Category Archives: Data Science
Meet the U’s newest research instrument: The Zeiss Xradia Versa … – Vice President for Research
By Xoel Cardenas, Sr. Communications Specialist, Office of the Vice President of Research
Its not every day or even every year that the University of Utah gets a research instrument that is the envy of many universities and institutions. But recently, the U welcomed an X-ray microscope that will promote research innovations, discoveries, and collaborations.
In January, the Utah Nanofab announced the arrival of a new Zeiss Xradia Versa 620 X-ray microscope, which was installed a few weeks later. Its an X-ray microscope that will provide 3D, sub-micron imaging resolution of hard, soft and biological materials, according to the departments announcement. Materials can be studied under mechanical loads (up to 5 kN) and/or temperature conditions (-20 to 160 C).
The Versa 620 is a state-of-the-art instrument that will be unique in the Intermountain West region, Utah Nanofab added. A wide range of transformative studies in various fields will be enabled, they added, including aerospace materials, semiconductor devices, additive manufactured materials, geology, biology, medicine and more.
We spoke to Dr. Jacob Hochhalter, PI on the NSF proposal that funded the instrument acquisition and Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the U. He told us more about the Versa 620, what it can do, and how it will move forward research and discoveries at the U.
this instrument will help the U build collaborations around the country and increase our impact.
Q: Tell us about what the Versa 620 is and what it does.
Hochhalter: First, its an X-ray microscope. Starting from those two words, it should paint two pictures in your mind. The first is the commonly known X-ray image, which illustrates differences in material densities as varying contrast (light vs. dark), like differentiating a bone from its surrounding tissue. Second, the microscope part, means that researchers can make observations at small scales (think very small fractions of the diameter of a human hair). Consequently, beyond what a patient might conventionally see at the doctor, in the X-ray microscope researchers can also magnify to observe the very small length scales at which many fundamental mechanisms of materials operate. The level of magnification can be changed on-the-fly so scans of larger volumes at lower resolution can be done to detect interesting features, with a subsequent focus with higher magnification (higher resolution) to learn more about those features.
Q: How long did it take from the beginning of the idea of wanting to acquire this machine to successfully being awarded to acquire it?
Hochhalter: Success in these large grants requires persistence and proposals that get people excited. We submitted the proposal four times. In the first two times, the proposal was technically sound but not exciting enough to be competitive. Once we realized this sticking point we focused on building our regional and National collaborations, eventually receiving over 50 support letters from around the country. Once we made those connections, the regional and National impact was made clear across applications in aerospace, structural, biological, and geological materials applications, to name a few. I have been told that this is the first Track 2 (above $1.4M) NSF MRI award that Utah has led. Having learned from our early failures, we plan to capitalize on what we have learned through this process to bring more exciting instruments like this to the U.
Q: When it comes to the possibility of students or faculty discovering new things using this X-ray microscope that our university has, how will this machine help accelerate the step-by-step process of research?
Hochhalter: Prior to this award, faculty the Utah had to travel to one of a handful of places in the U.S., commonly called beamline facilities, which are massive facilities that enable similar acquisition capabilities. However, those resources are heavily utilized, and researchers are required to write proposals for access. If granted, travel to its location for an abbreviated study is required, which inherently restricts the impact of these exciting methods. With the Versa at the U, researchers now have a lab-scale surrogate for beamline resources which enables more widespread, inclusive adoption of exciting experimental studies which help accelerate materials development. An exciting impact is that this accessibility will increase in the quantity of data provided available, which will be leveraged by the researchers to advance a new frontier for data analytics and machine learning applications in materials research.
In other words, more observations not only opens the door for discovery, but the one thing that were really excited about is by being able to acquire more data to start leveraging data science methods and collaborating with, say, folks in the computer science department to bring new methods like machine learning and artificial intelligence to these studies. The other maybe more seemingly intangible, but very important possibility, is that this instrument will help the U build collaborations around the country and increase our impact.
With the Versa at the U, researchers now have a lab-scale surrogate for beamline resources which enables more widespread, inclusive adoption of exciting experimental studies which help accelerate materials development.
