Thanks again for joining "Vibe Coding: Is It Right for Data Science?"
Plus, help a Charlottesville startup, free book give-aways, and more upcoming events
Thank you again to the 50 or so folks who joined us at the UVA School of Data Science last week for the talk Vibe Coding: Is It Right for Data Science? from Mike Pfaffenberger, currently an AI Engineer in Walmart’s Global Tech organization.
All of Mike’s slides were themselves vibe-coded! You can review them on your own machine by following these steps:
Install the `uv` package manager, if it’s not already available on your system.
Clone the talk’s GitHub repository.
In your terminal, switch into the new directory and run the command
uv run vibe_coding.py
Help a Charlottesville startup and get a $20 gift card
Know Your Developer (KYD) is a Charlottesville-based startup working to restore trust in technical hiring. It provides a way to turn your public work, like GitHub, software packages, publications, and social profiles, into a private, portable, provable profile you can share with employers or collaborators.
As a perk for the Charlottesville Data Science community, anyone who submits a KYD Self-Check Report with two or more connected sources and emails Milanie Cleere (mcleere@knowyourdeveloper.ai) by Wednesday, October 15 (11:59 PM ET) will receive a $20 Amazon gift card. Use code KYDDEV2 at knowyourdeveloper.ai to run your report free.
Thanks again to Know Your Developer for sponsoring our October event!
Data Analysis with LLMs Book Give-Away
Congratulations to Nathan, Mari, Brent, and Martin, all of whom won a free copy of the e-book version of Data Analysis with LLMs by Immanuel Trummer, courtesy of Manning Publications! Everyone who entered to win also received a discount code for 45% off any purchases from the Manning website.
We’re going to try to do more free book give-aways like this in the future!
Upcoming events around Charlottesville
Friday, October 17: GA-Intelligence (formerly CCRi) is hosting the “Can AI Do Puzzles?” AI hackathon. From logic games to crossword puzzles, join a team and devise experiments to find out how well different AI agents do with these seemingly simple tasks. It’s free to participate, but advance registration is required.
Tuesday, October 28: Cville AI Explorers is hosting their October meeting at Studio IX. The event will feature a fireside chat with Michael J. Prichard, Founder & CEO of Shift AI.
Thursday, November 6: The Data Centric Summit & Career Fair is taking place at the CODE building on the Downtown Mall. The summit will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, and a workshop covering a wide range of topics, including data governance, data security, AI/ML, and emerging data technologies. Most of the sessions are free to attend, but advance registration is required.
Wednesday, November 12: We’ve rescheduled Kim Scott’s talk Ditch the Anxiety, Make Bold Moves, and Design Your Meaningful Tech Career as Charlottesville Data Science’s November event! Join us at Vault Virginia on the Downtown Mall to learn about practical tools and mindset shifts that can help tech professionals stay calm, collected, and direct their energy to what matters most.
Friday, November 14: The UVA School of Data Science hosts Datapalooza 2025, its signature fall event bringing together faculty, students, alumni, and the community to showcase data science in action — across disciplines, industries, and the public good. It’s free to attend, but advance registration is required.
Friday, November 14-Saturday, November 15: beCamp 2025, Charlottesville’s long-running annual “unconference” for technologists, creatives, and builders, will take place at the Looking Glass Art Bar (Friday evening) and Studio IX (Saturday). It’s entirely community-driven — no preset agenda, no panels, no keynotes. On Friday night, participants pitch and vote on ideas for sessions, then spend Saturday diving into the conference schedule they’ve created together. beCamp is free to attend, but advance registration is required.