Professor Wesley Wildman Named to New BU Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences
Boston, MA – Dr. Wesley Wildman, Professor of Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics, was named to the inaugural faculty of the new Boston University Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) academic unit. A new initiative for the University, CDS will serve as a link between the traditional academic departments at Boston University and scholars interested in data and computing sciences, and how data and computing sciences apply to all fields of study.
“Data science is a natural partner for an enormous variety of theoretical research tasks as well as practical problem-solving efforts, including what I do as a philosopher of religion, so I am pleased to be involved in the new faculty group. It’s the practical application of computational methods and data science to urgent and seemingly intractable human problems that I find most energizing,” says Professor Wildman. “My Center for Mind and Culture is dedicated to applying these methods to complex and pressing human problems, ranging from immigrant integration and extremist religious violence to commercial exploitation of children and the social consequences of climate change. I have been profoundly moved to see the same impulse thriving within our university’s leadership, faculty, and students, and a matching determination to support institutional resources capable of making a difference. I am particularly looking forward to representing the computational humanities in the new Computing and Data Science Faculty. Data science, computational techniques, and humanities skills work best in league with one another, promising a far larger potential impact on the world.”
CDS will be housed in a new building on BU’s East Campus that will be completed in 2022, which will also be shared with the Departments of Mathematics & Statistics and Computer Engineering. The full list of founding faculty members can be found here.
More background on Dr. Wildman’s work can be found on BU Today.