Jim Shepich Email & Phone Number

Plymouth, Mi, Us

United States

Happy Slaying is a startup indie game studio that is transforming the gaming industry with an eclectic mix of card games, board games, and video games. I joined Happy Slaying as the Director of Data Science in 2022.I started out at Happy Slaying using reinforcement learning to train AI to play our card game PUNISH. By the end of the project, the AI achieved superhuman performance with a >70% win rate. I am responsible for all parts of the AI model development process including integrating telemetry into our games, designing database schemata for storing game data, training models, building APIs used to access our models, and monitoring AI performance over time.At Happy Slaying, I wear many hats. In addition to my data science responsibilities, I take an active role in game design and playtesting, marketing and branding, graphic design, project management, and business strategy.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

MARCQI is a collaborative organization dedicated to improving the quality of care for patients who undergo hip and knee replacement surgery in the state of Michigan. In the summer of 2022, I joined MARCQI's coordinating center as a data science intern and now work as a full-time systems analyst.My primary project focuses on developing and testing an interactive visualization dashboard to help surgeons review their outcomes with SPC charts based on case-level data. I regularly interface with orthopedic surgeons as both domain experts and end-users on multiple occasions, and incorporate their feedback into the development process. The dashboard is developed using the Plotly Dash framework in Python.In addition to the dashboard project, I also help coordinate triannual collaborative-wide meetings held in February, June, and October (with nearly 200 surgeons and clinical data abstractors in attendance). Other projects I've worked on include using the OpenFDA API to automate the alerting system for recalled implants and exploring the use of decision tree learning to detect patterns related to anomalies in the frequency of complications.

Polygence is an online research academy that connects high school students with expert mentors to conduct student-driven research projects. At Polygence, I serve as a mentor to high school students who want to pursue data science or machine learning projects. I work with these students to develop the skills they need to research the topics of their interest, and I help guide them through the research process. I have worked with several students on projects including developing a visualization dashboard for Netflix listings and using machine learning to detect fake news.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

The Wolfe Group is an organometallics research group that focuses on palladium-catalyzed alkene difunctionalization reactions for the synthesis of carbocycles and heterocycles. My project involved developing a regiodivergent carboamination reaction for selective synthesis of amine-functionalized methylene cyclopentanes and methylene cyclobutanes. Working in the Wolfe Lab, I developed many advance laboratory skills including air-free techniques (e.g. glove box, Schlenk line, etc.), purification techniques (e.g. recrystallization, distillation, column chromatography, etc.) and analytical techniques (e.g. NMR, GC, IR, MS, etc.).I became the group's de-facto tech guy, as I fixed various problems with the group computer, diagnosed and fixed the automated flash chromatography system (broken motherboard), did damage-control on the broken refrigerators, and designed/manufactured waterproof storage units for vials. I trained new graduate students on the GC and automated flash chromatography instruments, and I wrote instruction manuals for the operation of the instruments.

Houghton, Michigan, United States

I spent a summer at Michigan Tech doing industrial archaeology research under Dr. Tim Scarlett. With a group of undergrad and graduate students, I performed geographical surveys and conducted excavations of a dormitory in Houghton, a laundry in Calumet, a hotel in Eagle River (MI), and a Native American mining site in Copper Harbor. I gained experience with total station optical surveying, ground-penetrating radar surveying, documenting stratigraphy, and cataloguing and cleaning artifacts.

University Center, Michigan, United States

In this research internship, I worked with a team of high school students, undergraduate students, teachers led by Dr. Tami Sivy to sample and analyze water from many sites in the Saginaw Bay watershed. I regularly performed tests to quantify many water quality metrics including turbidity, pH, E. coli contamination, dissolved nitrates, nitrites, organic phosphates, etc. In addition to routine water quality testing, I performed an experiment comparing the accuracy of data generated form composite samples against the golden standard of multi-sample averages.

Master Of Science - Ms, Data Science, Gpa 4.0

Bachelor Of Science In Chemistry - Bschem, Chemistry, Highest Distinction (Gpa 3.974) And Highest Honors

Activities and Societies: LSA Honors College University Honors

High School Diploma, Math/Science

Activities and Societies: Math/Science Concentration Chemistry Club FIRST Robotics (5193 Pantheon) Concert Band Chamber Ensemble.

High School Dual Enroll, Mathematics, 4.0 Gpa

In my senior year of high school, I took Calc III, Differential Equations, Discrete Math, and Complex Analysis as a dual enroll student.