AI for All: Practical and Accessible AI for Research and Education
September 15, 2026The Mill at Mississippi State University
Starkville, MS
Speakers
Keynote Presentation
Joe Stradinger
Founder and CEO of EdgeTheory
Joe Stradinger is the Founder and CEO of EdgeTheory, an AI native narrative intelligence company. EdgeTheory's platform ingests large scale, real time data across the open web and social platforms, using machine learning to detect how narratives form, spread, and evolve, distinguishing organic conversation from coordinated or synthetic activity and tracing influence back to its source. Narrative Intelligence is applied, practical AI in action, giving leaders across the commercial landscape and national security alike a clear, timely picture of what is happening, and the decision advantage to act on it.
A former CPA turned early internet entrepreneur, Joe has spent over two decades studying how information moves and takes hold in digital communities, expertise that now shapes how EdgeTheory's models are built and applied.
Joe founded EdgeTheory together with board member Jim Barksdale, former CEO of FedEx, AT&T Wireless, and Netscape. He also helped launch the National Center for Narrative Intelligence (NCNI) in Oxford, Mississippi, the nation's first center dedicated to the discipline, where EdgeTheory serves as core technology and analytic partner.
A Mississippi Delta native, Joe often points back to his own roots to make the case that storytelling, plain, human, and well told, remains one of the most powerful and underused tools for cutting through noise and driving real decisions.
Joe Stradinger
Founder and CEO of EdgeTheory
Joe Stradinger is the Founder and CEO of EdgeTheory, an AI native narrative intelligence company. EdgeTheory's platform ingests large scale, real time data across the open web and social platforms, using machine learning to detect how narratives form, spread, and evolve, distinguishing organic conversation from coordinated or synthetic activity and tracing influence back to its source. Narrative Intelligence is applied, practical AI in action, giving leaders across the commercial landscape and national security alike a clear, timely picture of what is happening, and the decision advantage to act on it.
A former CPA turned early internet entrepreneur, Joe has spent over two decades studying how information moves and takes hold in digital communities, expertise that now shapes how EdgeTheory's models are built and applied.
Joe founded EdgeTheory together with board member Jim Barksdale, former CEO of FedEx, AT&T Wireless, and Netscape. He also helped launch the National Center for Narrative Intelligence (NCNI) in Oxford, Mississippi, the nation's first center dedicated to the discipline, where EdgeTheory serves as core technology and analytic partner.
A Mississippi Delta native, Joe often points back to his own roots to make the case that storytelling, plain, human, and well told, remains one of the most powerful and underused tools for cutting through noise and driving real decisions.
Panelist
Brian W. Hopkins
Deputy Chief Information Officer for Academic Technology
University of Mississippi
Dr. Brian W. Hopkins currently serves as Deputy Chief Information Officer for Academic Technology at the University of Mississippi, where he is responsible for the UM Office of Information Technology's efforts in Artificial Intelligence. A two-time Ole Miss graduate, Brian's academic specialty is in computer simulation of chemical phenomena, especially intermolecular forces. From computational science, he transitioned into high-performance computing and then into his current role. In addition to AI, he bears primary responsibility for data warehousing, HPC, and all technology in direct support of the teaching, learning, and discovery missions of the University.
Brian W. Hopkins
Deputy Chief Information Officer for Academic Technology
University of Mississippi
Dr. Brian W. Hopkins currently serves as Deputy Chief Information Officer for Academic Technology at the University of Mississippi, where he is responsible for the UM Office of Information Technology's efforts in Artificial Intelligence. A two-time Ole Miss graduate, Brian's academic specialty is in computer simulation of chemical phenomena, especially intermolecular forces. From computational science, he transitioned into high-performance computing and then into his current role. In addition to AI, he bears primary responsibility for data warehousing, HPC, and all technology in direct support of the teaching, learning, and discovery missions of the University.
Panelist
Mark Keever
Executive Director
High Performance & Research Computing
Mississippi State University
Mark Keever is the Executive Director of High Performance & Research Computing at Mississippi State University, where he leads the strategy, operations, and growth of advanced computing services that support institutional and federally funded research. With more than 30 years of experience spanning high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and enterprise IT, he has led major cyberinfrastructure initiatives at Mississippi State University, Oregon State University, Vanderbilt University, and Georgia Institute of Technology. His expertise includes AI and LLM enablement, HPC operations, data center leadership, research computing governance, and compliance for sensitive research environments. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with federal agencies including NSF, NIH, DoD, NOAA, and USDA to advance research capabilities and develop large-scale computing resources that accelerate scientific discovery.
Mark Keever
Executive Director
High Performance & Research Computing
Mississippi State University
Mark Keever is the Executive Director of High Performance & Research Computing at Mississippi State University, where he leads the strategy, operations, and growth of advanced computing services that support institutional and federally funded research. With more than 30 years of experience spanning high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and enterprise IT, he has led major cyberinfrastructure initiatives at Mississippi State University, Oregon State University, Vanderbilt University, and Georgia Institute of Technology. His expertise includes AI and LLM enablement, HPC operations, data center leadership, research computing governance, and compliance for sensitive research environments. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with federal agencies including NSF, NIH, DoD, NOAA, and USDA to advance research capabilities and develop large-scale computing resources that accelerate scientific discovery.
Panelist
Kelly Lucas
Vice President for Research
University of Southern Mississippi
Kelly Lucas, Vice President for Research at the University of Southern Mississippi, is responsible for shaping the institution's research and economic development vision and mission. With a focus on fostering innovation and collaboration, Lucas expands research opportunities across disciplines and cultivates partnerships with industry, government agencies, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations. She provides oversight for research activities across four academic colleges and manages ten research centers, two innovation clusters, and various research support units spread across multiple campuses and research sites at Southern Miss.
