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(Q)-Stabilizing the Ogallala Aquifer: Kansas’ Peer-to-Peer Learning Approach to Sustainable Irrigation

November 14, 2024Written by MBDH

This story is part of a series on partnerships developed by the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub with institutions across the Midwest through the Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program.

The Ogallala Aquifer is an incredible feat of nature—a fresh groundwater resource that underlies eight states, or 174,000 miles. The Ogallala contains sediments deposited by flowing water six million years ago. Water percolates through the layer of hardened sediments and settles, recharging the aquifer’s groundwater layer. Since the early 1900s, humans have tapped the Ogallala’s underground reserves for water. The aquifer has become in many ways the backbone of the High Plains, a subregion of America’s Great Plains. Kansas is one state that still relies heavily on the Ogallala’s water. The livelihood of those in Western Kansas, in particular, are tied to the aquifer, as most of Eastern Kansas uses surface water for agricultural practices.

Problems arise when the rate of water withdrawal from the aquifer exceeds the rate of its recharge. The “thickness”—that is, the level of water—of the aquifer varies geographically. In Kansas, water levels have dropped, on average, 28.2 feet since the mid-20th century. By 2100, 24% of Kansas’ land could run out of water entirely. It’s not so surprising, then, that perhaps no other user group is more concerned with the rate of water withdrawal from the Ogallala than farmers. In Kansas, it’s both folks who produce crops and folks who raise livestock that have a stake in the water-conservation effort. That’s because these two industries depend on each other. In plain terms, “cows need food to eat.” At the core of the Ogallala water-level issue is irrigation—the practice of watering crops—in this case, with groundwater. The more efficient a farmer’s use of water, the lower the rate of depletion. But regulations governing water in Kansas are complicated. Most notably, as per the state’s Water Appropriation Act, all farmers using water for irrigation are required by law to obtain a permit and report yearly water usage or else pay a hefty fine and perhaps forfeit their water allocations for the following year. In times where water is scarce, the more senior permit holders have first dibs on water.

The North Plains Groundwater Conservation District’s (NPGCD) Master Irrigator (MI) Program trains and educates producers on advanced conservation practices in irrigation. The program began in Texas and has since expanded to Oklahoma and Nebraska. The 32-hour curriculum of the full MI program focuses on water and energy conservation and doesn’t sacrifice producers’ goal of profit maximization. The blueprint of this program is well known to Kansas State University’s (K-State) Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment (KCARE), where director Suzan Metzger and irrigation specialist Jonathan Aguilar have long sought a venue and curriculum that allows producers and processors to share regionally specific best practices for irrigation. But developing a Kansas-specific full MI Program requires extensive time and resources. The K-State team wanted to get the conversation started right away.

A working farm in western Kansas using recommended irrigation technology

Pivot nozzles used for water conservation in irrigation systems

Pictured Left: Field day in western Kansas, where the public was invited to visit a working farm to see recommended irrigation technology in practice. Photo Credit: Grace Roth, Kansas State University.
Pictured Right: Pivot nozzles used for water conservation in irrigation systems. Photo Credit: Grace Roth, Kansas State University.

Metzger’s team partnered with the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH) to develop their own program, called “Master Irrigator Lite.” This bite-sized, day-long event was introduced in February 2024 to (1) engage producers and processors in best-practice sharing for irrigation and (2) establish a steering committee to plan curriculum for future iterations of the MI Program in Kansas.

“MI Lite was intended to spur the interest of the producers. It was a shorter version of what the full program would be,” said Aguilar, Professor and Water Resource Engineer at Kansas State University. “We tried to understand what producers are doing already and asked what they would like to see if the full program was implemented in Kansas. Producers are eager to implement something similar to what other states are doing, but Kansas will have a slightly different flavor than other states, in part because we are so data rich.”

Participants and program staff spoke on lots of water-related topics at the MI Lite Program, but conversation centered around one particular water-conservation practice, called the “Q-stable approach” to irrigation. Remember how Kansas has so many regulations around agricultural water use? A benefit of that system, although it is complex, is that the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) uses data from mandated water meters to determine and map aquifer levels across the state. The KGS uses reported water usage to determine how far off a district, county, or township is, on average, from pumping water at a sustainable rate. That annual water usage that results in a sustainable pumping rate is called the Q-stable rate (in acre-feet per year). The methodology takes into account water inflows (recharging the aquifer) and outflows (pumping). Geographies are categorized as either above or below the Q-stable rate, and individual water usage can be benchmarked against the goal Q-stable rate for the next year. This evidence-based approach to water management is both effective and easy to adopt. While new water-saving nozzles and evaporation-reduction technology can be useful, it involves investment and substantial operational changes.

