{"id":12461,"date":"2024-05-08T06:03:49","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T10:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/?page_id=12461"},"modified":"2025-07-27T11:12:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T15:12:59","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/explore\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About CDS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QtBbbgnFQ3A?si=94ykHoqP8K37iRFc\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Data is transforming society.<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"> <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">It is bridging intellectual boundaries and shaping decisions and thought leadership in every field. From public policy and criminal justice to medical research and machine learning, data is essential, and it is increasingly influencing government, industry, and our personal and professional lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Founded in 2019, the Faculty of Computing &amp; Data Sciences is a university-wide, degree-granting academic unit focused on core and applied areas of computing, computational, and data-driven inquiry. Housed in the top five floors of an iconic <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/data-sciences-center\/\">19-story building<\/a>,<span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"> Duan Family <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Center for Computing &amp; Data Sciences, <\/span>with its convention-bending design, CDS complements traditional cognate academic disciplines by laying the foundation for innovation-driven, civic-minded computing to maximize the real-world impact of research, curricular, and co-curricular programs that are thematically aligned with strategic goals of the university.<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Drawn from traditionally relevant disciplines such as computer science and statistics, as well as diverse others including law, business, and health sciences, this unique academic unit welcomes the challenges of the 21st century with a dual focus on education and research.<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none white-space-prewrap\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Education<\/h2>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Through p<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">athbreaking joint degrees, co-curricular, and research programs, <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Computing &amp; Data Sciences<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"> gives learners the knowledge and tools to leverage data to take on complex problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/cds-faculty\/files\/2023\/02\/CCDS-First-Day-23-1022-CCDSOPEN-009-resize-1-636x429.jpg\" alt=\"Boston University Computing &amp; Data Sciences Classroom\" width=\"501\" height=\"338\" class=\"wp-image-6430 alignright\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2023\/02\/CCDS-First-Day-23-1022-CCDSOPEN-009-resize-1-636x429.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2023\/02\/CCDS-First-Day-23-1022-CCDSOPEN-009-resize-1-1024x690.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2023\/02\/CCDS-First-Day-23-1022-CCDSOPEN-009-resize-1-768x518.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2023\/02\/CCDS-First-Day-23-1022-CCDSOPEN-009-resize-1-1536x1035.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2023\/02\/CCDS-First-Day-23-1022-CCDSOPEN-009-resize-1-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2023\/02\/CCDS-First-Day-23-1022-CCDSOPEN-009-resize-1.jpg 1981w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 501px) 100vw, 501px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/explore\/bu-center-for-computing-data-sciences\/\">Center<\/a>\u2014<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">the largest carbon-free building in Boston<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">\u2014is home to the <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Computer Science <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">and <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Mathematics &amp; Statistics departments<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">, as well as the <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Hariri Institute for Computing, BU Spark!<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">, and state-of-the-art labs, collaborative research spaces, and classrooms.<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none white-space-prewrap\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">The future will be defined by data and shaped by how computers gather, manipulate, interpret, and use that data for evidence-based decision making BU is at the forefront of this seismic shift, and donor support can accelerate and expand activities in research, teaching, and learning.<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none white-space-prewrap\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">CDS welcomes students<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"> of all disciplines to combine data science with other majors and minors to foster the skills necessary in a data-driven world.<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none white-space-prewrap\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">They are taught by <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">faculty with an extraordinary range of expertise and interests<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">, with specialists in areas including computational biology and bioinformatics; human-centered computing; game theory and policy; cryptography and law; and big data algorithmics.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Research<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/cds-faculty\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_4666-636x289.jpg\" alt=\"BU CDS Faculty 2025\" width=\"807\" height=\"367\" class=\" wp-image-17044 aligncenter\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_4666-636x289.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_4666-1024x465.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_4666-768x349.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_4666-1536x698.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_4666-2048x931.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/files\/2025\/07\/IMG_4666-300x136.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 807px) 100vw, 807px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">The <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">50+ members of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/culture-community\/faculty\/\">CDS Faculty <\/a><\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">come from varied disciplines and 11 BU schools and colleges, but they share a goal: to leverage the power of computation and data-led inquiry to analyze complex problems and generate real-world solutions. In collaboration with experts from academia, industry, media, government, and nonprofits, they use data science scholarship to address the societal challenges of our time, from equity to sustainability, to public health, to cybersecurity, to privacy.<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none white-space-prewrap\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">CDS Assistant Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/profile\/bcleary\/\">Brian Cleary<\/a><\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">, for example, has blended biomedical engineering and computational biology to study how viral load and epidemic dynamics can be used to optimize pooled testing in resource-constrained settings. And <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">CDS Assistant Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/profile\/kira-goldner\/\">Kira Goldner <\/a><\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">deploys game theory and policy to enhance her research on how \u201cimperfect competition\u201d can reduce inefficiency in carbon auctions.<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none white-space-prewrap\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">There are two main long-term research focus areas: AI for science and civic data science. Within these areas, called \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/research-impact\/\"><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Impact Hubs<\/span><\/a><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">,\u201d are labs\u2014traditional research groups let by faculty\u2014and co-Labs, collaborations with internal or external departments, centers, or labs. Examples of the latter include the <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Justice Media co-Lab <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">with BU\u2019s College of Communication and the <\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Responsible Use of Data co-Lab with MassMutual<\/span><span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">. To ensure that the education and research programs in CDS are motivated by and address real-world challenges, we also have an Experts-in-Residence (EIR) Program hat welcomes experts in specific fields\u2014both on the technology side and on the application side\u2014to spend time in CDS to lead activities including lectures or workshops, co-teach practicum courses or research seminars, join existing research groups, supervise student interns and fellows, or collaborate with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/culture-community\/phd-candidates\/\">PhD students<\/a>.<span class=\"OYPEnA text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none white-space-prewrap\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/research-impact\/\">research at CDS<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Data is transforming society. It is bridging intellectual boundaries and shaping decisions and thought leadership in every field. From public policy and criminal justice to medical research and machine learning, data is essential, and it is increasingly influencing government, industry, and our personal and professional lives. Founded in 2019, the Faculty of Computing &amp; Data [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18026,"featured_media":0,"parent":2643,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12461"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18026"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12461"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17250,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12461\/revisions\/17250"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cds-faculty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}