Research & Innovation Events 

September 2025 

 

September 4 | 8:30 AM-4:30PM | UC River Room Research Computing Symposium 2025: Showcasing UofM Resources Attendees will be introduced to state-of-the-art resources, including powerful computational tools designed to accelerate research.     September 12 | 3-4:30PM | FIT Methodist Presentation Theatre   Technology Serving Humanity Speaker Series welcomes Dr. Rohit Aggrawal  Professor and David Eccles Emerging Scholar in the Department of Operations and Information Systems  David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah     Talk: Applied AI: From Industry Practice to Business School Partnerships: This talk explores the latest developments in artificial intelligence while addressing the growing skills gap in the field. It will examine the challenges of integrating AI into existing workflows and highlight how businesses can adapt to these changes. In addition, the session will showcase new opportunities for collaboration between academia and industry, with a focus on the role business schools can play in preparing future leaders for an AI-driven economy.  Register » 

  

September 16 | 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM | FIT Room 225  Memphis Data Professionals | Event-Driven Design with Kafka: Patterns, Pitfalls & Practical Strategy   Join Memphis' tech community for a practical, no-frills technical session with speaker Joey Brown, a passionate Fullstack Developer and Software Engineer. This event is designed to help engineers, architects, and tech leaders make critical judgments around Kafka and event-driven systems. Networking will begin at 5:30 PM.     This session will help you: 

• Build architectures smartly—not just boldly
• Avoid wasted effort on overly complex systems
• Push back on Kafka hype with grounded reasoning
• Learn from real-world successes and failures in production environments  

This event is ideal for: 

• Software Engineers & Technical Architects
• DevOps / Platform Engineers
• CTOs, Engineering Managers & Tech Leads
• Anyone curious about distributed systems, event-driven strategies, or Kafka's practical application  

To register for this event, please follow the link:  https://www.meetup.com/memphis-technology-user-groups/events/307511373/?eventOrigin=your_events       September 18 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | FIT Fishbowl  Research Development Community Networking Event   You're invited to a casual coffee meet-up to connect with the University of Memphis Research Development community. This is a great opportunity to network with fellow researchers, faculty, and staff from across campus. Grab a cup of coffee, share your latest research ideas, explore potential collaborations, and learn about the upcoming initiatives and resources available to support your scholarly work and grant pursuits.       September 18 | 3-4:30 PM | The Zone  901 AI welcome Dr. Vasileios Maroulas  Associate Vice Chancellor and Director of AI Tennessee, University of Tennessee Knoxville     Talk: AI Tennessee: From Vision to Impact: AI Tennessee is a statewide initiative to position Tennessee as a leader in the global data economy through research, education, and workforce development. By connecting universities, industry, and communities, the initiative fosters innovation across several sectors, including manufacturing, health, agriculture, and transportation. This talk will highlight how Tennessee’s assets, partnerships, and talent pipelines can accelerate AI adoption, address societal challenges, and ensure shared economic growth in an AI-powered future.  Register »  

  

September 25 | 2:30 – 3:30 PM | FIT Fishbowl  Research Development Town Hall Meeting   The Research Development Town Hall is a periodic meeting with faculty to discuss research development priorities, create a forum for sharing ideas and new research areas, and promoting interdisciplinary engagement among faculty. An agenda will be announced one week prior to the meeting.       September 25 | 3-4:30PM | FIT Methodist Presentation Theatre   Technology Serving Humanity Speaker Series welcomes Dr. McKay Jenkins   Talk: TBD: This talk explores the latest developments in artificial intelligence while addressing the growing skills gap in the field. It will examine the challenges of integrating AI into existing workflows and highlight how businesses can adapt to these changes. In addition, the session will showcase new opportunities for collaboration between academia and industry, with a focus on the role business schools can play in preparing future leaders for an AI-driven economy.  Register »