“The value that the Ogallala Aquifer has and continues to bring to all Kansans is unmeasurable,” says program participant and farmer, Brant Peterson. “For generations it has been the lifeblood of the economy as well as the people that drive the economy. We have a responsibility to our previous and future generations to make some changes to ensure the life of the aquifer.” Peterson continued, “The Kansas Master Irrigator Lite event I attended was exciting to see a regional group that was focused on coming up with workable solutions to conserve water and sustain economic viability for everyone.”

The MI Lite Program was a success, according to its participants and program coordinators. Twenty-two livestock and row-crop producers and processors from Western Kansas came for a full day of practice sharing, panel discussions, and networking. Several other regional partnerships were represented at the event, including the Kansas Geological Survey, Kansas Department of Agriculture, and Groundwater Management District 3. Overall, participants were energized by the peer learning. A post-event survey showed promising results for the continuation of this learning and practice sharing. All participants said that the event helped them to learn more about local hydrology and how water use impacts the Ogallala Aquifer, and 60% of participants indicated they were interested in serving on an advisory committee for the future of the MI Program in Kansas. The K-State team is now hoping to host a series of distinct workshops for farmers that will give them “microcredentials” in the Q-stable methodology and other water-conservation practices.

Learn More/Get Involved

Learn more about Kansas State’s Master Irrigator Lite Program here.

Contact the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub if you’re aware of other people or projects we should profile here, or to participate in any of our community-led Priority Areas. The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub is an NSF-funded partnership of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Indiana University, Iowa State University, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, and the University of North Dakota, and is focused on developing collaborations in the 12-state Midwest region. Learn more about the national NSF Big Data Hubs community.

blog, CDE, Education & Workforce Development, water

Illinois Students Are Finalists in COVID-19 Student Paper Challenge

October 21, 2024Written by MBDH

Two University of Illinois undergraduate students were finalists in the 2024 COVID Information Commons Student Paper Challenge. Arnav Aggarwal (Statistics & Mathematics) and Sangjun Ko (Statistics) received third place for their project “Identifying and Addressing the Socioeconomic and Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19 in Mexico: A Data-Driven Approach Using ENCOVID-19.” The COVID Information Commons (CIC) is an NSF-funded resource developed by Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH) collaborators at the Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub.

We asked Sangjun and Arnav about their research for this project and their career plans.

Tell us about the project you completed as part of this challenge. What data did you use, and what approach did you select for analysis?
The project focused on analyzing the socioeconomic and mental health impacts of COVID-19 in Mexico, using the ENCOVID-19 dataset. This dataset captured various dimensions of household well-being during the pandemic, such as employment status, income fluctuations, mental health indicators, and demographic details like age, gender, and socioeconomic status. The goal was to identify vulnerable groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic and propose interventions to address these impacts in future crises.

We applied k-nearest neighbors (KNN) imputation for handling missing values and performed a geospatial analysis by integrating the survey data with a shapefile containing geographic boundaries of Mexican states. Our analysis revealed that young adults (18–35), females, and individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were the most negatively affected, showing higher levels of anxiety, job loss, and income reductions.

What was interesting to you about this topic?
What intrigued us about this topic was how it explored the complex intersection between public health, mental health, and economics. This pandemic impacted every facet of life, but its effects were unevenly distributed, particularly among vulnerable populations. Therefore, investigating how different demographic and socioeconomic groups were affected allowed us to shed light on the inequalities that were exacerbated during this crisis.

What was surprising to you about what you learned from this project?
One surprising insight was the degree to which mental health and economic challenges were interconnected, especially among lower socioeconomic groups and females. Data analysis shows that while all socioeconomic groups faced challenges, even mid- to upper-socioeconomic levels experienced significant financial strain. However, these groups demonstrated greater resilience in terms of life satisfaction and mental health compared with those from lower levels. This was interesting, as it highlights the critical role of social support systems and emphasizes the importance of targeted mental health and economic interventions to build resilience in future crises.

