for bringing it in right.
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:Conference Room 1\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:194a19d5d054e2acd2d36724798098af
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/194a19d5d054e2acd2d36724798098af
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:Small But Mighty: How a Pittsburgh Company Is Using Technology To Fight Sex Trafficking Internationally
DESCRIPTION:Sex trafficking is a complex international problem. One of the biggest challenges for public safety is this type of crime goes underreported. To protect and serve victims\, law enforcement must be proactive in identifying exploitation. This is where technology can make a difference. At Marinus Analytics\, we build software to help investigators sift through a massive amount of data and turn it into actionable insights\, helping them to uncover victims\, missing persons\, and organized crime rings.\n\n\nIn this talk\, I’ll share how Marinus Analytics is using technology to help public safety and other organizations combat sex trafficking across the United States and around the world. I’ll discuss the challenges of building technology to address a problem that is constantly evolving and difficult to define\, and how a small team of technologists uses lean innovation to make a meaningful impact on a global scale.
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:Conference Room 2\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:d7a3acb36e40f307482a49a46aaab9d7
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/d7a3acb36e40f307482a49a46aaab9d7
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T170000Z
DTEND:20261030T174500Z
SUMMARY:The Bittersweet Lesson: Deliberate Implicit Structure and Tabular Data
DESCRIPTION:LLMs appear to vindicate the "bitter lesson": AI researchers succeed less by incorporating domain knowledge and more by scaling data and compute. Taken as prescription\, “all you need is scale”. Indeed\, practitioners in many domains have moved from traditional ML methods with domain-driven feature engineering to foundation models and other deep learning approaches.\nHowever\, theoretical and empirical facts complicate this picture. Data alone\, however massive\, cannot identify the function we want to learn: identical training pipelines can agree on held-out test data yet diverge sharply outside that distribution.\nDespite this\, today's deep learning systems generalize impressively well. If training data alone can't determine which of many possible internal models is "correct\," where does this success come from? One answer: we never stopped imposing structure\; we only made it implicit\, built into architecture and learning algorithms rather than features. Tabular data shows what happens without it. No architecture has yet captured its implicit structure the way convolutions capture images or attention captures sequences\, so industry still relies on traditional methods and feature engineering other domains moved past. The opportunity is to make that structural choice deliberate\, and nowhere is it more available than in tabular data.
CATEGORIES:PRESENT PROBLEM – SOLUTION – IMPACT
LOCATION:Conference Room 3\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:f01b232fcf3284d24154827634bb9ff8
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/f01b232fcf3284d24154827634bb9ff8
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T180000Z
DTEND:20261030T190000Z
SUMMARY:Live Test Session: ML Engineers: Put Perforated to the Test
DESCRIPTION:Machine Learning Engineers: Put Perforated to the Test\n\nPerforated is challenging a fundamental assumption in machine learning: that improving model performance means collecting more data or building bigger models. Its technology adds new learning signals during training to help models learn more efficiently\, potentially achieving stronger performance with less training data and fewer parameters. It integrates directly into existing PyTorch workflows without requiring a complete model rebuild. \n\nAt TechFest 2026\, we're putting that claim to the test.\n\nWe're inviting machine learning engineers\, AI engineers\, data scientists\, and developers working with neural networks to participate in a live technology test. See the technology in action\, examine the results\, ask the hard technical questions\, and bring your own perspective on whether the approach delivers.\n\nNO PITCH-It's a chance to test the technology.\n\nCome ready to challenge assumptions\, scrutinize the results\, and see what happens when Perforated's approach is put in front of people who actually build and optimize ML models.\n\nIf you work with PyTorch\, model optimization\, computer vision\, neural networks\, pruning\, quantization\, or data-efficient ML\, we want you in the room.
CATEGORIES:DEMO + CHALLENGE + TECH WORKSHOP
LOCATION:Conference Room 5\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:ccf25e8378bcbd862989dc9a38773a64
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/ccf25e8378bcbd862989dc9a38773a64
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T180000Z
DTEND:20261030T190000Z
SUMMARY:Unconference-Led by Colin Dean\, Code & Supply
DESCRIPTION:Unconference at TechFest 2026! \nLed by Colin Dean\, Code & Supply\nJoin us for a participant-driven experience where you set the agenda! For this session\, there are no pre-planned speakers or sessions. Instead\, we create the schedule together based on the topics that matter most to our community.How It WorksThe Unconference follows a simple\, organic format:Morning:&nbsp\;Arrive ready to propose topics! We'll gather ideas at registration\, and anyone can suggest a discussion topic they're passionate about or curious to explore. Write your idea on a sticky note\, be ready to pitch it to the group in 30 seconds or less\, and post it on the schedule board.Throughout the Day:&nbsp\;The unconference is alive and flexible. New topics can be added between sessions as conversations spark fresh ideas.To begin the unconference:&nbsp\;Before diving in\, attendees will listen to the quick pitches given on stage and vote with a show of hands the sessions that interests you most. Sessions are conversations\, not presentations.The One Law: The Law of Two FeetThe Unconference operates on a fundamental principle:&nbsp\;If you're not learning or contributing\, use your two feet to move to somewhere you can.This means:You're free to leave any session at any time—no explanation neededYou can float between sessions to follow your curiosityThere's no such thing as a "wrong" choice—trust your instinctsMoving around isn't rude\; it's expected and encouraged\nExample of Topics:&nbsp\;The beauty of the Unconference is its diversity. Here are examples of topics that might emerge:Career Advancement:&nbsp\;Navigating the path from IC to leadership rolesCombating Attrition:&nbsp\;Strategies for retaining top talent in competitive marketsAgeism in the Workplace:&nbsp\;Building truly age-diverse tech teamsDependency Management Inside a Company:&nbsp\;Coordinating shared libraries and internal toolingVibe Coding - Wins and Horror Stories:&nbsp\;When AI-assisted coding goes brilliantly right (or hilariously wrong)Building Agentic AI :&nbsp\;Adventures and discoveries&nbsp\;\nYour ideas could range from technical deep-dives to workplace culture\, from emerging technologies to team dynamics. If it matters to you\, it belongs at the Unconference.\n\nNo preparation required. Just bring your curiosity and your two feet.
CATEGORIES:ENGAGE WITH BIG IDEAS
LOCATION:Main Event Space: Peoples Court\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:246e21e71e6478cb8bdb8c517c16b3c2
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/246e21e71e6478cb8bdb8c517c16b3c2
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260912T223348Z
DTSTART:20261030T190000Z
DTEND:20261030T200000Z
SUMMARY:TechFest Happy Hour + 1 drink ticket and apps!
DESCRIPTION:End your day with a TechFest Happy Hour overlooking Peoples Court! Drink ticket and snacks included.
CATEGORIES:NETWORKING
LOCATION:Eat-N-Park VIP\, Robert Morris University\,  UPMC Event Center\, 6001 University Boulevard\, Moon To
SEQUENCE:0
UID:d5efa07f2307df8812ed6ae86a84e9bf
URL:http://pitttechcounciltechfest2026.sched.com/event/d5efa07f2307df8812ed6ae86a84e9bf
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR