Conference Agenda
November 8–10, 2026
Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026
| 4:00p – 6:00p | Conference Registration & NetworkingLocation: Pre-Function Compass Rose West |
Monday, Nov. 9, 2026
| 7:30a – 8:20a | Networking Breakfast — check-in and pick up name tagsLocation: Pre-Function Compass Rose West |
| 8:25a – 8:35a | Session 1 Welcome – Conference OverviewAli Emdad, Conference Chair | Morgan State University, National Center for the Study of Blockchain and FinTechLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 8:35a – 9:10a | Engineering Trust in Digital Finance: Stablecoins, Public Policy, and Financial InclusionA Fireside Conversation with Ashley Scott | Senior Director, Global Policy, Circle Internet Financial, LLCLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 9:15a – 9:35a | Session 2 A Unified System for Intelligent Financial Fraud DetectionVojislav Stojkovic | Morgan State UniversityLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 9:15a – 9:35a | Session 3 Corporate Crypto-Asset Disclosures and Liquidity Policy: Evidence from SEC 10-K FilingsArthur L. Wharton | Virginia State UniversityCo-Authors: Theodore Andrews, Aurelia Donald (Virginia State University)Location: Seagrass / P01 |
| 9:40a – 10:00a | Session 4 Engineering Trust in Algorithmic Lending: Explainable, Fairness-Aware Credit Risk Modeling for Financial InclusionRezoan Sultan | Morgan State UniversityCo-Author: Marwan Hossain (European University of Bangladesh)Location: Compass Rose West |
| 9:40a – 10:00a | Session 5 AI-Powered Comparative Analysis of the Top Five Cryptocurrency Assets Using Real-Time Market DataTriet M. Phan | North Carolina A&T State UniversityCo-Authors: C. Okafor, W. Okafor, D. Mehta, M. Thomas (North Carolina A&T State University); M. Souissi (Fayetteville State University); A. Emdad (Morgan State University)Location: Seagrass / P01 |
| 10:05a – 10:25a | Session 6 Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Credit Decisions? Evidence from Large-Scale Lending DataAkash Dania | Delaware State UniversityLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 10:05a – 10:25a | Session 7 Financial Inclusion in the Age of AI: Opportunities and Risks for Underserved CommunitiesDominique Jones | Alabama A&M UniversityCo-Author: Xia Zhang (Alabama A&M University)Location: Seagrass / P01 |
| 10:25a – 10:55a | Coffee BreakLocation: Pre-Function Compass Rose West |
| 11:00a – 11:20a | Session 8 Using Artificial Intelligence in Accounting: Transformations, Challenges, and Future DirectionTawfiq Abu-Raqabeh | Alcorn State UniversityLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 11:00a – 11:20a | Session 9 Blockchain-Anchored Detection and Recovery for Resilient Reinforcement Learning-Based Cyber-Physical SystemsImran Jahid Khan | Tuskegee UniversityCo-Authors: M. Hossain, M. Rahman, F. Wu (Tuskegee University)Location: Seagrass / P01 |
| 11:25a – 11:45a | Session 10 Ensemble LLM Consensus Architectures for Deterministic Trade Signal Generation: An Empirical Study of Multi-Persona AI Panels in Retail FinTech ApplicationsMichael Anton | Midas Invest, LLCCo-Author: Jean Wells (Howard University)Location: Compass Rose West |
| 11:25a – 11:45a | Session 11 The Safety Exposure Paradox: How Frontier AI Safety Research May Amplify Cyber Risk in Financial InfrastructureAbena Primo | Huston-Tillotson UniversityCo-Authors: A. Okpalaeze, A. Amin, R. Thompson (Huston-Tillotson University)Location: Seagrass / P01 |
| 11:50a – 12:10p | Session 12 Making Monetary Transactions Feel like Natural Conversations: A Conversation Design Framework for Banking UXRaymond Mbam | Morgan State UniversityCo-Author: Doowuese Igbazua (Towson University)Location: Compass Rose West |
| 11:50a – 12:10p | Session 13 StockForecastGenie Pro: A Volatility-Aware Machine Learning Decision-Support System for Short-Horizon Equity Index ForecastingChibuike Ibebuchi | Morgan State UniversityLocation: Seagrass / P01 |
| 12:15p – 1:45p | Networking LunchLocation: Pre-Function Compass Rose West |