How did you get interested in data science, and how does it relate to your degree programs?
Sangjun Ko: I first became interested in data science during the Spring 2023 semester at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) while taking STAT107 with Professors Karle Flanagan and Wade Fagen-Ulmschneider. This course introduced me to the foundations of data science, but what truly captivated me were the labs and micro projects that focused on meaningful, real-world issues. These projects opened my eyes to a broader perspective of data science—one that goes beyond coding and data analysis to leveraging data for solving complex problems and answering impactful questions. This shift in perspective is what sparked my passion for using data to drive meaningful change. Currently, as a senior majoring in Statistics with minors in Mathematics and Data Science, my degree program has been closely aligned with data science. I’ve taken several courses that emphasize both the theoretical and practical aspects of data science.

Arnav Aggarwal: I actually started off as just a Math major with a Computer Science minor. It wasn’t until I took a Statistics class that I began to see how all the subjects: math, computer science, and statistics seamlessly blended together. That’s when I realized how much I enjoyed working with data and finding patterns. The combination of logic from math, coding from computer science, and real-world applications from statistics sparked my interest in data science. I love uncovering insights from data and seeing how those insights can drive decision-making, which is why I ultimately pursued a path that incorporates all these elements.

What career interests do you have after graduation?
Arnav: After graduation, I’m looking to pursue a master’s degree in financial engineering, with a strong interest in high-frequency trading (HFT). I’m fascinated by how mathematical and statistical models can be applied to make split-second trading decisions. The idea of using these models to analyze data in real time, and execute trades within milliseconds and sometimes nanoseconds even, is incredibly exciting to me.

Sangjun: After graduation, I am considering two potential career paths: pursuing graduate school in statistics to further my expertise in the field or entering the workforce as a statistical consultant. Both options would allow me to apply my knowledge in statistics to solve real-world problems and continue developing my skills in data science.

What would you suggest to other students who are new to data science but want to learn more?
Sangjun: For students who are new to data science and eager to learn more, I highly recommend Kaggle projects and lessons as a great starting point. Kaggle offers a variety of hands-on projects and tutorials that can help you build practical skills in data analysis and machine learning, even if you’re a beginner. It’s also a fantastic way to explore different datasets and see how data science is applied in various fields.

Additionally, participating in competitions like the CIC student paper challenge can give you valuable experience in tackling real-world problems and collaborating with others.

Arnav: If you’re new to data science and want to learn more, my advice would be to start by getting hands-on with real data as soon as possible. Whether it’s through class projects, online datasets, or internships, the key is to practice applying what you learn. Data science can feel overwhelming at first, but breaking it down, starting with foundational tools like Python or R and basic statistics, will help.

Also, don’t hesitate to explore different areas within data science, like machine learning, data visualization, or even niche fields like financial data science, because that can help you discover what you’re truly passionate about. Finally, stay curious and keep learning! There’s always something new to explore in this field.

About the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub

The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub is an NSF-funded partnership of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Indiana University, Iowa State University, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, and the University of North Dakota, and is focused on developing collaborations in the 12-state Midwest region. Learn more about the national NSF Big Data Hubs community.

blog, COVID, Education & Workforce Development

South Dakota Mines Students Help Collect Data for Missouri River Pipeline Study

October 21, 2024Written by MBDH

By South Dakota Mines

This story is part of a series on partnerships developed by the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub with institutions across the Midwest through the Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program.

Annika Schooler, Ashley Walker, and Ava Knutson — South Dakota Mines students Annika Schooler, a civil and environmental engineering graduate student; Ashley Walker, atmospheric and environmental sciences; and Ava Knutson, civil engineering, collected and analyzed data from hundreds of smaller water systems as part of the larger Western Dakota Regional Water System Missouri River pipeline project.

A group of South Dakota Mines students spent several months collecting and analyzing data from hundreds of smaller water systems that will eventually connect to an extensive pipeline supplying water to most of western South Dakota.

The students worked with the team at Western Dakota Regional Water System (WDRWS), a nonprofit organization formed in 2021 to plan, construct, and manage the delivery of Missouri River water to communities, tribes, and other rural water systems throughout West River.

“This project is looking at the Missouri River water and making sure everybody has quality, abundant water no matter where they live in western South Dakota,” said Cheryl Chapman, Ph.D., WDRWS executive director.

The research opportunity was funded through Elevate Rapid City, thanks to funding from the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub, a network of people from academia, industry, government, and nonprofits focused on using data-driven approaches to address challenges facing science and society.

