Featured – Page 24 – Seidenberg School News

Big Data Innovator Spotlight Series: Jason Molfetas, CIO of Amtrak

Continuing our events during Big Data Month came the second installment in our Big Data Innovator Spotlight series. Jason Molfetas, the CIO of Amtrak, came to talk shop with Seidenberg on Wednesday, November 16th, 2016.

Jason earned his BS in Computer Science in 1987 at Pace University’s Pleasantville campus. He spoke about going on some of our international trips – something we still do several times a year when we send students to places like Finland and Austria!

After 28 years in industry gaining expertise in marketing, sales, and technology, Jason was pleased to return to the Seidenberg School to share his wisdom, particularly when it comes to leadership and adding value to your position.

Dean Jonathan Hill kicked off the session by gesturing to the many students present and asking Jason how he got from that chair (the ones the students were sitting in) to this one (the one in front of the audience).

“It starts where you are right now,” Jason replied. “You have to remember that, like many things you’re doing, the reason you chose to come to Pace wasn’t just on a whim. You probably did a lot of analysis; you did research – that’s what we do in the work world.”

He spoke about his time at Pace and the benefits he gained from it. “Pace was phenomenal for getting me an internship where I could get the skills I needed to go out and get work in the real world.”

Another of Jason’s key points was about gaining experience and developing your skills. For first jobs, he recommended going for positions that offered great experience rather than focusing on great pay. “It’s not about the pay – for now, the future, it’s not about a financial income but for the experience.”

Dean Jonathan Hill asked: “What do students need to do to be mentally and technically prepared to get their first job?”

“You need to put down a plan,” Jason said. “What is it you desire? In the beginning, we don’t want to fail, and when you’re new in the work world . . . failure is part of it, but a big part of what we learn from it is integrity and honesty. When you fail, there’s a way to turn it into a success. You learn things, and what you learn is enormously valuable – so it can be a win.”

Jason then went on to explain his leadership style – “it’s still developing; it never stops” – and shared his 8 steps for success. Here they are!

Jason Molfeta’s 8 Steps for Success

Set a vision and a culture

Customers come first. Aim to exceed their expectations. Think results – proactively deliver rather than asking what your boss wants; show that you have identified what is important by telling them what you want to do then ask if anything is missing.

Add value

Sitting at the table is nice, but if you’re not going to say anything to add value why are you there? Do your homework before going to meetings to ensure you have something to contribute.

Vision, strategy, execution, and metrics

You need to be organized in order to deliver and track results.

Deliver measured results

Metrics help to prove that you are doing your job, whether for operational excellent, revenue management, or improving customer experience.

Drive the digital agenda

Big data is going to be huge in the future and understanding how it works and what you can do with it is key.

Deliver autonomous analytics to your mobile customers

Using cognitive analytics can solve problems before your customer even knows there are any. For example, with Amtrak, if it looks like a reservation is going to be cancelled, the process to book a new one on the customer’s behalf is all automated. The first indicator the customer receives about the issue is their updated booking.

You must create innovative products with simplicity

Steve Jobs and some friends went to a farm and saw a calf being born. They were amazed by how the calf pushed itself up and stepped to its mother for its first drink of milk. Humans teach their kids, but the calf did it all intuitively. Steve Jobs he said he wanted to create products that were intuitive, and nobody has to be trained to use an iPhone.

Talent working together

Michael Schumacher won the F1 championship many times. He said it was won not by him, but how he had the best car, the best tech, and the best team. His team worked seamlessly together to ensure his success.

What an amazing list! Seidenberg students – and Pace students as a whole – would do well to keep this one for future reference!

Jason’s final takeaway was about the path to being CEO. “The future CEO comes from an IT path,” he said. “You have to be ready for it; you have to want it.”

So for all our students who are aiming high – you’re on the right track!

A massive thank you to Jason Molfetas for sharing his incredible wisdom and to Deth Sao for organizing the event! Next up is Mike Adler from KPMG to close out the Big Data Innovator Spotlight series!

Read about the first event in the Big Data series, with guest speaker David Kelly.

Alumnus David Kelly speaks at Big Data Innovator Series

November is Big Data month, and we’ve been working hard to demonstrate how important (and cool) big data is in many ways – one of which is the Big Data Innovator Series taking place here at Seidenberg.

The series is a collection of talks and interviews with Seidenberg alumni who work with big data. There are three talks – two in November and one in December – and we strongly encourage our students to attend!

The first event took place on Wednesday November 9^th in the Seidenberg Lounge at 163 William St. The speaker was David Kelly (MS Information Systems ’94), and he spoke to an incredible turnout of 120 students! David is the CIO and co-chief operating officer at Pine River Capital Management, so he had a lot of great advice to share with our students interested in going into the financial world.

In an interview with Seidenberg Dean Jonathan Hill, David spoke about his career, things he had learned, and what he looked for when interviewing candidates for a particular job. “I’m going to assume you know how to code,” he said about his expectations of potential employees. “Going to school in lower Manhattan also shows that you’ve got character.”

