UD’s Data Science Institute uses: Data as a tool for good

With the world awash in information, the University of Delaware-based Data Science Institute (DSI) serves at the forefront of research into the many ways data can impact and help society.

The institute “is a core network that brings faculty and students together,” drawing from all the university’s colleges, says Cathy Wu, the institute’s founding director.

“It allows us to do things that we wouldn’t be able to do within our own disciplines because we need collaboration with researchers in other fields,” adds Wu, who is the Unidel Edward G. Jefferson Chair. in Computer and Computer Engineering and Science and professor of computer and information science.

DSI, with approximately 150 faculty members, also offers symposia, programs and outreach that are helping to position Delaware as a leader in the world of data science. Its connections include projects linked to the university’s FinTech Innovation Center that allow access to the Institute’s resources by private and public organizations.

“We also connect with other educational partners such as Delaware State University and Delaware Community Technical College, and we have connections with industry partners,” adds Wu, a pioneer in international databases involving research in the health and medical fields. others; she has also served as a consultant at the National Institute of Health.

“In terms of the broader community, we have initiated a new collaboration with the US Department of Veterans Affairs,” says Wu. “We’re working on how we can bring the insights we’re gathering through data science, including the social determinants of health, to help with critical issues VA wants to address, such as suicide prevention.”

Coping with the AI ​​Revolution
Two major topics that many data science experts grapple with are cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. “Cybersecurity is definitely a big issue,” Wu says. “And in collaboration with the university’s Center for Cyber ​​Security, Assurance and Privacy, DSI is exploring it from several areas, including the engineering side and financial services.”

When it comes to AI, she notes, “Machine learning and AI have been around for decades, but with big data and high-performance computing, the acceleration in AI is unprecedented.”

As a result, she says, DSI is stepping up plans to expand AI research and education, in close collaboration with the university’s Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence.

Benjamin Bagozzi, assistant director of the university’s Master of Data Science program, serves as DSI’s associate director.

Assistant Director of the Master’s Program in Data Science Benjamin Bagozzi | PHOTO CREDIT: BENJAMIN BAGOZZI IMAGE COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE; NASA SATELLITE IMAGE OF DELAWARE TAKEN BY MODI

A great feature of the Institute is that it has a group within it that is passionate about the ethics of AI and data science,” he says. He points out that DSI holds symposia and panels on the ethical implications of AI, and students in the Data Science Master’s Program must take a course on ethics in data science and AI. “The power of these tools is immense,” says Bagozzi, “and we all want to be careful how they are used.”

Bagozzi, who also serves as an associate professor in the university’s Department of Political Science and International Relations, was originally trained in political science. “Nowadays, one of my main topics is the study of the written text as data, in terms of social and political processes.”

He explains: “I have analyzed different types of speeches, often at the international level, such as at the UN. The aim is to try to capture how countries can be aligned with or against each other when it comes to operating, or negotiating on issues such as climate change. It also explores and analyzes how individual citizens and their governments interact with each other through the use of written text.

Decomposing the complex system of the brain
Austin J. Brockmeier is a DSI resident faculty member; he is also an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Department of Computer and Information Science.

Brockmeier does in-depth data science research about the brain, working in collaboration with biomedical researchers and neuroscientists.

“The brain is obviously a complicated system,” says Brockmeier, “and I do analysis for clinical and neuroscientific outcomes. The goal is to find what changes are happening in the brain based on the images you get from an MRI scanner.” This kind of specialized data could help predict possible future medical outcomes, he adds: “For example, things like early indicators of cognitive decline or other disorders like schizophrenia.”

He continues: “If research finds patterns that predict future events, it can be used to regulate behavior in a positive way. If the risk factors are modifiable, for example, a person’s doctor might say something like, ‘Hey, you have a very high risk for this, so maybe you can exercise more or eat better for help reduce risk’.

One project in which Brockmeieris participates deals with data on mild traumatic brain injury. “We are looking to see how it might have an effect later in life and working with experts in concussion. In general, we are analyzing the possibility that any type of traumatic brain injury affects the structure of the brain; that it’s a bruise and it doesn’t always heal, so we’re seeing the long-term results of that.”

Using data to benefit agriculture
Dr. Pinki Mondalis, also a DSI resident faculty member, and an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Space Sciences. In addition, she serves as director of the undergraduate Environmental Sciences program.

“Most of the data I use comes from space satellites,” says Dr. Mondal. “NASA sends satellites that take images of the Earth and collect information for use by researchers around the world. So there’s a huge amount of data, going back to the 1970s.”

Background of Dr. Mondal is in environmental geography. “When people think of geography, they usually think of maps. But as environmental geographers, we deal with hundreds of gigabytes of computer data. To handle all that information, we need data science training that will help us, in turn, ‘train’ computers to tell us what’s going on with the satellite imagery.

One of the projects of Dr. Mondal focuses on Delaware agriculture. “We’re analyzing images taken from satellites, as well as drones and aircraft, to see how saltwater is flowing from the ocean and affecting farmland in Delaware. We combine all the information and ‘train’ the computer using simplified AI models, because it’s a huge amount of data and we need more than just human power. And we need to do it quickly, because we need to tell our climate communities and our farmers what’s going on.”

Dr. Mondal believes in the importance of open data sharing, “so anyone can go to our research website and download data on saltwater intrusion in Delaware; we’ve also created an app for it.”

She adds, “These are urgent conditions that affect Delaware’s economy because many farms here grow corn and soybeans, and salt water can really affect the state’s agricultural production.”

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