Walton College, Consortium Organizing Blockchain Conference for April 6

Mary C. Lacity speaks to University of Arkansas faculty and students in September 2017.
David Speer

Mary C. Lacity speaks to University of Arkansas faculty and students in September 2017.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Department of Information Systems at the Sam M. Walton College of Business and the Enterprise Systems Blockchain Consortium are hosting a conference on the basics, value propositions and technology options of blockchain. Registration closes March 30.

Mary C. Lacity, Curators’ Distinguished Professor and International Business Fellow at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, is the keynote speaker for the event. Her talk on “The Business of Blockchain as the New World Order” will kick off the event at 8:30 a.m., Friday, April 6, at the Chancellor Hotel at 70 N. East Ave. in Fayetteville.

Lacity, in speaking about blockchain to a group of University of Arkansas faculty and students in 2017, defined blockchain this way: “A blockchain is a decentralized, peer-to-peer system for validating, time-stamping and permanently storing transactions on a distributed ledger that uses encryption protocols to authenticate digital asset ownership and consensus protocols to prevent double spending, to add validated transactions to the ledger and to ensure the ongoing integrity of the ledger’s complete history. Some blockchains also use smart contracts that apply rules to automatically execute transactions based upon pre-agreed conditions.”

In her keynote, Lacity will be sharing the findings from her forthcoming book, A Manager’s Guide to Blockchain Applications for Business: Mindshifts, Strategies and Action Principles.

Conference attendees will participate in a daylong series of panels and presentations with industry leaders from members of the Enterprise Systems Blockchain Consortium — ArcBest, IBM, J.B. Hunt Transport Inc., Tyson Foods and Walmart.

Industry and academic experts presenting at the conference include Chris Enslin and Archana Sristy of Walmart, Nikhil Gupta of IBM, Heather Czech of SAP, P.J. Johnson of Microsoft, Nitin Kale from the University of Southern California and Zach Steelman, Beth Keiffer, Ron Freeze and Rhonda Syler of the Walton College information systems department. Attendees also will also have the opportunity to build their own use case, get hands-on with Hyperledger and Ethereum or take a deeper dive into business analytics.

For more information or to register for the conference go to blockchain.uark.edu.

Contacts

Rhonda Syler, associate director of enterprise systems
Sam M. Walton College of Business
479-575-4500, rsyler@walton.uark.edu

David Speer, senior director of communications
Sam M. Walton College of Business
479-575-2539, dlspeer@uark.edu

Headlines

Engineering Students Select Degree Programs During Decision Week

The College of Engineering recently held a reimagined "Decision Week," including two sessions at which 664 first-year engineering students selected their intended discipline among 10 possible degree sequences.

'Student Success & Global Futures With WLLC' Features Roundtable and Information Sessions

Undergraduates learned from students who had previously studied world languages, played a Passport game to win prizes and learned specific language programs, study abroad and extracurricular activities.

U of A Human Resources Leaders Featured at 2024 HRD Summit

Michelle Hargis Wolfe, chief people officer, and Ashley Ingram, director of talent development, presented breakout sessions during the HRD Summit, held March 9 inside the Graduate Education Building.

Visit With Contracts & Strategic Sourcing at Making Your Day Work Carnival March 28

Connect with university employees who work in the department of contracts and strategic sourcing. Visit the Making Your Day Work Carnival on March 28 in the Arkansas Union Ballroom and Connections Lounge.

Funding Available for Research in Cell and Tissue Metabolism

A pilot project will provide funding for research on campus that measures an aspect of metabolism or elucidates the role of metabolism within a biomedical application. Apply by April 15.

News Daily