He added that internships and travel, particularly international travel, were all good signs, and that if a student has “a cool and unique background . . . the interviewer will like finding a connection.”

One of David’s most important pieces of advice to students was showing a willingness to work hard and to learn, even if you are asked to do something that you don’t know or that isn’t included in your job description. “Show willingness to do what you’re asked to do,” he said.

“Be flexible. Do as they ask you to do. Over time you become regarded as a well-rounded person. Don’t have a deterministic view of what your job should be. Don’t be religious with technology – there’s a classic trick question we like to use: do you prefer using Lotus 1-2-3 or Excel? The correct answer is that it doesn’t matter – if you’re religious about one type of technology, it can hinder you.”

David also had some insights into the big data and cybersecurity fields, saying that the job prospects in cybersecurity were going to be just as good in 2019 as they are now.

“I think they are converging,” David said of big data and cybersecurity. “A lot of security solutions are out there . . . but how do you stitch all of these different solutions together? Real time analysis – that’s where big data comes in.”

We really enjoyed having David visit for our Big Data Innovator Series and would like to extend a big thank you to David and to organizer Deth Sao.

Next up is Jason Molfetas, the CIO of Amtrak!

Pace U recognition awards for Seidenberg faculty and staff

On Thursday, November 17, 2016, several of our hard-working and dedicated faculty and staff members received Pace University Employee Recognition Awards.

Pace President Stephen J. Friedman was on site at Pace University’s Pleasantville campus to congratulate the recipients, who were being recognized by the University for their years of service. Pace employees typically start to garner recognition for service after 5 years, but these awardees are just a tad past that point!

Susan Feather-Gannon with Stephen Friedman

Lisa Slingerland, the Online Student Services Coordinator for NACTEL, was recognized for 15 years of service.

Associate Dean Susan Feather-Gannon and Administrative Director Fran O’Gara received awards for 20 years of service.

Faculty members Jean Coppola and Ron Frank were recognized for an amazing 30 years of service!

We are proud of the amazing people that work so hard to make Seidenberg great. Thank you to our awardees for your excellent contributions to our school and our students!

Darren Hayes visits state-of-the-art forensics lab and police cyber crime center in Northern Ireland

In October 2016, our very own Dr. Darren Hayes was invited to visit two different forensics laboratories in Northern Ireland. Anthony Harbinson, Director of Safer Communities for the Northern Ireland Department of Justice and Former President of the ACCA, was kind enough to organize this fascinating, educational experience for Hayes. The visit included a tour of the new, state-of-the-art lab of Forensic Science Northern Ireland (FSNI), an Agency of the Department of Justice, based at Seapark, Carrickfergus, as well as a visit to the highly impressive Cyber Crime Center of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Stan Brown, Executive Director, Forensic Science Northern Ireland (FSNI), and his outstanding team, provided Hayes with tremendous insight into some of the cutting-edge forensic analysis techniques implemented by FSNI. Hayes remarked, “Forensic Science Northern Ireland and the Department of Justice, with their significant financial investment, have not only signaled their intent to provide the people of Northern Ireland with a laboratory that they can feel proud of but they have also successfully raised the standard for other laboratories worldwide. Other agencies will certainly strive to emulate their extraordinary success. The lab operates with the utmost integrity, guided by strict protocols. FSNI have not only integrated the latest technology into their labs but have also considered the impact on the community and its employees, which is admirable. It was refreshing to see that employee input was critical to the development of a new lab to provide a safe, efficient and comfortable environment within which to operate. This level of planning rarely occurs elsewhere. Moreover, the new forensics lab was built to the highest European standards of sustainability to ensure that the facility was environmentally safe and responsible. Their accomplishments are inspiring”.

Another highlight of Dr. Hayes’ trip was a visit to PSNI’s Cyber Crime Center. Detective Constable Ian McClurg and his colleagues were kind enough to explain to Hayes some of the current cyber crimes that they investigate to ultimately ensure the safety of the Northern Ireland community. In a digital, inter-connected world, cyber crime has no borders. Hayes noted that the “PSNI has invested considerably and wisely in the latest technologies and employ some of the most technically-advanced investigators in the world. The personnel that I met possess the expertise that would be sought after by any organization worldwide. Their unwavering dedication to protecting the local community is highly commendable.”

Dr. Hayes said that “the warm hospitality of the people in Northern Ireland is world-renowned but this visit far surpassed my expectations and I greatly appreciate the time and consideration afforded by Mr. Harbinson and his colleagues.”

Students hop down to Texas for Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing

October was a busy month at the Seidenberg School. Not only was it Cybersecurity Month, meaning we had plenty of events relating to all things privacy and security, but we were still recovering from the launch of the fantastic NYC Design Factory.

What better time to get away from it all by attending the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference in Houston, Texas?

The conference is a massive, annual event that usually takes place in a different location each year. Since its inception in 1994, the conference has grown from just a few hundred delegates to this year’s incredible collection of attendees – around 16,000! And some of those awesome women in attendance were Seidenberg students and staff.

