Annual Northwestern SPS Symposium
The annual SPS Symposium is an optional but exciting part of a student's program. The three-day, in-person student event and academic conference provides an opportunity for students to interact and learn from fellow students, faculty, staff, and alumni on the Northwestern Chicago campus.
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Annual SPS Symposium Schedule
November 14-16, 2024
- Thursday (11/14): Evening Welcome Reception - Prentice Harris Family Atrium (3rd floor of the Prentice Women's Hospital - 250 E. Superior Chicago, IL 60611)
- Friday (11/15): All-day Academic Conference - Wieboldt Hall, 339 East Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
- Saturday (11/16): Lunch and Homecoming Football Game against Ohio State (Wrigleyville, Chicago)
DAY ONE
2024 Welcome Reception
Thursday, November 14, 2024 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Prentice Harris Family Atrium (3rd floor of the Prentice Women's Hospital - 250 E. Superior Chicago, IL 60611)
The Symposium Welcome Reception is the kick-off event for the three days of events. Leadership from the School of Professional Studies will deliver brief remarks followed by an alumni presentation. Light refreshments will be served.
DAY TWO
2024 Symposium Conference
Friday, November 15, 2024 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Wieboldt Hall, 339 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
The Symposium conference academic presentations and discussions are an opportunity for students to interact with their instructors face-to-face and engage in topics not covered in a typical course for further learning and professional development. The conference portion of SPS Symposium begins with breakfast, followed by academic presentations for students in a wide range of programs, and honoring this year's SPS Alumni Award recipient.
The 2024 Conference Event Schedule is below.
2024 Schedule
| 9–10am |
Breakfast Room: Wieboldt 704 |
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| 9am-1pm |
Professional Headshots (complimentary) - Dynamic Photo Systems Room: Wieboldt 509 |
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| 10:00–10:40am |
AI Decoding How Our Brains Smell (Apoorv Saraogee) Room: Wieboldt 408 |
AI-Driven Carbon Credit Trading: Transforming Market Mechanisms for Climate Action (Garo Bazarbachian) Room: Wieboldt 506 |
Authorship for Entrepreneurs & Entrepreneurship for Authors (Patricia Crisafulli) Room: Wieboldt 507 |
Dirth Old London: Gender, Race, Class, and Disease in Victorian England, and What We Can Learn From Them Today (Julie Millon) Room: Wieboldt 517
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| 10:40–10:50am | Break | |||
| 10:50–11:30am |
Beyond the Hype: Real-World AI Implementation and Value Creation (Johann Beukes) Room: Wieboldt 408 |
Optimizing Global Food Distribution: Addressing the Inefficiencies of Meat Production for a Sustainable Future (Gopika Nair) Room: Wieboldt 506 |
Unlocking Student Potential: Understanding Executive Function in Academic Success (Judy Roman) Room: Wieboldt 507 |
The Financial Analysis of Genetic Engineering: A Case Study on Casgevy (Paul Grant Parmar) Room: Wieboldt 517 |
| 11:30–11:40am | Break | |||
| 11:40am–12:20pm |
Maximize Digital Marketing Impact with Generative AI (Kelly Cutler) Room: Wieboldt 408 |
A Multipronged Informatics Solution to Support a Singular Patient Experience: Remote Patient Management to Support Pediatric Patients with Asthma after Hospitalization (Dana Schinasi) Room: Wieboldt 506 |
POW! Breaking into Independent Comics (Nathaniel Foster) Room: Wieboldt 507 |
Disability Policy: Where it Started and How It's Going (Sarah Melone)
Room: Wieboldt 517 |
| 12:20 –1:30pm |
Lunch Break Room: Wieboldt 704 |
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| 1:30–2:10pm |
Optimizing Value-Based Care: A Convergence of Technology, Human Behavior, and Operations Research (Jeramey Ward) Room: Wieboldt 408 |
Exploratory Spatial Analysis of Social Vulnerability in the Midwest (Andy Sharma) Room: Wieboldt 506 |
AI: The Vampire of Creative Culture (Anastasia Gustafson) Room: Wieboldt 507 |
New Guardians of Finance: How AI and Machine Learning Combat Fraud in Open Banking (Yasmina Sayyid) Room: Wieboldt 517 |
| 2:10–2:20pm | Break | |||
| 2:20 –3pm |
Keynote: Employing Federated AI/ML to Drive Real-Time Healthcare Foundaries for Prescriptive Health (Eric Abbott) Room: Wieboldt 704 |
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| 2:50 - 3pm |
Break |
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| 3:30–4pm |
SPS Alumni Award Presentation and Closing Remarks Room: Wieboldt 704 |
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DAY THREE
2024 Homecoming Tailgate & Football Game
Saturday, November 16, 2024 (Kickoff TBD)
Tailgate: Smoke Daddy BBQ, 3636 N. Clark St, Chicago
Game: Wrigley Field, 1060 W. Addison St, Chicago
The final day of the SPS Symposium will take place at the historic Wrigley Field in Chicago, during the spirited festivities of Reunion Weekend (“Homecoming”). All are invited to attend a brunch/lunch with fellow SPS students, faculty, alumni, and staff. Attendees have the option to purchase tickets and cheer on the Wildcats at the Northwestern University Homecoming Game.
| 11:30 am - 1:30 pm | Lunch Speaker: Thomas Gibbons, Dean of SPS |
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| 2 pm |
Homecoming Football Game: Northwestern vs. Howard |
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Transportation
A rideshare event code will be shared with guests who attend Symposium to accommodate for travel between Chicago and Evanston during the scheduled events. More information and instructions will be shared with you by email the week before the event.
Travel and Accommodations
Please refer to the Northwestern University Reunion Weekend's webpage on travel and accommodations. These are suggestions and accommodations made by the University to make booking your stay easier. You are not obligated to stay in these recommended hotels to attend the SPS Symposium. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements. The North Shore Convention and Visitor's Bureau and Choose Chicago maintain complete lists of hotels in Evanston and the Chicago area.
Parking
Parking on the Evanston Campus
Parking will be available on the Evanston campus throughout Symposium. Additional information regarding rates will be posted here when it becomes available. See the Evanston campus parking map.
Parking on the Chicago Campus
A discounted daily and evening rate will be available for parking at the Erie Ontario Garage and the Huron Superior Garage from 4:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. or daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. You must park and exit within the specified time to receive the discounted rate. If you enter before the rate takes effect, or exit after the specified end time on the date of entry you will be charged the full public rate for the entire time you are parked. If parked for 12 hours or more, regular garage rates will apply. See the Chicago campus parking map.
How to obtain a discount:
- Park in the eligible garage and obtain a parking ticket at entry.
- While at Symposium in Wieboldt Hall, obtain a QR code from the check-in desk, the Symposium Guidebook app, or the Erie-Ontario or Huron Superior Customer Service Offices.
- When ready to exit, go to a garage pay station on the ground level and insert your parking ticket.
- Once the pay station has stated parking fee, scan the QR code on the pay station scanner. Once scanned correctly, the pay station will reduce the parking fee.
- Pay the fee with payment card or cash following the machine instructions.
- Collect the parking ticket back from the machine after your transaction is complete.
- Insert the parking ticket at the exit gate as you leave the garage with your vehicle.