Data Science Seminar • Deploying Insights from Puck and Player Tracking in Near-Real Time

Please note: This seminar will take place in DC 1304.

Andrew C. Thomas, Data Science Group
SportsMedia Technology Inc.

One of the most direct ways to enhance a sports broadcast is to deploy information in real time to inform the audience, many of which can require a response time close to “live” to be implemented. This goes beyond mere presentation of raw data, but also insights derived from this data. I will discuss these regimes of data display in the context of Puck And Player Tracking provided to the NHL and used in sub-second graphical insertions as well as insights derived from longer-term statistical models.

Bio: Andrew C. Thomas was hired in 2019 to serve as the first head of SMT’s Data Science group. He leads a staff of data scientists, data engineers and sports experts to develop industry-leading insights and data pipelines for consumer products across multiple sports. He also interacts directly with SMT’s leaders of operations and software technology to maximize data quality throughout the organization for both real-time and delayed-time applications.

Dr. Thomas previously served as lead hockey researcher for the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, a statistical and hiring consultant for multiple MLB teams, and as a professor of statistics and data science at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Florida. He received a PhD in statistics from Harvard University and a SB in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.