Virginia Beach, Virginia–March 2022—Kalman & Company, Inc. (Kalman) is excited to congratulate Kalman Business Analytics Team members Zach Pryor, Benjamin Walzer, Daniel Mask, Jacob Walzer, Sean Mellott, and Chris Milo for winning first place in the Risky Space Business: NASA AI Risk Prediction Challenge.
The contest was developed and released by Freelancer on behalf of the National Aeronautics Space Agency’s (NASA). Freelancer challenged contestants to utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to extract risk data from past project documents and develop predictive models to identify potential risks in future projects. Freelancer.com is the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace by total number of users and projects posted across over 2,000 areas as diverse as website development, logo design, marketing, aerospace engineering and manufacturing. Kalman’s winning solution was awarded the top prize of $20,000.
Kalman’s winning solution employed algorithms programmed in Python that leveraged open-source ML and Natural Language Processing (NLP) models to train text classifiers on historical NASA documents to recognize language patterns relating to risk. Risk-related language and complimentary data were extracted into tables, converting relevant document text into a risk registry relational database. The compiled risk dataset was then used to predict associated risk types, probabilities, and impacts. Solutions and methodologies were proposed in a detailed white paper and the source code uploaded to GitHub.
Kalman aligns investments in company capabilities with investments in our people. We offer our analysts a supportive, stimulating work culture, provide access to ongoing training and education, and encourage involvement in hands-on technology challenges. With the Risky Space Business Challenge, Kalman saw an opportunity to leverage our team of data scientists to help NASA build cutting edge risk management tools while expanding our AI and ML expertise.
Additional information about the challenge available here: https://www.freelancer.com/contest/risky-space-business-nasa-ai-risk-prediction-challenge-2008562.
For more information about how our Business Analytics team can meet your challenges: Let’s Work Together!