Q: What are some of the ideas or projects in mind when it comes to the Versa 620 and how it can help promote research among young students, in particular, help promote STEM education and have students at a younger age be more involved with what this machine can do?
Hochhalter: One of our goals for the next year is to create an inter-high school competition which will mimic the scientific process. So, phase one of the competition would be like a propsal phase during which Utah faculty would pose an open question and students would propose what should be scanned and how the data should be analyzed. Phase two would include the students receiving those data, analyzing it using their own creative process, and describing what they were able to learn. I am also working closely with the STEMCAP group at the U, who help open the exciting world of STEM to youth-in-custody students. This fall, we will be hosting a virtual tour (via Zoom) of the new X-ray microscope to students in that program.
Q: As a researcher, as an educator, just how exciting is it to have all this device, to be able to share it with students and just be a part of this? Its definitely got to be high up there in the list of personal accomplishments to be able to be a part of this, correct?
Hochhalter: You know, using it as a scientific tool is great. It helps us learn new things and develop new products across a broad range of applications. But in the end, the reason why were at the U is because we like to make an impact. Ive been at the U for five years, and before that I was at NASA for ten. Ultimately, I came to the U because I wanted to be closer to the impact on our future generations of scientists and engineers. With that in mind, getting students excited about the future of materials research and providing this new level of insight into material behavior is priceless.
To watch the Versa 620 in action, click here.
More information on the Utah Nanofab can be found here.
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Meet the U's newest research instrument: The Zeiss Xradia Versa ... - Vice President for Research
Arjun Verma’s approach to science is equal parts heart and hands-on – UCLA Newsroom
Its hard to say how Bay Area native Arjun Verma first fell in love with science.
One could say that it was inevitable after all, his mother was a physician who transitioned into clinical research, and his father is a software engineer. But he traces the initial spark to lessons he learned as a child while spending time with his friendly neighbors.
One was a retired engineer, and he spent a lot of time with me, digging in the garden for bugs and building model train sets and balsa wood airplanes, Verma said. And that was when I really gained a deep appreciation for working with my hands and understanding how things work.
Today, Verma is a molecular, cell and developmental biology major with a minor in bioinformatics on the cusp of his graduation from UCLA and his entrance into Harvard Medical School this fall. His goal is to become both a scientist and a cardiothoracic surgeon.
Im very interested in surgery and data science, and I hope I can contribute to the melding of the two. Through my volunteering, Ive learned that I love to interact with patients face-to-face and to be a pillar of support for them as they go through difficult times, he said. But I also really enjoy the process of taking the challenges patients face and zooming out to think, What kind of research can be done to solve these issues? Thats something I was really exposed to in the CORELAB.
The Cardiovascular Outcomes Research Laboratories principal investigator is Dr. Peyman Benharash, a UCLA Health cardiothoracic surgeon. For many of the research projects that Verma worked on under Benharash, he used data science and machine learning techniques to identify factors that contributed to postoperative complications and prolonged hospital stays. He also developed methods to 3D-print accurate heart models for surgical education.
I like to do a lot of different things, and my research lab is all computational, so majoring in MCDB was like scratching my itch to learn more about the intricacies of medicine and human biology, Verma said. In class, I enjoyed learning about things like DNA repair, metabolism and cancer stem cells; molecular, cell and developmental biology courses have undoubtedly kept my passion alive for the nuanced concepts Ill definitely encounter in medical school and beyond.
Some might argue that hes already made substantial progress in the field. As a student in UCLAs Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, he delivered one of only 19 podium presentations accepted at the Western Thoracic Surgical Associations Annual Meeting and published scholarly articles in JAMA Cardiology as well as the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the latter as the lead author. In addition, hes the founder and president of TechConnected, a student organization whose members volunteer free graphic design and web development expertise to further social change.
UCLA has definitely taught me about myself and how to be more resilient. When I was picking where to go to school, everyone said UCLA was too hard for premeds, but I saw it as a challenge, Verma said. I love the energy and the people here, the presence of diverse perspectives. This community is something Ill hold with me forever.
