Alan L. Dennis

Dr. Alan L. Dennis is a seasoned technical architect. He has created numerous Databricks solutions, including Lakehouses. His passions are Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and (to make those things possible) building data platforms and ecosystems. He has worked as a consultant, employee number one, research and developer, and a member of a technical member of the staff. Most recently, as of January 8th, 2024, he is a resource in Avanade's center of excellence focused on Databricks and related technologies. Before this, he worked at Lexmark in their Contected Technologies department, creating Optra Data Accelerator, a Databricks Lakehouse adoption accelerator. He teaches database and Artificial Intelligence classes at the University of the Cumberlands. This position allows him to pursue his goal of being a practitioner-scholar, bridging the gap between academia and industry. In addition to serving as an instructor, he has participated in numerous doctoral committees, helping students become doctors. He has taught at Colorado Technical University, Rasmussen University, Grand Canyon University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Capella University, and the University of Phoenix. On a personal note, Alan Dennis grew up reading a wide range of fiction. He enjoyed authors like Robert Heinlein, Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Frank Herbert, and (of course) Arthur C. Clark. After securing an advanced degree in computer science, he set out to make the world a better place, one program at a time. He was born in Fort Worth but now resides in rural southeastern Ohio. He completed his doctorate in computer science with a focus on Big Data Analytics. He works from home (most days) for a leading Microsoft solutions partner. He has too many dogs and one munchkin cat with an attitude sufficient to fulfill the cat quota. He owns a farm but currently does not farm. He has raised and owned goats, chickens, cows, geese, turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, and horses. They turned out to be much work. Enough said. He has completed 23 half marathons, is a member of fanatics, and completed one full marathon.