UVA Sports Research and Technology Innovation Summit 

The Sports Research and Technology Innovation Summit marks the beginning of a new era for Sports Data Science at the University of Virginia (UVA) by bringing together, for the first time, colleagues from across Grounds and industry with a shared interest in sports technology, human movement, and athlete health innovation. This year’s inaugural event will focus on Charlottesville’s unique ecosystem to foster public-private partnerships.  
 
The program will open with remarks from leaders of the UVA School of Data Science followed by a keynote address from a distinguished speaker. The event will also include plenary sessions focused on learning about research and opportunities to collaborate both within and outside UVA. 

At the end of the day, a networking reception will be held to give participants the chance to connect in a relaxed and informal environment.  

The agenda is still in development—please check back for updates.

Agenda

10:30-11:30 p.m. ET

Sport Facilities Tour | Good Stewards Applied Sports Science Lab (John Paul Jones Arena) and Hardie Football Operations Center 

This optional pre-summit tour features two of the University's sports and human performance facilities. Please specify your interest when registering for the summit; a boxed lunch is included for the participants of the the tour.

12:00-12:30 p.m. ET

Registration and Check-In | 1st Floor Lobby

12:30-12:45 p.m. ET

Welcome  | Capital One Hub

Phil Bourne, Dean, UVA School of Data Science

12:45-1:00 p.m. ET

Keynote Address | Capital One Hub

Join us for an engaging discussion on the dynamic intersection of public and private sectors. This conversation will explore how strategic collaboration between government, industry, and academia can drive innovation, address complex challenges, and create meaningful impact.

Featured Speakers: 

• Kelly Ard, Assistant Vice President, UVA Corporate and Foundation Relations
• Rich Chylla, Executive Director, UVA Licensing and Ventures Group

1:00-1:15 p.m. ET

Break and Refreshments

1:15-2:15 p.m. ET

Research Lightning Talks  | Capital One Hub

Explore a diverse range of cutting-edge topics and research methodologies as each speaker delivers an engaging 10-minute talk examining their current research and projects of interest. Time will be set aside after talks for audience questions. 

Featured Speakers: 

• Visual Intelligence Laboratory (PI: Stephen Baek)

  The Visual Intelligence Laboratory @ UVA (the “VIVA Lab”) is a research group directed by Professor Stephen Baek at the University of Virginia School of Data Science. The group tackles both fundamental and applied research problems in geometric data analysis to understand the roles of geometry in various scientific phenomena.

• EASIL (PI: Jay Hertel)

  The Exercise and Sport Injury Lab provides research opportunities for faculty and graduate students in the masters and doctoral degree programs in Sports Medicine & Athletic Training and consists of four distinct testing areas and includes state-of-the-art equipment for the measurement of numerous aspects of human motion and neuromuscular performance. The lab houses measurement systems to assess strength, muscle activation, balance, motion, gait, joint laxity, functional performance, and neurocognitive function.

• Responsible AI in Varying Environments (PI: Tom Hartvigsen)

• The Sports Science and Analytics Collective (PI: Natalie Kupperman)

  The Sports Science and Analytics Collective (SSAC) is housed in the University of Virginia School of Data Science and directed by Natalie Kupperman. It is an assembly of researchers, practitioners, students, and industry partners dedicated to sports, athletes, and data. Our projects range from improving athlete performance, health, welfare to understanding game strategy, and optimizing front office tactics. While we use sports as our laboratory, we aim to extend our findings to a variety of populations and environments. 

2:15-2:30 p.m. ET

Break and Refreshments

2:30-3:30 p.m. ET

Industry Talks | Capital One Hub

• Springbok Analytics

  Founded as a scientific research tool to help pediatric surgeons with procedures for cerebral palsy, Springbok is now a leading life sciences muscles analytics company driving better health and performance outcomes. 
   
  Their technology analyzes MRI data and creates 3D visualizations of muscle health, enhancing the information, assessment, treatment monitoring, research and diagnostic value of MR imaging. 
   
  Their rapid imaging sequence and AI-based analysis reveals a complete view of musculoskeletal health, precisely quantifying individual muscle size, left-right asymmetries, and intramuscular fat infiltration, as well as scar tissue, edema, and tendon morphology.

• Hudl

  Hudl is a sports technology company that provides a platform for coaches and athletes to capture, analyze, and share video and data, empowering teams and athletes to improve performance and gain an edge on the competition.  

• Biocore 

  We are a team of world-class engineers and scientists that provides testing, analysis, and other consulting services to companies across the globe. Biocore's mission is to provide the highest level of engineering and analytics expertise to clients dedicated to the understanding and reduction of injury. 