Lucas serves as the Executive Director of the USM Research Foundation and on the boards, the Mississippi Research Consortium, the Mississippi- Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, The Gulf of Mexico University Research Collaborative, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research/Institutional Development Award (EPSCoR/IDEA) Foundation, and the Governor's Gulf Coast Advisory Committee for Eco-restoration.
Lucas previously served as the Associate Vice President for Research Coastal Operations and in directorial roles at the Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center and the Gulf Coast Geospatial Center. Before rejoining USM, she was the first Chief Scientific Officer for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
A native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Lucas holds a Doctoral degree in coastal science from USM, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology from Mississippi State University. She has also served as the USM Science Fellow in the Office of Senator Thad Cochran, advising on ocean and atmosphere legislation and policy. Lucas has authored numerous scientific publications throughout her career and played a key role in establishing industry partnerships and securing grant funding.
Kelly Lucas
Vice President for Research
University of Southern Mississippi
Kelly Lucas, Vice President for Research at the University of Southern Mississippi, is responsible for shaping the institution's research and economic development vision and mission. With a focus on fostering innovation and collaboration, Lucas expands research opportunities across disciplines and cultivates partnerships with industry, government agencies, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations. She provides oversight for research activities across four academic colleges and manages ten research centers, two innovation clusters, and various research support units spread across multiple campuses and research sites at Southern Miss.
Lucas serves as the Executive Director of the USM Research Foundation and on the boards, the Mississippi Research Consortium, the Mississippi- Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, The Gulf of Mexico University Research Collaborative, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research/Institutional Development Award (EPSCoR/IDEA) Foundation, and the Governor's Gulf Coast Advisory Committee for Eco-restoration.
Lucas previously served as the Associate Vice President for Research Coastal Operations and in directorial roles at the Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center and the Gulf Coast Geospatial Center. Before rejoining USM, she was the first Chief Scientific Officer for the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
A native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Lucas holds a Doctoral degree in coastal science from USM, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology from Mississippi State University. She has also served as the USM Science Fellow in the Office of Senator Thad Cochran, advising on ocean and atmosphere legislation and policy. Lucas has authored numerous scientific publications throughout her career and played a key role in establishing industry partnerships and securing grant funding.
Speaker
Marisa Brazil
Director of Strategic Initiatives
Reserch Technology Office
Arizona State University
Marisa Brazil is the Director of Strategic Initiatives in Arizona State University's Knowledge Enterprise Research Technology Office (RTO), where she leads research engagement and directs the delivery and implementation of research technology services. Her work supports research and promotes education and workforce development and she has extensive experience cultivating strategic partnerships across state, regional, and national levels. She has been an active contributor to the cyberinfrastructure community through key roles with the Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation (CASC), Women in HPC, the PEARC Conference, and the NAIRR User Experience Working Group. Marisa is co-PI on several CI workforce development projects: the Cross Institutional Research and Education Network (CIREN), the Cyberinfrastructure Community-wide Mentorship Network (CCMNet), and CI-enabled Quantum Computing Understanding Atomic Structures and Properties of Materials (QC4MC).
Marisa Brazil
Director of Strategic Initiatives
Reserch Technology Office
Arizona State University
Marisa Brazil is the Director of Strategic Initiatives in Arizona State University's Knowledge Enterprise Research Technology Office (RTO), where she leads research engagement and directs the delivery and implementation of research technology services. Her work supports research and promotes education and workforce development and she has extensive experience cultivating strategic partnerships across state, regional, and national levels. She has been an active contributor to the cyberinfrastructure community through key roles with the Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation (CASC), Women in HPC, the PEARC Conference, and the NAIRR User Experience Working Group. Marisa is co-PI on several CI workforce development projects: the Cross Institutional Research and Education Network (CIREN), the Cyberinfrastructure Community-wide Mentorship Network (CCMNet), and CI-enabled Quantum Computing Understanding Atomic Structures and Properties of Materials (QC4MC).
Speaker
Juanjo Garcia Mesa
Research Software Engineer
Reserch Technology Office
Arizona State University
Juanjo García Mesa is a Research Software Engineer with the Research Technology Office (RTO) Computational Research Accelerator at ASU, where he supports and accelerates research through advanced computational methods, cyberinfrastructure facilitation, and high-performance computing (HPC) resources. He earned a PhD in Bioinformatics at the Cartwright lab at ASU in 2023, with research focused on codon-aware statistical sequence alignment methods.
His current work and publications span research computing, large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, and AI-enabled research support. García Mesa is active in the broader research computing community through Campus Champions leadership since 2024, service on the Rocky Mountain Advanced Computing Consortium (RMACC) executive team since 2025, and as a member of working groups in CaRCC and the NAIRR Pilot. He has presented at local, regional, and national events on cyberinfrastructure, HPC user best practices, research computing, and applied AI for research.
Juanjo Garcia Mesa
Research Software Engineer
Reserch Technology Office
Arizona State University
Juanjo García Mesa is a Research Software Engineer with the Research Technology Office (RTO) Computational Research Accelerator at ASU, where he supports and accelerates research through advanced computational methods, cyberinfrastructure facilitation, and high-performance computing (HPC) resources. He earned a PhD in Bioinformatics at the Cartwright lab at ASU in 2023, with research focused on codon-aware statistical sequence alignment methods.
His current work and publications span research computing, large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, and AI-enabled research support. García Mesa is active in the broader research computing community through Campus Champions leadership since 2024, service on the Rocky Mountain Advanced Computing Consortium (RMACC) executive team since 2025, and as a member of working groups in CaRCC and the NAIRR Pilot. He has presented at local, regional, and national events on cyberinfrastructure, HPC user best practices, research computing, and applied AI for research.