As he experiences that inevitable blend of excitement and fear any soon-to-be college graduate can relate to, Verma remains proud of all hes accomplished in the last four years. His parents are too, although getting them to say it out loud is another matter.
Indian families can be very muted when it comes to praise, Verma said with a laugh, sharing how after he committed to Harvard and updated his LinkedIn profile accordingly, he had a 30-minute phone call with his parents.
We were just talking about random stuff, like my week, but after we finished the call and hung up, I saw that I had a new LinkedIn message, he said. It was from my dad, and he said, Were proud of you.
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Arjun Verma's approach to science is equal parts heart and hands-on - UCLA Newsroom
Professorship of Data Science and Healthcare Improvement job with … – Times Higher Education
The Board of Electors to The Professorship of Data Science and Healthcare Improvement invites applications for this major academic leadership role tenured to the retiring age.
Based in The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute (THIS Institute) within the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, you will make significant contributions to the intellectual development of the discipline of healthcare improvement studies and lead programmes of research of national and international importance. You will form collaborations with academic and clinical partners and with world-leading centres in health data science at Cambridge and beyond, and secure funding and publish research of internationally excellent quality that results in real-world impact.
You will be a world-class academic with a distinguished track-record in the field of data science applied to healthcare improvement. You will have an outstanding record in research leadership and in teaching, training and capacity-building, and a proven ability to work collaboratively across organisations, disciplines and sectors and to communicate effectively with NHS partners and stakeholders. With an established background in a relevant area such as statistics, epidemiology, machine learning, or health informatics you will understand the challenges of making change in complex socio-technical systems and will have significant expertise in the use of routinely collected healthcare data to support actionable improvement in healthcare.
You will provide leadership for education and training in the Department and the School of Clinical Medicine more broadly. And, as a senior academic leader in the Department, you will demonstrate superb organisational citizenship.
If appointed, you will be an independent University-employed academic, responsible to the Director of THIS Institute and to the Head of the Department of Public Health and Primary Care.
You will be based in Cambridge. A competitive salary will be offered.
How to apply
Further information, including a detailed role description and person specification, and details on how to apply can be downloaded at https://candidates.perrettlaver.com/vacancies/ quoting reference number 6605.
For an informal and confidential discussion about the role, please contact Urvashi Ramphul on +44(0)20 7340 6280 or via email at urvashi.ramphul@perrettlaver.com.
The closing date for applications is Monday 10th July 2023 at 09:00 BST.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
For a conversation in confidence, please contact Urvashi Ramphul on +44(0)20 7340 6280 or via email at urvashi.ramphul@perrettlaver.com.Should you require access to these documents in alternative formats, please contact Esther Elbro on Esther.Elbro@perrettlaver.com.If you have comments that would support us to improve access to documentation, or our application processes more generally, please do not hesitate to contact us via accessibility@perrettlaver.com
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Professorship of Data Science and Healthcare Improvement job with ... - Times Higher Education
Here’s how to master machine learning – SiliconRepublic.com
With machine learning skills, you can work in data science, AI and medtech to name a few. Here, we give some pointers on how to get started.
Machine learning is a subset of AI that is used in a lot of real-world scenarios including customer service, recommender algorithms and speech-recognition software.
As machine learning is so widely used it is a great area to get familiar with. A very simple way of explaining machine learning and how it works is to think of it as computers imitating the way humans learn using algorithms and data.
Lets take a look at some of the concepts you should know in machine learning. You may end up honing in on one of these areas down the line after youve learned some of the basics.
Neural network architecture is often also referred to as deep learning. It consists of algorithms that can mimic the way human brains learn to process and recognise relationships between large data sets.
Youll find neural networks used in sectors such as market research and any industry that interacts with large data.
There are three main types of learning in neural networks. These are: supervised learning, unsupervised learning and reinforcement learning. Well take a look at the difference between supervised and unsupervised a little further on in the piece.
This consists of a set of machine learning methods that predict a continuous outcome variable based on the value of one or multiple predictor variables.
