To view the full digital exhibition visit: https://story.datascience.virginia.edu/ The Story of Us is a digital brand showcase that chronicles the creation of a data science school at the University of Virginia. From an idea to an institute, and now to the first school of its kind in the nation, this bespoke, interactive website tells the story through written and spoken narrative supported by multimedia, archival documentation, and testimony from a diversity of voices. The result is a unique...

The UVA School of Data Science was formed in September 2019 and has since grown in its collaborations, partnerships, program offerings, and teaching and research personnel. We are now constructing a new facility that will house the School of Data Science at the University of Virginia. The new building is in the first phase of development and, once complete, will link the University's Central Grounds with the athletic fields and North Grounds. The 60,000-square-foot building is the future home...

In his new book, The AI Playbook: Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment, Eric Siegel offers a detailed playbook for how business professionals can launch machine learning projects, providing both success stories where private industry got it right as well as cautionary tales others can learn from. Siegel laid out the key findings of his book in our latest episode during a wide-ranging conversation with Marc Ruggiano, director of the University of Virginia’s Collaboratory for...

This panel delves into how the faculty at UVA's School of Data Science are actively working to craft a liberal arts curriculum suitable for the digital age, one that not only adapts to but embraces changes in technology and practice. The panel discusses the future of data science education, including in K-12, the school’s guiding philosophy for its undergraduate and graduate programs (minor, B.S., online and residential M.S., Ph.D.), and the merits as well as challenges that arise when...

Because of advances in machine learning, wearable technology, and computer vision, the field of sport analytics is a whole new game. This episode gets into the details on what is new, the impact of analytics and technology on athletes and sports, as well as the ethics surrounding its implementation. Three experts from the University of Virginia School of Data Science met to discuss this exciting topic: Natalie Kupperman, Stephen Baek, and Don Brown.   On behalf of everyone here at the School...

Artificial intelligence has the potential to change our societies, economies, and political systems in both intentional and unintended ways. While it is difficult to understand the full extent of what the long-term impacts may be, we have enough shared knowledge and expertise to predict the likely shapes that these changes may take—both for better and for worse. More importantly, we should ask ourselves what kind of future we want AI to help us create: what we want from the future of AI...

The latest episode of UVA Data Points features Don Brown, the senior associate dean for research at the School of Data Science, and professor Bill Basener as they discuss remote sensing, which is the process of collecting data about an object without contacting it. The discussion traces the history of remote sensing, its many applications, and the challenges involved in gathering accurate information. The two take an in-depth look at Basener’s research, including his work with LiDAR and...

This episode is a collaboration between UVA Data Points and Hoos in STEM. This episode of UVA Data Points features Ken Ono discussing the growth of data science at UVA and its increasing importance in various disciplines, including how he uses it to help swimmers improve performance. Ono is a professor of mathematics and STEM advisor to the provost, as well as a professor of data science by courtesy. He recently supported the women's team at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Japan.Ono speaks with...

Excavating the Mother Lode of Human-Generated Text: A Systematic Review of Research That Uses the Wikipedia Corpus

In this episode we’re looking at the past, present, and future of artificial intelligence in higher education. To explore this topics we’re featuring a conversation between Phil Bourne, the dean of the UVA School of Data Science, and Jeffrey Blume, the Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, also at UVA Data Science. Jeffrey and Phil discuss the recent trends in artificial intelligence and they look at how this will impact the student experience, the faculty and staff experience, and...

This episode was recorded during the Miller Center’s 2023 William and Carol Stevenson Conference, U.S. China Tech Competiton: Has Democracy Met its Match?  For more info on this conference, as well as to watch the video versions, follow this link: https://millercenter.org/news-events/events/us-china-tech-competition-has-democracy-met-its-match This episode features the first panel discussion from the conference entitled: Apps, platforms, and surveillance  How might apps and other technology...

In this episode, we're thrilled to have Dr. Aynne Kokas, a C.K. Yen Professor at the Miller Center and an associate professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. Kokas’ research examines Sino-U.S. media and technology relations. Dr. Kokas is also the author of the critically acclaimed book "Trafficking Data: How China Is Winning the Battle for Digital Sovereignty," which we will be referring to frequently throughout this conversation. We will also touch on a few topics that were...