3:30-3:45 p.m. ET

Break and Refreshments

3:45-4:45 p.m. ET

Sports Panel Discussion | Capital One Hub

5:00-6:30 p.m. ET

Networking Reception | Terrace 

Speakers

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Kelly Ard 

Kelly Ard joined UVA in August 2024. Prior to UVA, Kelly worked in frontline fundraising at Auburn University where she served in roles in the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations and College of Liberal Arts. Kelly has over 17 years of experience working with institutional leaders, faculty, and administrators across universities to identify mutually beneficial partnerships to advance the institution’s mission and initiatives. By aligning university initiatives with corporate and industry demands, she facilitated collaborative approaches to corporate partnerships leveraging workforce demands, economic development, and impact. With a mission to seek and secure financial support from corporate and foundation entities, she assisted with identifying new partnerships and establishing a seamless experience for companies and foundations to engage with the university. 

Most recently, Kelly served as the Director of Development for the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University, leading the fundraising efforts for the college including managing, mentoring and coaching development officers and coordinators; implementing strategic stewardship and engagement plans; and working with the dean to ensure that all the college’s development and fundraising goals were met. Additionally, Kelly also served as a major gift fundraiser for the college and managed a robust portfolio. 

Kelly received a bachelor’s degree in history from James Madison University, with a minor in Italian language and studies.  

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Stephen Baek

Stephen Baek is an applied geometer, scientist, and entrepreneur. He studies the space of shapes using machine learning. Baek’s educational background is in mechanical and aerospace engineering.  

Prior to joining UVA in 2021, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa, where he taught courses on deep learning. There, he also founded and directed the Visual Intelligence Laboratory, which conducts fundamental research in computational geometry, vision, and machine learning. Baek’s research interests include geometric data analysis, geometric deep learning, scientific machine learning, and data-driven design.  

Baek’s published research is extensive, including “Deep learning for synthetic microstructure generation in a materials-by-design framework for heterogeneous energetic materials” and “Deep segmentation networks predict survival of non-small cell lung cancer.” 
Baek holds a PH.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Seoul National University and a B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Seoul National University.

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Richard Chylla 

Richard Chylla joined the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group in January 2022 as the Executive Director.

Rich comes to the University of Virginia from the Innovation Center at Michigan State University where he served as Executive Director of MSU Technologies since 2012. He also served on the board of directors for the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) and held the AUTM chair position in 2019. He has more than 25 years of experience in university technology transfer, research leadership, and business development. 

Rich has extensive experience in licensing and technology commercialization in both academic and industry settings. He has amassed career accomplishments with top-tier organizations including the University of Michigan and BASF Corporation. He also has broad international experience having worked in various technical roles with Johnson Polymer in Singapore, Japan, and the Netherlands.

At Michigan State, Rich was instrumental in launching two translational funds totaling $7M since 2014 in partnership with economic development agencies. These supported more than 160 projects to advance university technologies generating licenses with industry, new startups, and jobs. He doubled the number of licenses and options since 2013, grew the total licensing revenue, and strengthened relations between the university and the local entrepreneurial community. MSU Technologies grew the number of university startups launched each year and attracted more than $100M in follow-on capital. 

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Tom Hartvigsen

Tom Hartvigsen is an assistant professor of data science at the University of Virginia. He works to make machine learning trustworthy, robust, and socially responsible enough for deployment in high-stakes, dynamic settings.  Tom's research has been published at many major peer-reviewed venues in Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Data Mining. He is active in the machine learning community, serving as the General Chair for the Machine Learning for Health Symposium in 2023, helping organize the 2023 Conference on Health, Informatics, and Learning, and co-chairing workshops on time series and generative AI at NeurIPS'22 and ICML'23. 

Prior to joining UVA, Tom was a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Data Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a B.A. in Applied Math from SUNY Geneseo.

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Jay Hertel 

In addition to his school appointments, Jay Hertel holds an academic appointment in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (courtesy) and serves as co-director of the Exercise & Sport Injury Lab. His research interests are at the intersection of lower extremity injury prevention and rehabilitation, clinical biomechanics, and the use of wearable sensors to monitor training loads in team sport athletes and distance runners. 

He has authored or co-authored over 250 peer-reviewed journal articles and presented at numerous national and international sports medicine conferences. Hertel is a fellow of both the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Athletic Trainers' Association. He currently serves as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Athletic Training.

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Natalie Kupperman

Natalie Kupperman is an applied sports science researcher and certified athletic trainer. She studies the use of biometrics, wearables, and other athlete monitoring methods to reduce injury risk and optimize athletic performance. 

Prior to joining the School of Data Science faculty in 2022, Kupperman was a Ph.D. student in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Virginia where she did research in the Exercise and Sport Injury Lab and athletics with the men’s basketball team and women’s volleyball team. Before her doctoral studies, she spent seven years at Northwestern University working clinically as an athletic trainer in Athletics and the University Health Service. 

In combination with teaching, Kupperman’s research interests include data infrastructure and pipelines for collaboration in athlete monitoring, dynamic models of injury risk and athlete readiness, and creating seamless monitoring environments for sports teams. A few of her research papers include, “Global positioning system–derived workload metrics and injury risk in team-based field sports: A systematic review” and “Quantification of workload and wellness measures in a women’s collegiate volleyball season.”  
Kupperman holds a Ph.D. in Education-Kinesiology/Sports Medicine and an M.Ed. in Athletic Training from the University of Virginia and a B.S. in Athletic Training from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.