When it comes to tackling social problems and fueling business, experts agree that data糖心传媒攖he vast volume of data that the digital world generates糖心传媒攊ncreasingly is indispensable, a resource that scholars, business leaders, and consumers have only begun to tap.
In response a new field has emerged, called data science. It糖心传媒檚 the creation and application of new methods for collecting, curating, analyzing, and making discoveries from large-scale data, in areas such as energy and the environment, economics and politics, health care, and marketing. The areas of application are only limited, really, by data scientists糖心传媒� imaginations.
This spring, the inaugural crop of students in Rochester糖心传媒檚 new data science programs糖心传媒攁t the undergraduate and master糖心传媒檚 degree levels糖心传媒攁re completing their first year of study at the Goergen Institute for Data Science, a program of the Schools of Arts & Sciences. Some are completing their degrees, having finished a year of graduate study or having gotten started early by taking prerequisites for an undergraduate degree. Others are just beginning. But what unites them all is an enthusiasm for discovering ways to make the most of information.
糖心传媒淲e want to teach the students the fundamentals糖心传媒攃omputer science and statistics糖心传媒攁nd then let them explore some of the applications in different areas. That糖心传媒檚 what I think is unique,糖心传媒� says Henry Kautz 糖心传媒�87 (PhD), the Robin and Tim Wentworth Director of the Goergen Institute for Data Science and a professor of computer science. He notes that programs emerging at other schools are often more specialized糖心传媒攄edicated to business analytics or health analytics, for example糖心传媒攂ut that the Rochester program provides a strong foundation for every area of focus.
Having a degree in data science 糖心传媒渢ells employers that these are people with a broad range of skills on the statistics side and the computer science side. They糖心传媒檙e highly in demand,糖心传媒� he says.
That糖心传媒檚 something to which Greg Munves 糖心传媒�04 can attest. He糖心传媒檚 president and chief operating officer of 1010data, a New York糖心传媒揵ased company dedicated to big-data discovery and data sharing. 糖心传媒淵ou need folks with Renaissance skills,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淪o instead of searching through people deep in computer science but with a little statistics or math, now you get people who have just the right amount of proficiency in each of those disciplines.糖心传媒�
Two of this year糖心传媒檚 graduates are headed to 1010data. 糖心传媒淔or the size company we are, we have a disproportionate number of U of R alumni involved,糖心传媒� says Munves. 糖心传媒淲ith the advent of the data science program, it糖心传媒檚 become even more relevant for us to look to U of R for good talent.糖心传媒�
And once the program was launched last fall, students voted with their feet. Original predictions for the program糖心传媒檚 first year were for five graduate and 12 undergraduate students. Instead, year one brought 26 and 30 enrollees, respectively. And those numbers could double next year, says Kautz.
The long-term goal for the master糖心传媒檚 degree program is 50 students糖心传媒攖he number for which the lab space was designed. For the undergraduates, there is no ceiling.
糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檒l grow the program as much as the students demand,糖心传媒� Kautz says.
Ling (Kelly) He 糖心传媒�17
Degree: Bachelor糖心传媒檚 in data science
Data science concentration area: Computer science, statistics, and mathematics
Hometown: Hangzhou, China
When Ling (Kelly) He 糖心传媒�17 arrived at Rochester, she was thinking about majoring in economics or math. But she also became interested in the concept of 糖心传媒渂ig data糖心传媒澨切拇綌the huge data assets generated by digital life that can reveal important patterns. When she learned that the University was kicking off a new program, she wasted no time in signing up. Now she糖心传媒檚 a double major in data science and mathematics, with a minor in Spanish.
Last summer, He began doing research under Jiebo Luo, an associate professor of computer science with expertise in data mining, machine learning, and other areas of investigation for data science. The project to which she contributed used data collected from social media to connect students who aren糖心传媒檛 interested in STEM糖心传媒攕cience, technology, engineering, and mathematics糖心传媒攚ith people who could nurture their curiosity.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 amazing how you can make use of resources to find a pattern, or do something for the social good or for other applications in real life,糖心传媒� He says.
She didn糖心传媒檛 know much about issues surrounding STEM education when she first joined the project, but now, she says, she糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒渕ore passionate about it糖心传媒� than she ever thought she would be. 糖心传媒淚 can see the power of data science because I know more about it.糖心传媒�
This summer she has an internship in New York City with business-management consulting firm Ernst & Young, in a technology-advisory program of the company糖心传媒檚 financial services office.
糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 a lot to learn. It糖心传媒檚 a new field with a lot coming out really quickly. It糖心传媒檚 very fast-paced. Sometimes it can be overwhelming because we糖心传媒檙e still learning the basic techniques.
Ian Manzi 糖心传媒�18
Degree: Bachelor糖心传媒檚 in data science
Data science concentration area: Economics
Hometown: Kigali, Rwanda
Ian Manzi 糖心传媒�18 has been intrigued by computers ever since he was a child. But it糖心传媒檚 not computers alone that spark his interest.
糖心传媒淎 lot of people think of people interested in computer science as 糖心传媒榓ntisocial糖心传媒櫶切拇綌people and machines. But I am not that,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚 feed off the energy of being with people.糖心传媒�
He糖心传媒檚 convinced he has found an ideal fit in data science for his analytical mind and gregarious personality.
Manzi arrived at Rochester unsure of what he wanted to pursue. He started with a major in computer science, but he found it too abstract. And so he moved this year to data science, which he says keeps the quantitative aspects of programming that appeal to him but also offers more opportunities for practical problem-solving.
Last year he completed an internship as an operations manager in his hometown of Kigali, Rwanda, helping local schools to transition to digital record-keeping.
糖心传媒淢arketers and programmers don糖心传媒檛 speak the same language,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚 understand both, and I helped the project to grow.糖心传媒�
It糖心传媒檚 the act of communication that seems to fascinate Manzi most. He says that he wants to create computer platforms that help people converse across disciplines. 糖心传媒淭he answers we need for societal problems may be on the 糖心传媒榦ther side糖心传媒櫶切拇綁糖心传媒� of divisions, he says, and communication is essential.
Fostering conversations and looking for answers is something he knows a thing or two about. This spring, Manzi and Derrick Murekezi聽糖心传媒�19, a geology major from Nyagatare, Rwanda, received a $10,000 grant from Davis Projects for Peace, a competitive national program that promotes peace and intercultural understanding. The two will use the funding to implement their summer project, 糖心传媒淐ritical Thinking for Peace: Sustaining Peace in Post-Conflict Regions,糖心传媒� in Rwanda this July. They糖心传媒檒l plan, set up, and operate a young leaders糖心传媒� peace camp for high school students, where camp-goers will reflect on Rwanda糖心传媒檚 1994 genocide.
And while he didn糖心传媒檛 conceive of the project as having a data science dimension, he糖心传媒檚 beginning to see ways that he might potentially work that in.
One thing data science has cultivated in him, he says, is the 糖心传媒渁bility to relate to different fields.糖心传媒�
Anthony Margetic 糖心传媒�16
Degree: Bachelor糖心传媒檚 in data science
Data science area of concentration: Biology
Hometown: Syosset, New York
Tyler Trine 糖心传媒�16
Degree: Bachelor糖心传媒檚 in data science
Data science area of concentration: Brain and cognitive sciences
Hometown: Wolcott, New York
This summer, two of the data science program糖心传媒檚 first new graduates will be headed to Manhattan, to begin working at data discovery and sharing company 1010data.
Anthony Margetic 糖心传媒�16 and Tyler Trine 糖心传媒�16 got their feet wet at the company last summer, when they were interns there.
糖心传媒淚t was exciting to be there for just two and a half months,糖心传媒� says Trine. 糖心传媒淚 want to go along for the ride.糖心传媒�
They糖心传媒檙e already off to a roaring start, having devoted themselves to the program the year before it was even launched, structuring their schedules to get prerequisites out of the way before the program began. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 been a jam-packed two years,糖心传媒� says Trine.
But those two years have given them a new way of seeing the world. 糖心传媒淒ata science is a way of thinking,糖心传媒� says Margetic. 糖心传媒淵ou want to get to the questions that no one else is looking for.糖心传媒�
It糖心传媒檚 the fluidity and interdisciplinarity of data science that first drew him. 糖心传媒淚 love learning about all kinds of stuff. I didn糖心传媒檛 want to be stuck in one field,糖心传媒� he says.