Amongst the students were undergraduates Karishma Saini (BS Computer Science), Melanie Green (BS Information Technology), Gauri Kirve (BS Information Systems), and Ketaki Mulajkar (BS Computer Science), as well as graduate students Raisa Mukadam (MS Information Systems), Alexa Piccoli (MS Computer Science) and Beverly Gladden (MS Information Systems). They were joined by Seidenberg staffers Kim Brazaitis, Svetlana Kotlyarenko, and me!

To say the conference was absolutely massive is an understatement. The opening keynote took place in the enormous Toyota Center stadium where amazing speakers got the crowd hyped up for the next few days of networking, professional development workshops and sessions, and a serious amount of partying. Keynote topics included privacy and cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and cognitive computing, and were discussed by Latanya Sweeney, Ginni Rometty, Alyssia Jovellanos, and Anna Patterson.

After the keynote, the conference was in full swing. Day one consisted largely of everybody checking out the expo, where hundreds of organizations (including the Seidenberg School!) had set up booths to share information, network with others, and give out free swag.

Melanie Greene with one of the awesome Google displays

Computer Science student Melanie Greene said: “It was uplifting to see the number of prestigious companies at the career expo – I really saw their commitment to embracing diversity in the industry, and it was touching. I got the chance to meet many enthusiastic employees from so many companies such as Google, Microsoft, Walt Disney, Facebook and to attend Google’s party that was out of this world. Have you ever created your own emoji and then seen it in the foam of your coffee? I have now. I am blown away by the advancements made in technology and I hope to be a part of them in the future.”

In the evenings, a wealth of social events took place with free food, fantastic networking opportunities, and inspirational speakers – including the aforementioned Google party that was, indeed, out of this world.

Google selfidriving car — Google had a self-driving car on display

Days two and three were packed with professional development and educational workshops and panels that our students were sure to make the most of during networking breaks. Some of our students were so impressive that they were offered interviews for jobs on the spot! We are extremely proud of our students’ talents and their abilities to share their expertise with people they have just met.

The conference came to a close too soon and we were sad to leave the warm, humid temperatures of Houston to return to the tepid airs of New York… but it was an incredible experience.

Graduate student Alexa Piccoli said: “Attending Grace Hopper this year well exceeded my expectations . . . There are so many awesome things happening in the world of technology and it reassured me that being a women in the field is something I should be proud of and thankful for.

resized_20161020_210240 — Alexa Piccoli designs her personal emoji to be replicated in a latte

“From the keynote speakers to the breakout sessions, to the awesome Google party, I truly learned a lot and had fun. I learned how women have deeply influenced and paved the path in technology, how to get involved in capture the flag competitions, the advancements of blockchain, and how you can do anything you set your mind to in this field. I would encourage students to go to this event next year and get involved in all that being a women in technology has to offer!”

Interested in attending the conference next year? Let us know!

Student post: East Coast Cyberattack poses the question: Are we truly safe?

On Friday October 21st, at around 7:10am EST, many internet users from all over the country lost connection to many commonly used sites in an attack that rippled across the country from east to west. The company was able to restore service a few hours later but then had to shut down at around noon. By this time, the hackers had started to make their journey to the West coast.

What happened? There was a huge attack on one major provider of the Domain Name System, Dyn Inc., which resulted in them taking down a few popular sites such as Netflix and Spotify (to name a few). Oh the horror!!!!

Kyle York, who is currently the Chief Strategy Officer of Dyn, said the hackers launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack using tons of malware – infected devices connected to the internet. According to their records, this is the third attack they have experienced this year.

A DDoS can be achieved in a number of ways, but usually involves a distributed network of “zombie” machines, referred to as botnets. A botnet is formed with computers and other connected devices in homes or offices infected with vicious code which, upon a hacker’s request, can take over a web server with data. One or two machines wouldn’t be an issue, but if tens or hundreds of thousands fire such data simultaneously, it can impair even the best of web servers.

By Friday evening, the attacks were stopped and all was right in the world again.

Unfortunately, security professionals are anticipating more cyber attacks centered around the Internet of Things (IoT). This assumption was made after a hacker released a software code that powers the malware, called Mirai, just a few weeks prior.

“I have never seen severity this big, impacting so many sites and lasting over such a prolonged period of time,” said Dave Anderson, the vice president of marketing at Dynatrace LLC. “It just shows how vulnerable and interconnected the world is, and when something happens in one region, it impacts every other region.”

Cybersecurity is an ever growing concern across the globe. As hackers become more and more sophisticated, they constantly change their tactics to overcome security measures in place by companies and organizations. This causes an issue where cybersecurity professionals are forced to respond to attacks as they happen rather than prevent them entirely – no matter what security measures are in place, dedicated hackers are focused on finding a way to beat the ‘challenge’. As a result, the cybersecurity industry is constantly on the look out for talented professionals.