Over 260 People Attend BUDS Day 2018

Over 260 people attended BU Data Science (BUDS) Day 2018, including 100 students and over 100 of the University’s faculty and staff; all in all, BUDS Day attendees represented 40 different departments. The third annual edition of BUDS Day was the largest yet, and left participants excited and energized about new directions that data science can play in both research and training initiatives at BU.

The day kicked off with an Epigenetics panel, where moderator Vasan Ramachandran and panelists Christine Cheng, Chunyu Liu, Christopher Schmitt and David Waxman explained the importance of the epigenome for health and disease, its alteration by environmental exposures, and its role in the social sciences. Following the first session, the “How Is Technology Changing Privacy?” panel, moderated by Institute Fellow Sharon Goldberg, brought together panelists Bennet Capers,  Ahmed Ghappour and Adam Smith from both law and computer science, who discussed and debated how new forms of data collection and analysis are transforming the way people think about privacy. 

After attendees broke out into themed lunch discussions, moderator Kate Saenko and panelists Mark Kon, Pankaj Mehta and Roberto Tron delved into the diversity of Artificial Intelligence research at Boston University and beyond, including possibilities for collaboration with researchers in other academic disciplines. Saenko recently initiated the AI Research Initiative (AIR) at BU, which aims to bring together researchers who create intelligent systems that learn to make decisions, reason about data, and communicate with humans. Following the AI session, students who were nominated by faculty members presented their research poster projects, all which focused an innovative data science research projects. Attendees reconvened for the final panel, titled “How Does Big Data Produce Unintended Consequences?” and moderated by professor and SAIL Director Andrei Lapets. The session featured panelists Anthony Janetos, Arunima Krishna, Jessica Simes and Giorgos Zervas, who discussed the unforeseen effects of a growing reliance on big data and algorithmic solutions to social challenges.

Boston University’s Data Science Initiative (DSI) seeks both to leverage BU’s existing strengths and further expand its capacity to compete and lead in the Big Data revolution. At the core of DSI is an effort to recruit some of the world’s finest interdisciplinary faculty with proven track records in data science and strong potential for long-term impact at BU and beyond. Anchored at the Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science and Engineering, the Initiative supports the hiring of faculty members who complement and expand BU’s footprint in data science research.