Regression analysis can be used for things like predicting the weather or predicting the price of a product or service given its features.
Clustering does what its name says in that its main purpose is to identify patterns in data so it can be grouped.
The tool uses a machine language algorithm to create groups of data with similar characteristics. It can do this much faster than humans can.
Supervised machine learning relies on labelled input and output data, but unsupervised does not. Unsupervised machine learning can process raw and unlabelled data.
Clustering uses unsupervised machine learning because it groups unlabelled data.
As we have identified, machine learning professionals interact with data quite a bit. As well as software engineering knowledge, they should have some data science skills.
This piece by Coursera on machine learning skills recommends that people learn data science languages like SQL, Python, C++, R and Java for stats analysis and data modelling.
That brings us on to maths; you will need a fairly solid grounding in statistics and maths to be able to understand the data science components of machine learning.
Being able to critically think about why youre using certain machine learning techniques is also pretty important, especially if you need to explain your methods and reasons to colleagues with a non-tech background.
Earlier this year, Yahoos Zuoyun Jin gave us some tips for learning, based on his experience as a machine learning research engineer.
If you want to brush up on your Python for machine learning, this guide on SiliconRepublic.com points you in the direction of some handy resources.
In terms of gaining a basic overview of machine learning, you might want to check out some online beginners courses. This Understanding Machine Learning programme from Datacamp says it provides an introduction with no coding involved.
If you are looking for something more advanced, this course by MIT gives learners an introduction to machine learning as well as ways the tech can be used by businesses. Its mainly geared towards applying the techniques in a business context.
Last but not least, Googles Machine Learning Crash Course is a 25-lesson programme that features lectures on the topic from Googlers.
10 things you need to know direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republics digest of essential sci-tech news.
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Delegation announces $20 million NSF award to fund data science … – Vermont Biz
Vermont Business Magazine This week, Vermonts Congressional Delegationannouncedthat the University of Vermont (UVM) would receive a $20 million award through theNational Science Foundation(NSF)s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program. The award will support continued data science research through the Harnessing the Data Revolution for Vermont: The Science of Online Corpora, Knowledge, and Stories(SOCKS)project a joint initiative of UVM, Champlain College, Middlebury College, Norwich University, Vermont Technical College, and Saint Michaels College.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) and Representative Becca Balint (D-VT) released the following statement:
Vermont colleges and universities are at the forefront of data science, pursuing groundbreaking research to help us better understand the world around us.The work happening at institutions across Vermont to complete the Harnessing the Data Revolution for Vermont: The Science of Online Corpora, Knowledge, and Storiesproject exemplifies that commitment.
With this $20 million award from the National Science FoundationsEPSCoR program, the University of Vermont and its partner institutions will be able to strengthen and grow Vermonts capacity for data science research and provide important information on the state of our world.
We congratulate the awardees UVM,Champlain College, Middlebury College, Norwich University, Vermont Technical College, Saint Michael's College and we thank the National Science Foundation for their work to bring this important funding to Vermont.
To read more about the award, pleaseclick here.
Source: 5.9.2023. WASHINGTON Vermonts Congressional Delegation
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Delegation announces $20 million NSF award to fund data science ... - Vermont Biz
Data Science Program, Launched in 2020, Celebrates First Graduates – University of Arkansas Newswire
Photo Submitted
Left to right are Benjamin Marlow, Jack Kincannon and Annelise Koster.
On May 13, the Data Science Program will celebrate its inaugural class of graduates:Jack Kincannon, Annelise Koster and Benjamin Marlow.
Kincannon will graduate with honors with a concentration in business data analytics and work for Arvest as a portfolio management analyst for its wealth management group. He was also a finalist for College of Engineering senior of the year.
Koster will graduate with honors and a concentration in business data analytics. She plans to work as an associate consultant with Mastercard in Rogers.
Marlow will graduate with a concentration in data science statistics. He plans to explore job opportunities in the fields of finance, sports analytics or tech consulting.
