Mykhaylo (Mikhail) Golovnya

Attributing his success to his desire to learn and willingness to persevere, Mikhail Golovnya has excelled as a senior advisory data scientist at Minitab, a statistics packaged developed at the Pennsylvania State University, since 2017.

In this position, Mr. Golovnya is responsible for taking the difficult data science concepts and algorithms and finding a way to present and explain them in an understandable way for everyone. Equipped with more than two decades of expertise in statistical analysis in software platforms, he stands as a renowned figure in modern machine learning and analytics algorithms.

Born and raised in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Mr. Golovnya, whose parents worked as engineers in government institutions, prepared for his professional journey by obtaining a Master of Science in aeronautical control systems and rocket science from Kharkiv State Polytechnic University in 1995; he subsequently chased the American Dream, immigrating to the United States in 1999 and attaining a Master of Science in statistical computing from the University of Central Florida in 2001. He served as a senior scientist at Salford Systems in San Diego and secured a position as a research assistant at a university; his is a journey that exemplifies the quintessential immigrant narrative of perseverance, dedication, and hard work.

Looking toward the future, Mr. Golovnya strives to learn more about all the new frontiers in data science, data mining, and data analysis to advance his professional understanding in his advisory role. On a more personal level, he aspires to deepen his understanding of the philosophy of the different systems, and he wants to learn the Hebrew language; he’s already fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, and English, as well as proficient in reading Portuguese, Italian, and Greek languages.

Outside of his primary responsibilities, Mr. Golovnya enjoys hiking, mountain climbing, reading, as well as Bible teaching, international missionary retreats, and utilizing his ham radio license.