From left: Mia Pipkin, Frankle Muchahary, Evelyn Larson, Aaron Chambers and Pradeep John (coach) celebrate after placing first and winning $5,000 in the OSU Datathon.

OSU students compete in Datathon

Monday, March 6, 2023

Media Contact: Terry Tush | Director, Marketing and Communications | 405-744-2703 | terry.tush@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University students Evelyn Larson (marketing), Aaron Chambers (management information systems), Mia Pipkin (management information systems) and Frankle Muchahary (business analytics and data science, graduate student), coached by Pradeep John of the Williams Companies, teamed up to win first place and split $5,000 at the OSU Datathon.

The event was sponsored by the OSU Center of Data Analytics (CODA) that is funded by ConocoPhillips. It took place March 3-4 in the Business Building with 39 students from across campus participating in the analytics-based case competition.

“It was fascinating to observe how each team mentally and physically approached solving the problem,” said Kim Strom, co-advisor of the Data Analytics Club. “The coaches and judges all expressed how impressed they were with our students and their ability to develop outstanding solutions in such a short time.”

Other teams earning prize money were:

Second place: Morgan Gilliam (statistics), Carson Smyth (marketing and management) and Tristan Schwartz (management information systems), coached by Carter Stokeld with Williams Companies ($2,500).
Third place: Jensen Bridges (mathematics and statistics), Elijah Lucas (statistics/data science) and Hope Miller (applied mathematics), coached by Divya Choudhary with ISN and Jack Appleyard with BOK Financial ($1,200).
Fourth place: Muhammad Imran Haider (business analytics and data science, graduate student), Jackson Riddle (management information systems) and Jacob Bingham (management information systems), coached by Brice Newcomer with Devon Energy ($600).

The two-day case competition with $9,300 in prize money was designed for students to gain hands-on, résumé worthy experience with the data analytics process. ConradBI provided the data set and case study as teams were tasked with importing a sponsored dataset, analyzing the data, creating visualizations and presenting their insights to a panel of industry experts.

Twelve teams of students from a variety of majors competed, with each team guided by coaches who work in the analytics field. The companies providing experts in the field of analytics as coaches and judges were Associated Steel Group, BOK Financial, Credera, Devon Energy, Extend, Hobby Lobby, InterWorks, ISN, McElroy Manufacturing, Microsoft, OneOK, Paycom and Williams.

For more information about the Data Analytics Club, contact co-advisors Strom (kim.strom@okstate.edu) or professor Jerry Rackley (jerry.rackley@okstate.edu).

Second place team — From left: Carter Stokeld (coach), Tristan Schwartz, Morgan Gilliam and Carson Smyth won second place.

Third place — From left: Divya Choudhary (coach), Jensen Bridges, Elijah Lucas, Hope Miller and Jack Appleyard (coach) won third place.

Fourth place — From left: Brice Newcomer (coach), Jacob Bingham, Jackson Riddle and Muhammad Imran Haider took fourth place.