"Reaching commencement is always meaningful, but to be the first graduates from such a unique program in such an exciting and vital field is especially momentous," said Kathryn Sloan, interim dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. "We are so proud of our new data science alumni and congratulate them on this wonderful achievement!"
Launched in 2020 with 14 students, the Data Science Program is a multi-college, interdisciplinary undergraduate degree program between the College of Engineering, Sam M. Walton College of Business and Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.
The program has grown quickly, from 27 students entering the first year to 80 students entering this past year with a total number of students approximately 150 students today.
"The data science degree program at the University of Arkansas is one of a kind. Very few higher education institutions offer an interdisciplinary collaborative degree such as this," said Shannon Bedore, CEO of Sightline Retail, which provides retail analytics and data management services to midsize suppliers. "Graduates of this program are taught to understand broader implications for data management and analytics beyond their specific field of study, giving students a robust professional edge in the real world."
A key element of the program's teachings is industry knowledge and experience prior to entering the workforce. The program has worked toward that goal by "collaborating with industry leaders across the state to develop a world-class program that prepares graduates for rewarding careers with some of the nation's top companies," said Nelson Peacock, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Council.
Each of the students has endured challenging times, not only in being in the first group of students to enroll in the Data Science Program, but also doing so during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Having started courses virtually in 2020, to hitting the final stretch in 2023, I am appreciative of the process and everything I have learned," Marlow said. "I am proud to represent the first group of graduates and know this program will only continue to grow and prosper in the future."
The collaboration with Fulbright College and the College of Engineering in establishing an interdisciplinary program has been a rewarding and invigorating journey, said Matt Waller, dean of the Walton College.
"Witnessing bright, innovative students expand their horizons in this essential field and drive progress is nothing short of inspiring," he said.
The Data Science Program is at the forefront of the College of Engineering's push to provide a holistic educational experience, generate transformational and relevant knowledge and grow the STEM workforce for Arkansas and the world, said Kim Needy, dean of the college.
"These first three graduates are a great beginning for this dynamic and important program whose exponential growth demonstrates students' keen interest and companies' heavy demand for data scientists," she said. "We are grateful to this inaugural class, and we wish them much success."
Commencement will take place at noon on Saturday, May 13, during the College of Engineering ceremony in Barnhill Arena.
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Data Science Program, Launched in 2020, Celebrates First Graduates - University of Arkansas Newswire
Analytics and Data Science News for the Week of May 12; Updates … – Solutions Review
Solutions Review editors curated this list of the most noteworthy analytics and data science news items for the week of May 12, 2023.
Keeping tabs on all the most relevant analytics and data science news can be a time-consuming task. As a result, our editorial team aims to provide a summary of the top headlines from the last week, in this space. Solutions Review editors will curate vendor product news, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital funding, talent acquisition, and other noteworthy analytics and data science news items.
The strategic acquisition of Merilytics will be the foundation of Accordions Data & Analytics Practice to strengthen long-term support for its CFO clients. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Hyderabad, India, Merilytics uses decision sciences and an analytics-based approach to generate superior data-driven returns for its PE-focused clients.
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More than 10,000 data and analytics professionals participated in the virtual conference, held on April 26, 2023, to explore the development of the semantic layer technology category. The conference featured more than 50 industry leaders, including professionals from AWS, Databricks, Dremio, Google Cloud, InterSystems, Monte Carlo, Snowflake, Snowplow, Stardog, Toric, and BigEye.
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The ability to view Power BI files directly in OneDrive and SharePoint preview requires Power BI Admins toopt-in to enable the preview.The ability to share links to Power BI reports saved in OneDrive and SharePoint from Power BI Desktop preview ison by defaultand requires Power BI Admins toopt-outto disable the preview.
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Petal uses this innovative approach to serve consumers directly, while Prism Data provides cash flow underwriting technology to financial institutions, fintechs, and other businesses, helping them leverage open banking to build better products and make better credit decisions.
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The use of ChatGPT within Qrveys platform allows end users to quickly identify outliers, patterns, and forecasts, and even to suggest other questions or ways of visually presenting the findings. Together, these functions make it even easier for business users to quickly derive actionable information from even the most complex data.
