"So You Want to be a Data Scientist"

Jim Stubbins, Head of the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, introduces special seminar speaker Dr. Stephen Coggeshall, ID Analytics’ Chief Analytics and Science Officer, on April 22, 2016. Coggeshall, winner of the 2016 NPRE Distinguished Alumni Award, has worked closely with ID Analytics and its executive team since the company’s inception, and has been instrumental in building the company’s initial technical team and product roadmap. Coggeshall has spent his 20-plus year career leading scientists to build practical solutions to difficult business problems using advanced analytics. Prior to joining ID Analytics, Coggeshall served as an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley, working in the areas of asset allocation, portfolio analysis, stock selection, proprietary derivatives trading and behavioral forecasts of investors and financial advisors, and was co-founder and CEO of the analytics consulting company Los Alamos Computational Group, which worked primarily with Morgan Stanley. Before establishing the Los Alamos Computational Group, Coggeshall served as Group Vice President of the technology development organization at HNC Software. Coggeshall was also a co-founder of the Center for Adaptive Systems Applications (CASA), where he managed a group performing consumer behavioral and portfolio modeling and analysis (CASA was purchased by HNC Software in 2000). Coggeshall’s experience prior to CASA includes work in machine learning and adaptive computation; leading teams working with Citicorp, MasterCard and the Internal Revenue Service building applied solutions using advanced mathematical algorithms. He also spent 11 years at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the field of laser fusion. Recognized throughout the industry for his work, in 2012 Coggeshall received a Lifetime Achievement award from the San Diego Business Journal. A frequent presenter, Coggeshall co-authored “Foundations of Predictive Analytics” and his research has appeared in national news media such as the Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine, and the Today Show. Dr. Coggeshall holds undergraduate degrees in math, music and physics. He has a masters in music and a masters and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Illinois.