Taylor Davis, Elevate Rapid City’s senior workforce development and partnerships director, said the project-based learning experiences were open to students at higher-education institutions throughout Western South Dakota and across multiple disciplines.

“Among the five students, we had three different majors. That really provides a unique perspective,” Davis said. “These are real-world issues that these students are working on. They can apply what they learn in a classroom setting to practical application.”

The project involved research into the current water systems available throughout western South Dakota, said Annika Schooler, a civil and environmental engineering graduate student who worked on the WDRWS project. “We looked at how many systems there were, then ways in which these individual water systems could be combined into one greater system to conserve water and cost,” she said.

Schooler; Ashley Walker, atmospheric and environmental sciences major; Ava Knutson and Molly Comfort, both studying civil engineering; and Piper Kocina, geology major, worked closely with Chapman; Corey Chorne, an engineer with AE2S and program manager for the WDRWS engineering team; Mark Meyer, director of water for the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Jennifer Sietsema, executive director for Black Hills Council for Local Governments.

“Our goal with this grant is a multidisciplinary approach to complex community problems,” Chapman said. “Part of what they have been involved with is understanding the governance structure we have for water at the state and local levels and then collecting and working with the data to understand what challenges exist.”

With the engineering team focusing on the larger water systems, the students broadened the project scope by researching the area’s smaller systems, Chorne said.

The next step is to pull the data and chemistries of the different water sources and make sure everything is compatible. “We need to do our due diligence to make sure the waters will behave together, and if they don’t then we will have to look at the treatment methods,” Chorne said.

Mines students have been invaluable to WDRWS, and the goal is to have them continue working on the large-scale water project even after graduation, Chorne said. “We are grateful to this local resource available to us so we can start building our team locally to work on this long term.”

Schooler said it was interesting to work on such an extensive project and understand all the background needed for the plan to move forward. “This was a great opportunity to meet and learn from some great professionals, learn about the water systems throughout western South Dakota, and figure out how we could solve problems in conserving water.”

Mines faculty and students have been involved with the Missouri River water study since 2017, when the West Dakota Water Development District commissioned a study with the university on the value of renewing its future use water permit. In 2019, Mines recommended renewal and further analysis on bringing the Missouri River water to western South Dakota.

blog, CDE, Education & Workforce Development, water

Pivoting toward a STEM career with the NSF ExLENT program at Chicago State University

May 15, 2024Written by MBDH

By Ken Ogata

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced the Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) program, which provides experiential learning opportunities in emerging-technology fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and microelectronics.

The ExLENT program hopes to increase access to STEM careers for people in nontraditional education pathways or individuals already in STEM who wish to retool into a different field of technology. Issues such as climate change and obtaining clean energy require a diverse set of perspectives to solve. Through the ExLENT program, the NSF strives to increase opportunities within technology fields crucial to solving these issues and to make sure that people are not left behind in STEM.

Since the program aims to serve individuals of many different backgrounds, the ExLENT program is divided into three tracks: Pivots, Beginnings, and Explorations.

Programs in the Pivots track will provide opportunities for individuals not currently enrolled in post-secondary-education programs (i.e., 4-year universities and associate’s degree programs) but who wish to learn the skills required to excel in emerging-technology fields.

The Beginnings track is for people with career experience and or degrees in STEM who wish to deepen their knowledge and advance their careers with more hands-on learning.

The Explorations track focuses on creating career pathways for individuals with limited STEM education. Projects in this track will offer specialized learning opportunities to help people build a strong foundation for a career in technology.

The three tracks in the ExLENT program, according to NSF (Section II):

Pivots	Individuals in non-emerging technology careers who wish to upskill and pivot to work in emerging fields; not currently enrolled in post-secondary-education programs.
Beginnings	Individuals with degrees or certificates in STEM who hope to deepen their knowledge and skills in emerging-technology fields.
Explorations	Individuals with limited or no specialized STEM education or enrolled in nontraditional educational pathways, such as self-learners.

All programs focus on providing mentorship for participants and lowering the barriers to entry that exist in the realm of technology. NSF expects that these experiential learning opportunities will assist historically underrepresented groups and underserved individuals in succeeding in emerging-technology areas.

One of these programs is the Chicagoland Partnership for Semiconductor and Microelectronics Experiential Learning (Mic2ExL) project, organized by Chicago State University in partnership with community organizations, Argonne National Laboratory, and industry partners such as Quilt, a Chicago nonprofit organization. The program hopes to address the need for increased domestic production of electronic components by mentoring individuals in the local Illinois tech sector.