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The billion-dollar investment includes direct research and development, industry-focused line-of-business teams, and industry marketing efforts. It will fund the innovative work of SAS data scientists, statisticians and software developers working with consultants, systems engineers and marketers with specific industry experience.
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At Tableau Conference 2023, the company announced new product innovations that help it continue its mission by using generative AI to simplify analytics while reimagining data experiences for everyone. In addition, Tableau shared how new developer capabilities bring analytics everywhere and how the Salesforce Data Cloud helps harmonize data with seamless analysis in Tableau.
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New capabilities enable users to experience data through generative AI, collaborate in context, connect and leverage new data sources and platforms, all delivered through an intuitive user experience in ThoughtSpot or within other third party applications. ThoughtSpot also announcedMonitor for Mobile, delivering users proactive notifications pushed to their mobile device as KPIs change.
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With the next Solutions Spotlight event, the team at Solutions Review has partnered with leading reliability vendor Monte Carlo to provide viewers with a unique webinar calledFrom Symptom to Source: A Guide to Root Cause Analysis for Data Engineers.During this workshop, well share a five-step process analytics engineering teams can use to conduct root cause analysis in a collaborative, quick, and effective manner.
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A panel of experts from Snowflake, Denodo, and their mutual customer Syngenta explore key considerations for modernizing your companys data architecture and discuss critical aspects of scaling your cloud data infrastructure. The 60-minute virtual event is moderated by an independent industry analyst, with a topic introduction hosted by Solutions Review all broadcast live to an audience of registered attendees.
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Ataccama Innovate 2023 will feature the launch of the companys new data management capabilities with a resourceful discussion on self-service, ensuring data quality, monitoring, analysis, remediation, and more. Speakers include Ataccamas Group Product Manager Lenka Studnicna, VP of Data Governance David Kolinek, and Chief Product & Technology Officer Martin Zahumensky.
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For consideration in future data science news roundups, send your announcements to the editor: tking@solutionsreview.com.
Tim is Solutions Review's Executive Editor and leads coverage on data management and analytics. A 2017 and 2018 Most Influential Business Journalist and 2021 "Who's Who" in Data Management, Tim is a recognized industry thought leader and changemaker. Story? Reach him via email at tking@solutionsreview dot com.
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Analytics and Data Science News for the Week of May 12; Updates ... - Solutions Review
Unlocking the Power of Data Science at Data Summit 2023 – Database Trends and Applications
Financial institutions have rich, customer-centric data and are in a strong position when building AI solutions. Since the functions differ, AI use cases also differ.
The recent intense interest in generative AI has given rise to a new aspect of data science: Prompt Engineering, which is basically how humans train models like GPT by creating appropriate prompts.
At Data Summit 2023, Supreet Kaur,AVP,Morgan Stanley, discussed Leveraging Data Science and Generative AI during her session.
The annual Data Summit conference returned to Boston, May 10-11, 2023, with pre-conference workshops on May 9.
AI is transforming the quality of products, and such enhancements are making it possible to solve breakthrough problems and transform the day-to-day operations of companies in this area.
Drivers behind AI adaptation include big data, infrastructure, competition and automation, she explained.
Generative AI is an unsupervised and semi-supervised algorithm that enables computers to create new and original data that looks like humans generated it.
Youve all heard about GPT but, I feel that GANs arent getting enough attention, Kaur said.
Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) helps identify misinformation, she noted.
Examples of generative AI use cases include financial and healthcare industries. In healthcare, generative AI can generate medical reports and clinical data based on conversations with doctors and provide support. Generative AI can provide personalized experiences to patients using their vitals, and generic conditions for preventative care.
Generative AI works by using prompt engineering, she said. Prompts are a set of instructions given to the model to generate the desired output. Prompt engineering is a natural language processing technique to create and fine tune prompts to get accurate responses from the model.
The future looks bright as we are going toward a low-code/no-code approach, Kaur said.
However, there are a few risks that generative AI brings. These risks include information leaks, bias, model hallucinations, ethical implications, and harm to society.
