Former CALCE PhD Student Dr. Vasilis Sotiris Speaks on Careers for PhDs in Data Science

CALCE PhD alumnus Dr. Vasilis Sotiris spoke on careers for PhDs in data science as part of the Rita B. Leahy Career Series at the University Career Center & the President’s Promise, Hornbake Library, University of Maryland.

In his talk, Dr. Vasilis took the audience through his entire journey of becoming a data science leader. He pointed out some key aspects he learned while he was a PhD student at CALCE under the guidance of Prof. Pecht, which included presenting complex problems concisely and practicing persistence in delivering results. He emphasized the importance of building credibility early in one’s career and attaining skills to demonstrate the acquired knowledge. He concluded, “If you take risks, you have a much larger chance of being happier and doing things that you like.”

The first annual Rita B. Leahy Career Series is bringing current doctoral students and Maryland alumni together to meet and explore career opportunities for PhDs.

Vasilis Sotiris is an experienced data science leader with deep knowledge of statistical theory and methodology. He has extensive experience developing and deploying parametric and machine learning models to solve difficult problems in banking and risk management. After earning his PhD in Applied Statistics and Mathematics at Maryland in 2011, he worked at Capital One, KPMG, Barclays and Dun and Bradstreet. Six months ago, his career took a significant turn as he became the Director of Data Science at Cerebri AI- a successful tech start-up with investment from M12, formerly Microsoft Ventures. Cerebri AI has created a product that is fundamentally changing how customer-facing sales and success professionals can analyze the customer journey.

For more information, please contact, Prof. Michael Pecht.

Published November 1, 2019