Dr. Moussa Ayyash, director of the Center for Information & Security Education and Research (CINSER) at Chicago State University and Principal Investigator for this program believes that the focus on microelectronics and semiconductors will help increase interest in the field in the Chicagoland area.

“We picked microelectronics and semiconductors because we believe it’s [a good fit] for an experiential learning program. It’s a well-established field and we have the resources to support this as a university,” Ayyash said.

The Mic2ExL project follows a 3-phased approach to help participants get their foot in the door of the microelectronics and semiconductors industry. The first phase will help participants gain foundational knowledge about the industry, followed by experiential learning projects at Argonne National Laboratory to see real-world applications.

“We’ll connect them with mentors from the lab, where they will work on real problems and see real-world applications,” Ayyash said. “After they finish the first and the second phases of Mic2ExL, we’ll connect each participant with an employer to spend 50 hours practicing what they have learned at a company. The last phase of Mic2ExL will be a job fair.”

The project belongs to the Pivots track of the ExLENT program and is appropriately geared towards individuals who hope to gain foundational knowledge in the field of microelectronics and semiconductors, regardless of their background.

“We’re taking people who maybe don’t have any background—you can be a history major, physics, can be computer science . . . as long as you have interest in exploring a new area,” Ayyash said. “I’m an electrical engineer. This is my degree, and I know this can be boring to somebody and exciting to somebody else. That’s why we have the exposure aspect. We are exciting them and we are hoping those who finish all three phases will be ready to work at the entry level.”

Another key goal of the program is to increase participation of individuals from underrepresented minority groups in the Chicagoland area, specifically in the semiconductor and microelectronics industry. Ayyash hopes that the Mic2ExL project’s experiential-learning approach will help bridge the gap for individuals who find it hard to break into the industry because of their background.

“This is a field that has a lot of opportunities and [we want to show them that] this is what it takes to get there. We’re trying to get you to get your hands dirty working with this a little bit. It’s one of the ways to remove the barriers for them,” Ayyash said.

Another project in the Midwest funded by the ExLENT program is the Sensor Technology as a Vehicle to Cultivate Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies project, headed by the Illinois Institute of Technology. This project is in response to the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which called for the need to increase domestic production of semiconductors and microelectronics to combat the chip shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This project aims to train a skilled workforce in the field of sensor technology and will be geared towards preparing veterans and underrepresented and underserved groups in STEM. With the rise of sensor technology in modern and industrial applications, this program hopes to assist individuals through mentored research and internship training.

Other awardees of the ExLENT program include Michigan Technological University, the University of California–Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Cincinnati. These projects range from preparing autistic students for the AI workforce to experiential learning for emerging biotechnology careers. For more information on projects within the ExLENT program, see the table below.

The ExLENT program strives to address the lack of opportunities that many individuals face in their journey towards a career in STEM. A diverse set of perspectives is crucial to innovation in technology, and the ExLENT program is a large step towards a more-accessible STEM community.

Get Involved

Contact the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub if you’re aware of other people or projects we should profile here, or to participate in any of our community-led Priority Areas. The MBDH has a variety of ways to get involved with our community and activities, including our Data Science Student Groups Community webinar series.

Summary of Awardees in the ExLENT Program*

Title	Track	Description
Chicagoland Partnership for Semiconductor and Microelectronics Experiential Learning (Mic2ExL) (Chicago State University)	Pivots	Provide experiential learning opportunities to individuals who hope to gain foundational knowledge in the field of microelectronics and semiconductors,
Experiential Learning for Emerging Biotechnology Careers (HudsonAlpha Institute For Biotechnology)	Beginnings	Immerse nontraditional students from community colleges in the field of biotechnology to address the shortage of trained biotech workers.
Introducing Molecular Modeling Experiences to Underrepresented Students (Research Foundation of the City University of New York)	Beginnings	Provide technical skills needed by the biotechnology industry to undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Preparing Autistic Students for the AI Workforce (The Pennsylvania State University, Carnegie Mellon University)	Beginnings	Address the shortage of talent in the field of artificial technology and also the discrimination that autistic students face due to social stigma; aims to teach team collaboration and communication skills through AI-focused projects; help community college students with autism obtain summer internships and careers in AI.
VETS-HASTE: Veterans SkillBridge through Industry based Hardware Security Training and Education (University of Florida)	Pivots	Fight security vulnerabilities in commercial and military cyberinfrastructure by providing training to diverse groups of veterans.
Reskilling Education Via Advanced Manufacturing Practicum (University of Cincinnati)	Pivots	Support traditionally underrepresented populations in STEM by helping them pivot into careers in manufacturing. This includes individuals who have some background in stem, but, due to major life events, have either remained unemployed for some time or require upskilling to work in the manufacturing sector.
Workforce Innovation and Inclusion in Semiconductors and Emerging Research Areas (University of California–Berkeley)	Beginnings	Address urgent demand for workers in the semiconductor industry; provide experiential learning and professional development programs with leading industry partners and at the University of California campuses for transfer students, women, first-generation students, and underrepresented minorities.
Experiential Learning for the Mechatronics Workforce in the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan (Michigan Technological University)	Beginnings	Mechatronics is the development of automation for industrial applications. The project will prepare a cohort of diverse participants in Michigan for robotics, mechanics, cybersecurity, and AI in industrial settings.

*Among many others; for the full list, visit: Full NSF Awardee List for the ExLENT Program

blog, Education & Workforce Development

MBDH Summer Workshops: Opening Doors to Data Science Education

December 7, 2023Written by MBDH

By Ken Ogata

This story is part of a series on partnerships developed by the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub with institutions across the Midwest through the Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program.

As the ferry boat steadily cruised over Lake Michigan, it marked the halfway point of Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH) Outreach and Engagement Specialist J.D. Graham’s journey, which spanned thousands of miles and multiple states. Throughout the summer of 2023, Graham helped organize and co-lead three data science education workshops, collaborating with colleges across the Midwest to inspire both students and educators alike. Each was funded, in part, by the MBDH Community Development and Engagement Program. The workshops aimed at educating students about data science, especially communities often left out of the gated walls of higher education.

Graham stresses the importance of being there in person, and not just working remotely from his home in Illinois. “It really does matter to be there. To see that institution, the academic culture, their leadership . . . make the little conversations with people you don’t even know,” Graham said. “But the moment I heard it could exist, I was super excited to be able to do that. I like to travel.”

Prior to his position at the MBDH, Graham worked as an educator for 21 years, gaining experience with students from elementary school through college. This included teaching at the elementary and secondary levels as well as being a life coach for high school and college students at Kankakee Community College’s Upward Bound program. There, Graham worked on programs preparing at-risk students for college, further expanding his knowledge of learners’ needs across educational stages. Graham states that this broad classroom experience across student populations came in handy when facilitating the recent data science workshops.

“I have 20-plus years of reading a classroom to know what confusion, exhaustion, frustration, and success looks like,” Graham said. “If you aren’t used to dealing with those age ranges, by the time they will tell you that they will be telling you in actions, not words.”

The first workshop was in partnership with Central Michigan University and local school districts, with the goal to raise awareness of data science as a career path, especially for students who had not been exposed to this field before. The workshop introduced the field of data science through activities with R software and analyzing real-life datasets. While data science may be an exciting topic for many, Graham and his team realized that teaching teens about it was a delicate process—one that required building relationships with the students and making sure that the pace was just the right speed.

“If you make it an exciting, entertaining version of science, then you can sneak in the more difficult and frustrating parts of science,” Graham said.

The process of building trust with the students was not limited to the classroom either.

“We actually drove to their homes to pick them up to bring them to school. And during those periods of time, it’s not silence. It’s chatter. It’s talk,” said Graham. “They’re looking for a connection and these are the openings you use to click with the kids.”

As an educator, Graham is more than aware of the hurdles that exist in higher education, especially those in minority communities. “Most of us probably experience imposter syndrome, but these students have it on level 10. The moment they step in, they feel like outsiders.”

For Graham and his team, it was not only crucial to let the students see data science as a possible future for them, but also higher education in general. Throughout the workshop, Graham and his team brought in university tour guides and a financial aid counselor to help introduce the students to federal financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

“It’s so important because this face-to-face connection with people is the true boots on the ground, it’s how you change ideas, and how you build memories and experiences that will last a lifetime,” Graham said. “It lowers those barriers of entry and allows them to know that this is an accessible institution, and it’s right here in my neighborhood.”