For Trine, discovering the field of data science was finding an intellectual home for the kind of thinking he was already doing. He had started reading philosophy and picked up a book on semiotics, the study of how we make meaning. The linguistics minor was intrigued by 糖心传媒渨hat it means to be informed,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚t became a preoccupation. I wanted to understand how people do it on a deep level, how we take in rich sources of information intuitively.糖心传媒�
Says Trine, 糖心传媒淚t used to be that data was scarce, and the main enterprise was squeezing the most out of it. Now we糖心传媒檙e data-rich, but still information-poor.糖心传媒� Data scientists like Margetic and Trine hope to change that.
Margetic says that having the phrase 糖心传媒渄ata science糖心传媒� attached to a degree helps set him apart because it highlights a breadth of skills. 糖心传媒淚f you糖心传媒檙e a math person or an engineer, you have a subset of the skills I have as a data scientist.糖心传媒�
Francesca Romano 糖心传媒�16 (MS)
Degree: Master糖心传媒檚 in data science
Data science area of concentration: Computation and statistical methods
Hometown: Rotterdam, New York
When Francesca Romano was an undergraduate at Siena College, she majored in math, with a minor in computer science.
糖心传媒淭he thing I loved about math, the thing that drew me to it, was using my problem-solving skills and applying them to all kinds of problems,糖心传媒� she says.
Data science seemed to her the best way to continue to do that. This spring, the Rotterdam, New York, native is earning her master糖心传媒檚 degree in the field.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 made me confident in my analytic and programming abilities. Everything that we糖心传媒檙e learning, we can apply to all sorts of different problems糖心传媒攈ealth care, market research. It糖心传媒檚 a really diverse degree.糖心传媒�
Although opportunities are plentiful, job hunting can actually be tricky, she says. While a lot of employers are realizing they need to hire people to help them make data-driven decisions, they糖心传媒檙e not yet experienced in how to describe what they糖心传媒檙e looking for. 糖心传媒淚 had to be creative in seeing what companies are calling these positions,糖心传媒� she says.
Her creativity has paid off. She糖心传媒檚 accepted a position in cardiovascular services at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, New York, where she糖心传媒檒l be analyzing data from cardiovascular patients to identify trends or patterns that may be useful to the hospital in providing care.
糖心传媒淪ociety is becoming more and more tech-savvy and technologically advanced,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e collecting massive amounts of data, from phones, from everything we buy online, and more. Even if you糖心传媒檙e not totally aware of what data science is and how it applies to you, I think it糖心传媒檚 important to know that it糖心传媒檚 become an important part of business and decision making.糖心传媒�
One thing Romano particularly likes about Rochester糖心传媒檚 program is the range of students. 糖心传媒淚 think it糖心传媒檚 been great that the first year they accepted people from so many different backgrounds,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 been really nice to see that everybody has a bit of a different strength糖心传媒攁nd that we can combine our strengths to accomplish something.糖心传媒�
Tiffany Sinclair 糖心传媒�15, 糖心传媒�16 (MS)
Degree: Master糖心传媒檚 in data science
Data science area of concentration: Health care
Hometown: Evanston, Illinois
Wherever you turn, data science is there, says Tiffany Sinclair 糖心传媒�15, who this spring is completing her master糖心传媒檚 degree in data science.
糖心传媒淚t really is in every field,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檝e collected so much information over the decades, and now we finally have the ability to do something with it.糖心传媒�
For Sinclair, that something is contributing to public health. Her goal is to become a data analyst in a health-related position, and she plans to find opportunities to travel and examine how health care works in different countries.
The master糖心传媒檚 program concentrates on methods, she says, teaching students how to glean useful information from data and how to apply those skills in different areas.
Sinclair says she糖心传媒檚 always loved problem-solving and sorting through information to find meaning and draw conclusions. Studying data science has only sharpened those skills.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a lot of fun糖心传媒攁nd challenging, not having come from a computer science background,糖心传媒� says Sinclair, who as an undergraduate was a biology major and favored the pharmaceutical and analytical aspects of biology.
She says her favorite feature of the program is that while the basic concepts stay the same, each class comes at them 糖心传媒渇rom a different angle.糖心传媒�
And it糖心传媒檚 exciting to be part of a brand-new field. 糖心传媒淚 have a sense of knowing so much糖心传媒攁nd of not knowing anything at all, because everything is still being studied,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 a sense that the field is really alive, and that you can drive it forward.糖心传媒�
