Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Three Mississippi State alumni were the only Americans at the recent International Conference on Applied Mathematics and Advanced Data Analytics for Industry 5.0 in India.

MSU grad Ravi Sadasivuni, an ICAMADA conference organizer and former MSU research employee who now is a visiting professor at VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology in Hyderabad, India, invited fellow alumni Aaron Didlake, a former HPC2 employee who specializes in data and cybersecurity, and George Banzhaf, a local entrepreneur whose company TreeTracker utilizes GIS as a forest management tool. They were featured speakers at the spring event that focused on how the country can more fully utilize cutting-edge technologies.

“The conference was more than an exchange of ideas but led to practical opportunities to solve real-world challenges in India and form international partnerships,” said Didlake, who explained that a High Performance Computing Advisory Committee was formed to support a new facility at the National Institute of Technology in Warangal, India. This likely will foster increased international business collaborations and researcher partnerships between the U.S. and India, he said.

“Ravi, George and I all met at MSU during grad school and have formed strong friendships through our shared vision of utilizing HPC and geospatial analytics to make real-world impacts,” Didlake said. “It is noteworthy that MSU alumni were the sole U.S. representatives among distinguished scholars from multiple countries across four continents, and I believe this highlights the global recognition of our alma mater’s contributions to the field.”

Banzhaf said the conference highlighted chances to “solve development challenges and take advantage of new opportunities in a growing economy.

“There is a tremendous amount of research, innovation and expansion of technology services happening. I also learned that India has a welcoming interest in working with U.S. companies,” said Banzhaf, who hopes to contribute to various mapping projects in India.

He added that the bond created through the Bulldog family ultimately is what led the friends to the international conference.

“Dr. Ravi and I met during graduate school while both studying advanced GIS and remote sensing in the Department of Geosciences. Our deep interest in advanced technology was an instant connection, and Ravi has always been full of insightful energy and friendship. He introduced Aaron and me through the years of us all being at MSU in various roles of students, alumni, and for them faculty/staff,” Banzhaf said.

Sadasivuni said the conference goal was to identify actionable outcomes and form lasting partnerships.

“The conference facilitated valuable networking opportunities and fostered collaborations among academia, research institutions and industry, with the overarching goal of advancing knowledge and promoting practical applications in these critical areas,” Sadasivuni said.