Research
Open Science Data Summit - First Day
WIP Data Initiative
Published November 12, 2025
6 Minute Read
Day 1: Open Science Data Summit
Thursday, January 13, 2026
Day 1 of the Wyoming Open Science Data Summit will begin with introductions and opening remarks to convenes researchers, educators, data professionals, and policymakers to advance an open, collaborative, and AI-ready future for Wyoming’s research data ecosystem. The summit seeks to build a sustained community of practice—and a center of influence—for open science standards, governance, and capacity across the state.
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***PLEASE NOTE: AGENDA IS TENTATIVE AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
| Go to Monday's Presummit Schedule | Go to Open Science Data Summit | Home Page | Go to Wednesday's Summit Schedule |
| Time | Agenda Item | Speaker(s) |
Description | Moderator(s) | ||||||
| 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM | Working Breakfast | A working breakfast for networking, and open, independent discussions. | ||||||||
| 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM | Welcoming Remarks |  |
Dr. Parag Chitnis, Vice President, Research & Economic Development, UW |
Welcome and opening Remarks | Dr. Jeff Hamerlinck,
Director of Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center. UW
Associate Director of the School of Computing, UW
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| 9:15 AM - 9:45 AM | Introduction & Opening Discussions |  |
Director of Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center. UW
Assoc. Director of the School of Computing, UW
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Introduction and Discussion on how the Open Science Data Summit began, what our plans
are, how we can move forward, and goals for the summit. Defining the "Unconference": How to introduce your own topic(s), how to vote for topics, and what to take away from it. Submit a topic here: https://forms.office.com/r/StJ6GccdWu, Then vote for your favorite(s) here: https://forms.office.com/r/Va4JBE0Kub |
Nicholas Case President of Wyoming Geospatial Organization (WYGEO) Assistant Lecturer UW School of Computing | Geospatial Information Sciences & Technology |
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| 9:45 AM - 10:00 AM | Break | |||||||||
| 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM | Data Governance, Compliance & Alignment |
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Panel: Dr. Shannon Albeke Research Scientist, Sr Wyoming Geographical Information Science Center, UW Erik Holmund, Executive Director of Alberta Data Partnerships
Michael Killean Deputy Director of Infrastructure Advanced Research Computing Center, UW Amy McLaughlin Vice President & CIO Information Technology, UW |
Discussions around governance, the challenges associated with data governance, sharing, large scale datasets, alignment and compliance. What are the biggest challenges, why it's necessary, and how can we improve. | Beth McMillan Interim Director | Institutional Professor UW School of Computing |
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| 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM | Navigating the Intersection Between State and Federal Data Requirements | Pending | Dr. Jeff Hamerlinck,
Director of Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center. UW
Associate Director of the School of Computing, UW
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| 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM | Lunch | |||||||||
| 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM | Decoding an Evolutionary Algorithm: A Crowdsourced Framework for Behavioral Data |  |
Dr. Qian-Quan Sun, Professor, Zoology & Physiology Director of Wyoming Sensory Biology Center, UW |
For the ethologist and the neuroscientist, "behavioral persistence" is the same core phenomenon, but their data speak different languages. Discover how a crowdsourced science initiative has built the first universal metrics, creating a common data schema to translate adaptive behavior into clinical insight. |
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| 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | Data Workflows, Pipelines and Challenges: Large Scale Equipment and Datasets |
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Panel: Dr. Brandoch Cook, Director of Center for Advanced Scientific Istrumentation, UW Gregg Randolph Lab Manager, Genome Technologies Lab, UW Dr. Qian-Quan Sun, Professor, Zoology & Physiology Director of Wyoming Sensory Biology Center, UW |
A Panel discussion around data pipelines and workflows associated with the use of large scale equipment. How it relates to governance, associated challenges, sharing of data and equipment, production and management of large datasets, and compliance. | Dr. Katie Wagner Associate Professor Botany, UW |
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| 2:15 PM - 2:30 PM | Break | |||||||||
| 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM | Industry Partnerships |
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Panel: Dr. Brian Hadley Geospatial Program Director | Government Solutions, Woolpert Luke Macy Founder, Power Theory, Inc. Dr. Sam Malloy Director of R&D NSF Ascend Engine |
A panel discussion centered around public-industry partnerships, challenges, successes, and real-world cases. |
Associate Director of the School of Computing, UW
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| 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM | Statewide Partnerships: Collaboration between UW & CC |
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Panel: Dr. Sean Harrington Research Scientist, Sr. Science Initiative, UW Jacki KlancherDirector of Research & Innovation | Professor Env Science & HealthCentral Wyoming College Dr. Shawna McBride Director WY EPSCoR-IDeA, UW Co-Director NASA Space Grant, UW Dr. Ami Wangeline Instructional Professor Science Institute, UW |
Panel discussion around statewide collaboration between the University of Wyoming, and Community Colleges. | (Benjamin) Jason Writer Geospatial Developer Wyoming Geographical Information Science Center, UW |
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| 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM | Networking & Reception | Reception at an external location for networking and reflection on the day's events. | ||||||||