This episode explores the intersection of neuroscience and data science with three experts in the field, Drs. John Darrell van Horn, Tanya Evans, and Teague Henry. As we know, the brain is complicated. People have been charting paths through the brain for decades, making breakthroughs and discoveries that have changed the world. In recent years though, new methodologies in brain research have made significant impacts. Advances in computing power, as well as techniques like machine learning,...

This episode features a conversation between Lane Rasberry, Wikimedia-in-Residence at the University of Virginia School of Data Science, and Virginia Eubanks, author, journalist, and associate professor of political science at the University at Albany.  The conversation was recorded in 2019 but the topics are still relevant today. Eubanks looks toward the future, warning of the unintended—or at times intended—consequences of emerging technologies. The discussion focuses on the effects of...

In this episode we’re bringing you a conversation on the future of academic data science recorded live at UVA Data Science’s Datapalooza 2022 event Datapalooza is a flagship event for the School of Data Science. It’s typically held each year in November and features presentations by researchers here at UVA, as well as friends and collaborators of the School of Data Science. In this episode we’re featuring a panel discussion between:  Doug Hague, the Executive Director at UNC-Charlotte’s...

For our exploration of Analytics, we are diving into the world of sports. Because of advances in machine learning, wearable technology, and computer vision, the field of sport analytics is a whole new game. This episode gets into the details on what is new, the impact of analytics and technology on athletes and sports, as well as the ethics surrounding its implementation. Three experts from the University of Virginia School of Data Science met to discuss this exciting topic: Natalie...

This bonus episode features a conversation between Lane Rasberry, Wikimedian-In-Residence at the UVA School of Data Science, and Lloyd Sy, a Ph.D. candidate in the UVA Department of English. In this conversation, Lane and Lloyd take a deep dive into the expansive world of Wikidata and ask the existential question, "What makes a person a person?" Or, more specifically, what data points make up a person? To help answer this question, Lloyd developed a large-scale data model of the biographical...

This episode on Systems explores the challenges of cloud computing within the framework of biomedical research. Phil Bourne, Dean of the UVA School of Data Science, speaks with computational biologist and associate professor Nathan Sheffield about a paper they co-wrote on systemic issues from cloud platforms that do not support FAIRness, including platform lock-in, poor integration across platforms, and duplicated efforts for users and developers. They suggest instead prioritizing...

The UVA School of Data Science was formed in September 2019 and has since grown in its collaborations, partnerships, program offerings, and teaching and research personnel. We are now constructing a new facility that will house the School of Data Science at the University of Virginia. The new building is in the first phase of development and, once complete, will link the University's Central Grounds with the athletic fields and North Grounds. The 60,000-square-foot building is the future home...

Rafael Alvarado and Allison Bigelow discuss the Multepal project, which focuses on decolonization and the digital humanities through encoding the Popol Vuh, the Mayan book of creation, and other indigenous texts. Their research connects the humanities to data science by framing digitization and data design as interpretive acts that can have far reaching consequences for our understanding of history and society.   Multepal Links: Digital Edition of the Popol...

This bonus episode features Matthew Thomas, a data scientist at Inclusively and a graduate of the UVA M.S. in Data Science program. He talks about how Inclusively works to create and maintain a job board designed specifically for job seekers with disabilities. Matthew explains how typical job boards come with many built-in biases that can screen out qualified individuals without them even knowing. He discusses the challenges of removing biases from algorithms and the importance of honesty and...

UVA Data Points sits down with Cathy O'Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction, and Brian Wright, Assistant Professor of Data Science at the University of Virginia. The candid dialogue ranges from O'Neil's new book The Shame Machine to her work as an algorithm audit consultant. The two also draw comparisons between data science problems and knitting, as well as discuss educating future data scientists. Links: https://mathbabe.org (Cathy O'Neil's...

Before diving into the complex world of data science it seemed to wise to establish a shared definition of the field. Here at the UVA School of Data Science, we have defined data science with the 4 + 1 Model. This model serves an outline for the first series of UVA Data Points. It also serves as a guiding definition within the School of Data Science, touching everything from research to course planning. In this introduction trailer, host Monica Manney discusses the history, development, and...