As part of its mission to provide “Real-Time Data-Driven Decision Making,” Optimal routinely hosts members of the academic, research, business, and nongovernmental organization communities to participate in its Brown Bag Series. Held during lunch, the Brown Bag Series offers Optimal staff and invited guests the opportunity to explore state-of-the-art research methods and discuss research findings and innovative ideas.

Upcoming Events



Past Events

Date: February 24, 2018

Location: College Park, MD

Data Challenge: University of Maryland iSchool

In the coming weeks, the University of Maryland College of Information Studies (UMD iSchool) will host Data Challenge: a week-long event providing an opportunity for students to solve a challenging problem by using innovative and critical thinking paired with other aspects of their skill sets.

Date: September 28, 2017

Location: College Park, MD

Dr. Turner to Present “Open Data in the Public Sector” at UMD’s James Clark School of Engineering

The University of Maryland’s James Clark School of Engineering has partnered with Whiting-Turner Contracting Company to develop the Whiting-Turner Lecture Series.

Date: September 7, 2017

Location: College Park, MD

Maryland SAFE Center Visits Optimal

Laura Ardito is the Deputy Director of the University of Maryland SAFE Center For Human Trafficking Survivors. She has worked on human trafficking issues for over a decade from a direct services, programmatic, and policy perspective.

Date: August 2, 2017

Location:

2017 NCES DC Stats Conference: Using Tableau for Displaying Percentile and Regional Data Maps from NAEP Assessments

Dr. Brian Cramer and Rahul Rathi, along with Ebony Walton of NCES, presented on using Tableau for displaying percentile and regional data maps from NAEP assessments at the 2017 NCES DC-Stats in Washington, DC on August 2.

Date: July 13, 2017

Location: Brussels, Belgium

APPAM International Conference

This year, the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) will host the 2017 international conference in Brussels, Belgium, on July 13–14. Dr. Jennifer Auer, a senior research associate, will be a presenter.

Date: June 28, 2017

Location: Singapore

IPPA 3- Singapore 2017

The 3rd annual International Conference on Public Policy is around the corner, and this year Optimal will be a presenter at the three-day conference (June 28th-30th) in Singapore. The conference will include panels, networking, and workshops that feature talks on policy design, the political process of policymaking, policy instruments and more. Among the presenters will be Optimal’s CEO, Dr. Mark […]

Date: May 30, 2017

Location: College Park, MD

Beating the Odds: Studies in Federal Education Research

Former staffer, now associate professor, Mark A. Partridge, Ph.D. provided Optimal staffers an overview of the findings of the Beating the Odds (BTO) study in Federal Education Research. This study is an analysis of student performance in reading and mathematics on state assessments in big city schools. Dr. Partridge’s presentation focused on the BTO findings from South Carolina charter schools. […]

Date: May 25, 2017

Location: College Park, MD

UMD’s human-computer interaction lab launched 34th annual symposium

The Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) hosted its 34th Annual Symposium on May 25, 2017, at the University of Maryland, College Park. The HCIL symposium was founded in 1983 with a mission to transform the experience people have with new technologies. Optimal Solutions Group, LLC (Optimal) has been a long-term sponsor for this gathering of innovative thinkers.

Date: March 23, 2017

Location: College Park, MD

International Conference on Public Policy- Singapore 2017

The 3rd annual International Conference on Public Policy is around the corner, and this year Optimal will be a presenter at the three-day conference (June 28th-30th) in Singapore. The conference will include panels, networking, and workshops that feature talks on policy design, the political process of policy making, policy instruments and more. Among the presenters will be Optimal’s CEO, Mark […]

Date: July 19, 2016

Location: College Park, MD

Optimal staff learn how to tackle technical debt

Optimal’s Analytics team recently attended an in-house lecture given by Dr. Carolyn Seaman, who inspired the staff to think more deeply about the software they currently use to prevent accumulating “technical debt.”

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