Kyle Zimmerman and Sam Norris, who are entering the Georgia Tech interdisciplinary M.S. of Analytics program in fall 2016, are the first recipients of the program’s HPCC Systems® fellowships.

Both Zimmerman and Norris earned their undergraduate degrees at Georgia Tech. Zimmerman completed a double major in computer science and discrete mathematics with a minor in Russian. Norris completed a B.S. in economics and international affairs with a minor in computing and information internetworks.

 “Both Kyle and Sam are very smart, intellectually curious, high achievers who have broad interests, strong work ethics, and a wide range of technical and nontechnical abilities,” said program director Joel Sokol. “They're going to be excellent students at Georgia Tech, but more importantly, they're both on track to be outstanding analytics professionals and leaders.”

The fellowships are a one-year contribution by HPCC Systems, LexisNexis® Risk Solutions’ open-source, enterprise-proven platform for Big Data analysis and processing for large volumes of data in 24/7 environments.

They are awarded to two students with the intention of helping the M.S. in Analytics program attract top talent. In addition, the fellowships can create a talent pipeline: Zimmerman and Norris will be able to take an internship with HPCC Systems or even be potential post-graduation hires.

HPCC Systems is an open source solution for Big Data insights that can be implemented by businesses of all sizes. Born from LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ deep data analysis history, HPCC Systems helps businesses find the answers they’re looking for by making Big Data easier to process, analyze and understand. With HPCC Systems, developers can design applications with Big Data at their core, allowing businesses to better analyze and understand data at scale, improving business time to results and decisions.

In terms of the collaboration, Sokol adds, “We are delighted to partner with HPCC Systems for this first fellowship for the M.S. in Analytics program. It will strengthen Georgia Tech’s and HPCC Systems’ attractiveness for outstanding analytics professionals.”

“Individuals with the ability to identify patterns in vast data and extract facts, with a solid foundation in business, analytics and computer science, are in high demand in a modern world where nearly every industry has access to increasingly larger and more complex data than ever before,” said Flavio Villanustre, vice president, Technology, HPCC Systems. “We chose to be involved with Georgia Tech’s M.S. in Analytics program because high-quality education is paramount to develop talent for the decades to come, and give individuals every opportunity to succeed.”