| 1:50p – 2:10p | Session 14 Integrating Blockchain and AI for Secure and Scalable Financial Transaction MonitoringMohammad Salam | Chicago State UniversityCo-Author: Ozgur Gurbuz (Chicago State University)Location: Compass Rose West |
| 1:50p – 2:10p | Session 15 Engaging HBCU Students in Active Learning for Blockchain, FinTech, and Generative AI: A Human-Centered Pedagogical FrameworkShanzhen Gao | Virginia State UniversityCo-Authors: Weizheng Gao (Elizabeth City State University, Presenting Author); Julian Allagan (University of Maryland Eastern Shore); Ephrem Eyob, Arthur L. Wharton (Virginia State University)Location: Seagrass / P01 |
| 2:15p – 3:05p | Session 16 · Tech Talk / Workshop Building an AI-Powered Crypto Analytics Agent with Python and/or Power BIXiaoli Yuan | Elizabeth City State UniversityLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 3:10p – 3:40p | Coffee BreakLocation: Pre-Function Compass Rose West |
| 3:45p – 4:35p | Session 17 · Fireside Conversation Building Public Trust: Transforming Property Records with BlockchainEbony Thompson | Baltimore City SolicitorLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 4:40p – 4:50p | Session 18 Day 1 Wrap-Up, Announcements, and Tuesday Program LogisticsLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 4:55p – 6:30p | Break / Personal TimeLocation: Pre-Function Compass Rose West |
| 6:30p – 8:00p | Session 19 Networking Reception & Awards CeremonyLocation: Firepits / Poolside / LIUS / Fins |
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026
| 7:30a – 8:20a | Networking BreakfastLocation: Pre-Function Compass Rose West |
| 8:25a – 8:35a | Session 20 · Lightning Talk The Role of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain in Expanding Financial Inclusion for HBCU Students and Underserved CommunitiesIsrael Carter | Morgan State UniversityLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 8:25a – 8:35a | Session 21 · Lightning Talk Evolving Compliance and Using Artificial Intelligence in Business Organizations: Insights for HBCU Colleges and UniversitiesKarlisha Booze-Cutts | Fort Valley State UniversityCo-Author: Michelle Thomas Drew (Fort Valley State University)Location: Seagrass / P01 |
| 8:40a – 8:50a | Session 22 · Lightning Talk Leveraging Data Analysis for Personalized Financial ServicesRofiah Akanni | Morgan State UniversityLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 8:40a – 8:50a | Session 23 · Lightning Talk Adv-Mitigation Strategies of False Data-Intrusion Injection Attacks on Loadflow Smart Grids Via the BlockchainMojeed Bello | Morgan State UniversityLocation: Seagrass / P01 |
| 8:55a – 9:05a | Session 24 · Lightning Talk The Effect of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Adoption on the U.S. Equity MarketsKelly Carter | Morgan State UniversityLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 8:55a – 9:05a | Session 25 · Lightning Talk Does AI-Assisted Tactical Asset Allocation Improve Portfolio Performance? Evidence from Transparent Rules-Based FrameworkAkash Dania | Delaware State UniversityLocation: Seagrass / P01 |
| 9:10a – 9:35a | Session 26 Collaboration Lab: From Questions to Project ParticipationLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 9:40a – 10:25a | Session 27 Own Your Future: HBCU Innovation Challenge — Final PhaseBASE 11Location: Seagrass / P01 |
| 10:30a – 11:00a | Coffee BreakLocation: Pre-Function Compass Rose West |
| 11:05a – 11:25a | Session 28 Building Financial Resilience at HBCUs through Generative AI, FinTech, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity EducationWeizheng Gao | Elizabeth City State UniversityCo-Author: Shanzhen Gao (Virginia State University)Location: Compass Rose West |
| 11:30a – 12:15p | Session 29 Careers in FinTechLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 12:20p – 12:30p | Session 30 Closing Session – Conference Takeaways & Next StepsLocation: Compass Rose West |
| 12:30p – 1:30p | Closing Lunch & NetworkingLocation: Pre-Function Compass Rose West |
Agenda is subject to change.