Data is the soul of any AI and ML algorithm, and hence spending massive amounts of resources and time can reap benefits in the future.
Choosing the suitable model is an inevitable step in your ML lifecycle as that will ultimately dictate the long-term success of your model, she said.
The industry is heading toward creating a more job roles in this area. This includes:
AI wont replace us, but a person using AI will, she said.
Many Data Summit 2023 presentations are available for review athttps://www.dbta.com/DataSummit/2023/Presentations.aspx.
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Unlocking the Power of Data Science at Data Summit 2023 - Database Trends and Applications
ISU trustees approve tuition increase and engineering and data … – WGLT
The sticker price to be an Illinois State University student is now a little bit more expensive after a Board of Trustees vote that increased tuition, fees and housing costs for new students next year.
Trustees during a regularly scheduled meeting Friday morning approved a 1.9% increase in tuition and fees for incoming freshman and new graduate students for the 2023-24 academic year.
The 1.9% increase in tuition puts ISU's per-credit-hour cost for in-state students at just over $402 an hour; the 1.9% increase in mandatory fees raises that figure to just over $113 per hour to fund, among other things, increases in counseling staff salaries, new programming and various needs at Bone Student Center.
Interim president Andover Tarhule told trustees the need to increase fees stemmed from institutional costs increasing faster than revenue.
"Even with this tuition increase, we're proposing that the university is still being pinched by a reduced margin of operations," he said.
Tarhule added that student financial aid is one of ISU's fastest-growing expenses, increasing from $25 million a year to about $47 million, currently. That figure has risen, he said, "with no increase in enrollment or credit hour generation."
The trustees' vote also approved a 4% increase in the cost of university housing and dining services, a measure that will affect between 5-6,000 students, most of them freshmen and sophomores.
Some student fee funding will go to new program
ISU Vice President for Student Affairs Levester Johnson said that the increased funding the university receives from mandatory fees will, in part, be directed to developing a new intervention program aimed at retaining students.
Called a co-responder program, Johnson said the goal is to pair case managers or counselors with ISU housing staff and ISU police to address "late-night issues that we have within our residential environments in order to support our students before we lose them."
"We [currently] have a system by which if housing staff is having a challenge and they don't have the counseling background, what they do then is outreach maybe to counseling services, and maybe we have to call someone," Johnson explained to WGLT after the meeting. "Sometimes they have to call if it escalates to a point where ... they may have to call a police officer first. So in this case, they will tell one individual and then all three would then work together on the issue."
'Opportunities for cost savings' in ISU Athletics
Student trustee Aselimhe Ebikhumi noted Friday that the board was not approving any athletics fee increases despite additional costs in that department stemming from the addition of more teams to the Missouri Valley Conference.
Tarhule pledged during an Academic Senate meeting last month that the Athletics fee increase would be cancelled amid questions about department spending raised in WGLT reporting.
"There are still 450 students that have a greater need for travel, for study, so on and so forth: The athletes, "Ebikhumi said. "That's about $1 million that we're losing now, without that fee increase. What are we going to do to kind of address that deficit?"
Vice President of Finance Dan Stephens said officials would "work with our Athletics division and examine their budgets and continue to see whether there are opportunities for cost savings and to also look at some reserves that they may have."
"We are very confident that we'll be able to to absorb those costs as we work in kind of a partnership together," he added.
Differential tuition
Trustees also took a preliminary look at an amendment to their oversight guidelines that would allow them to set differing tuition rates for different programs.
Current language in the board's guidelines allows different tuition costs in only three circumstances, including undergraduate versus graduate rates and in-state versus out-of-state students. The amendment would allow trustees to set prices on top of base tuition depending on what program a student chooses.
Tarhule said this is a common university practice and named the University of Illinois system as a example. He said costs tend to be higher in departments where delivering the program itself requires more equipment or technology like nursing and engineering.
"The students that graduate from those programs also make more money when they graduate, so we want to make sure that the people who are getting the benefits for these hardware costs are also paying a little bit more to cover their cost," he said. "So it's an overall comprehensive look at pricing strategy, tuition strategy, and not directly related to engineering although engineering happens to be one of those programs that we would like to have a differential tuition for because it's more expensive."
