UMass Dartmouth will be kicking off the Preferred Freezer Services/Global Aquaculture Alliance Summer Internship Project on Tuesday, May 26 at 11:00 AM at the Foster Administration Building, Board of Trustees Room.
UMass Dartmouth will be kicking off the Preferred Freezer Services/Global Aquaculture Alliance Summer Internship Project on Tuesday, May 26 at 11:00 AM at the Foster Administration Building, Board of Trustees Room. Divina Grossman, Chancellor of UMass Dartmouth, notes "We are grateful to John Galiher, CEO of Preferred Freezer Services and a 1984 graduate, for bringing us such an impactful project. Our students will have the opportunity to engage in hands-on data analytics research and provide Preferred Freezer Services and the Global Aquaculture Alliance with relevant information to inform future strategy for their organizations."
Preferred Freezer Services, Inc. and the Global Aquaculture Alliance are sponsoring a 4-person student team advised by Computer and Data Science Professor, Dr. David Koop, to compile and organize a global database of aquaculture farmers, feed producers, processing centers and hatcheries. The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) is an international, non-profit organization committed to feeding the world through responsible, sustainable aquaculture. The GAA advocates for improving the entire aquaculture production chain, from feed mills and hatcheries to farms and processing plants, as well as wholesalers, retailers, foodservice operators and consumers. Wally Stevens, Executive Director of the GAA said "This project is both an incredible gesture by John Galiher and the folks of Preferred Freezer Services and a reflection of the program and student excellence of the UMass Dartmouth Data Science program. The data will serve to provide focus for the educational work which GAA undertakes with aquaculture producers around the world. GAA strongly believes in the role of education to make improvements in our aquaculture industry."
Preferred Freezer Services, Inc. offers the most modern, state-of-the-art, full service temperature controlled warehouses in the United States. They began providing cold storage services in 1989 from a 1.3-million-cubic-feet warehouse in Perth Amboy, NJ, with 26 full-time employees and gross revenues of $3.6 million. Since that time, they have expanded to become one of the largest Public Refrigerated Warehouse companies in North America. Frozen seafood is among the most critical products stored in their facilities. John Galiher, a 1984 alumnus of UMass Dartmouth states, "I am hiring several full-time employees from the University I attended as well as sponsoring two projects with student research teams that will impact the future of the company I have built from the ground up."
UMass Dartmouth's Data Science program offers an interdisciplinary approach to this emergent field, building upon the university's centers of excellence in engineering, computer science, mathematics, statistics and an array of academic disciplines. The program will launch this fall and will encourage students to harness the power of data to transform fields such as business, government, healthcare, and the sciences. Dean of Engineering, Robert Peck, suggests that "With the advent of the digital age, the amount of data which is generated is unprecedented. There is a much greater need than ever before for data to be analyzed and knowledge to be extracted to gain new insights for problem solving and decision support." UMass Dartmouth is putting Data Science to work for the Global Aquaculture Alliance and Preferred Freezer Services, Inc.
For more information about UMass Dartmouth and our Data Science Degree visit: umassd.edu/datascience
For more information about Preferred Freezer Services, Inc. visit: preferredfreezer.com
For more information about the Global Aquaculture Alliance visit: gaalliance.org
Press Contacts:
Joe Sullivan, UMass Dartmouth
jsullivan15@umassd.edu or 508-910-6884
Steve Hedlund, Global Aquaculture Alliance
Steven.Hedlund@gaalliance.org
Gail Hannagan, Preferred Freezer Services, Inc.
ghannagan@preferredfreezer.com