ATLANTA (bdpatoday) —National BDPA just wrapped up #BDPAConnect16, the national information technology organization’s 38th Annual National BDPA Technology Conference and Career Fair in Atlanta, Georgia.  During the annual National Awards Gala, six college and high school students were honored by Industry and Academia for their research,  white paper publications, and oral presentations. International IT Showcase participants Ms. Kerich Ivy and Mr. Isaac Kiunga (left) from Kenyatta University were able to participate via Skype from Nairobi Kenya with assistance from Bryan Bemley (far left). Mr. Bemley is an IT Showcase alumnus with a Computer Science degree from Bowie State University.

• 2016 Collegiate Undergraduate IT Showcase Winner
  • 1st Place—Ms. Briana Young,
    Central Michigan University
    DIABETES TRACKING: USING INTEGRATED WEB TECHNOLOGIES TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR PEOPLE WITH DIABETES
  • 2nd Place—Ms. Adrienne Nelson,
    Florida Agriculture & Mechanical University (FAMU)
    FROM CHALK BOARD TO SMART BOARD: THE EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON EDUCATION
  • 3rd Place—Mr.Darren Young,
    Purdue University
    CLOUD COMPUTING: FORECASTING YOUR BUSINESS TO SUCCESS

• 2016 High School IT Showcase Winners
  • 1st Place—Mr. Maurice Jackson,
    Cornerstone School of Washington, D.C.
    VIRTUAL HUMANS: AN OVERVIEW
  • 2nd Place—Ms. Amaria Jones,
    Cornerstone School of Washington, D.C.
    ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USING GENETIC ALGORITHMS
  • 3rd Place—Ms. Angela Queen,
    Cornerstone School of Washington, D.C.
    CYBER SECURITY: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGAINST CYBER ATTACKS

National IT Showcase Backgrounder

The 2016 National BDPA IT Showcase was powered by Eli Lilly & Company and Johnson & Johnson.  Launched during the 2003 annual National BDPA Technology Conference in Philadelphia, annual regional and national IT Showcase events allow student presenters from educational institutions across the globe, to present and demonstrate their research. The presentations represent advanced computing and technical topics presented by college and high school students to an audience of corporate representatives, IT professionals, and students.

Students participate in this 2-day event held during the annual National BDPA Technology Conference and Career Fair. The focus of this event includes, but is not limited to, intelligent technologies (i.e., smart toys, machine learning, and genetic algorithms, etc.), wearable computing technologies, autonomous vehicles, mobile technologies, parallel computing technologies, cybersecurity, computing curricula, and  business intelligence.

Student presentations and research projects are reviewed by a panel of industry judges in two primary categories—college and high school. Awards are made in each category for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. National awards are presented during the annual Awards Presentation at the end of the National IT Showcase session. Each participant is professionally recognized by National BDPA with his or her Certificate of Appreciation.

—BDPA photos by Charlie Perkins