The board may take a vote on the proposed amendment at its October meeting.
New degrees approved, some in engineering
ISU's College of Arts and Sciences will now offer a data science major after trustees' approval Friday. The program will be offered through the math department and is expected to draw 50-60 students each year, according to meeting documentation. Trustee approval followed the approval of the Academic Senate last month.
Trustees also voted to approve the creation of both an engineering and a mechanical engineering degree program. ISU has targeted a fall 2025 start date for those programs.
New trustee takes oath of office
Lia Merminga took her oath of office Friday morning, filling an open seat left by Robert Dobski. Merminga is currently the Laboratory Director for Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, a city south of Chicago.
ISU isn't Merminga's first stop in higher education: According to a news release, Merminga has served as an Adjunct Professor at the College of William and Mary, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, and Stanford University in their departments of Physics and Astronomy.
Merminga was appointed to ISU's trustee board by Gov. JB Pritzker in February. Her appointment had been pending approval by the state Senate.
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ISU trustees approve tuition increase and engineering and data ... - WGLT
Data Science Students Win Poster Competition | University of … – University of Arkansas Newswire
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From left: Amy Hoang, Laasya Ravipati, Trace Freeman and Shantel Romer.
Researchers involved in the Arkansas NSF EPSCoR DART program met in April at the Data Analytics that are Robust and Trusted (DART) All Hands Meeting and Student Poster Competition in Springdale.
Amy Hoang and Laasya Ravipati won first place in the Undergraduate Poster Competition at the conference. Hoang and Ravipati's project, which included help from their faculty advisor Karl Schubert and their staff advisor Lee Shoultz, involved comparing courses of the two-year Arkansas colleges with University of Arkansas courses to develop pathways for two-year data science students to transfer to four-year colleges and complete a B.S. in data science for colleges and universities within the "Data Science for Arkansas (DS4A)" ecosystem.
This project is important and insightful as the Data Science Program at the university, which launched in fall 2020, is the first of its kind in Arkansas. Hoang and Ravipati's award-winning poster, titled "2-Year Course Equivalencies," earned them a prize of $1,500 each to be used toward attending a future conference of their choice.
Trace Freeman won third place in the Undergraduate Poster Competition at the conference. Freeman's work entails the establishment of a study abroad partnership with the University of Nicosia located in Cyprus and applicable course equivalencies. Freeman's award-winning poster, titled "University of Arkansas Semester Abroad in Nicosia, Cyprus" earned him a prize of $500 to be used toward attending a future conference of his choice.
Shantel Romer, a graduate assistant of the DART project, won second place in the Graduate Poster Competition during the conference. Shantel's poster titled "The Year of the 2-Years: Course Track Overview," entails her continuous work in establishing the 2-plus program with colleges and universities across Arkansas. Her work is important to the overall DART project as it helps give students of all backgrounds and financial status the opportunity to receive an education in data science. Romer's award-winning poster earned her a prize of $750 to be used toward attending a future conference of her choice.
Karl Schubert, associate director of the Data Science Program, said, "I am very proud of Amy, Laasya, Trace and Shantel for their contribution to our statewide Data Science ecosystem, 'Data Science for Arkansas,' as recognized by their winning posters. Their work is helping us, and our two-year and four-year Data Science Program partners fully establish their programs across the state of Arkansas."
About the NSF EPSCoR DART-Education Theme:The Arkansas NSF EPSCoR program is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary, statewide grant program leveraging $24 million over 5-years to expand research, workforce development, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) educational outreach in Arkansas. The DART project is additionally will establish a statewide data science educational ecosystem by defining a combination of model programs, degrees, pedagogy and curriculum, providing resources and training for K20 educators, providing educational opportunities inside and outside the classroom for K20 students, and ensuring broad participation to impact the state's pipeline of data science skilled workers.
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Data Science Students Win Poster Competition | University of ... - University of Arkansas Newswire