The second workshop, in collaboration with St. Catherine University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, shared a similar goal to the first workshop. The five-day-long STEM academy was on-site at St. Catherine University and helped middle school girls in the local community engage with science through coding, rocket experiments, and 3-D printers. But on top of the activities planned for the kids, the workshop aimed to bolster the idea of Women and Girls in STEM, and allow children to envision opportunities that seemed unattainable to them.

“Most of the students I talked to said over and over ‘I just didn’t even know this existed or that this was a possibility,’” Graham said. “Allowing them to dream, to imagine themselves there. Maybe it’s not going to be in data science. But now it brings in whole new areas of study they’ve never even considered.”

A third MBDH workshop, the Workshop on Data for Good for Education (D4G4ED), was in collaboration with Trinity Christian College near Chicago and was primarily for educators and graduate students interested in exchanging ideas regarding teaching practices about data.

“Part of my job was to find people who not only cared about social good, and how to teach social good, but I also wanted to bring together a unique group of people with diverse backgrounds, so that they could learn from each other . . . to meet with professionals and passionate thinkers who they’d never have the chance to collaborate with on their own,” Graham said. He added, “Where else could a graduate student, a professor of Africana Studies, a virtual data viz instructor, and a data manager for the Department of Defense all meet up and discuss teaching data science for social good?”

The D4G4ED workshop was not only a place for educators alike to interact with each other and share ideas, but also aimed to challenge stereotypes and barriers that exist in certain fields of study in higher education. For Graham and his team, it was imperative that the workshop was not closed off to people who felt like they lacked the technical skills for data-related education, but to unite people under the idea of data science.

“[The] program was all about getting these diverse individuals whose communities, probably more than most, care about social causes and show them that data science can be used to promote and amplify those causes that they care about,” Graham said.

Graham also mentioned that the workshop was a great way to build relationships with his peers and noted how the workshops led to personal growth for him as well.

“Whenever I get to meet new people, whether it be professional or social, it allows me to get to see new tools and how they’re used, so I can incorporate them into my toolbox,” Graham said. “Meeting new educators, you learn new techniques, but just as importantly: meeting new students from new backgrounds. With different life experiences, I have learned so much from them as well.”

Through these workshops, Graham worked to demystify higher education and the field of data science. Graham’s work echoes the need for continued work towards breaking down the barriers that prevent many underrepresented groups from participating in academia.

Get Involved

Contact the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub if you’re aware of other people or data science education projects we should profile here, or to participate in any of our community-led Priority Areas. The MBDH has a variety of ways to get involved with our community and activities, including our Data Science Student Groups Community webinar series.

blog, CDE, Education & Workforce Development

Building CI Capabilities with the Minority Serving – Cyberinfrastructure Consortium

August 24, 2023Written by MBDH

By Aisha Tepede

The Minority Serving – Cyberinfrastructure Consortium (MS-CC) is an NSF-funded effort that promotes advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) capabilities through collaboration with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) by using data, research computing, teaching, curriculum development and implementation, collaboration, and capacity-building connections among institutions.

The MS-CC is a vibrant and growing community of information technology (IT) professionals, campus leaders, faculty members, researchers, and students from across the nation’s HBCUs, TCUs, HSIs, and the broader community of MSIs. They are also joined by colleagues and leaders from regional and national organizations.

The main goals of MS-CC include increasing access to CI resources, enhancing interactions and effectiveness among researchers and CI professionals, and providing resources for professional and career development throughout institutions serving underrepresented students. MS-CC’s goals allow for growth and learning by advancing CI for research and education across diverse fields and communities.

In the past year, MS-CC has hosted multiple free CI and cybersecurity workshops at various universities, such as North Carolina A&T State University, Salish Kootenai College, Jackson State University, Claflin University, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Topics ranged from the importance of CI on college campuses, access to open-source security tools, documented best practices for campus infrastructure, and hands-on workshop experience with IT leadership and staff. Along with workshops, MS-CC had the opportunity to present at the 2022 National HBCU Week Conference in Washington, D.C. to bring awareness to advancing CI for HBCUs.

MS-CC participant groups within
the 12-state MBDH region

• Chicago State University (IL)
• Fond du Lac Tribal and Community
College (MN)
• Turtle Mountain Community College (ND)
• Cankdeska Cikana Community College
(ND; formerly Little Hoop Community
College)
• Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council (SD)

MS-CC recently hosted its first Annual Meeting for its community, and first Student Hackathon for students attending HBCUs and TCUs, in May. Hosted in partnership with Internet2 and with funding support from the National Science Foundation (awards #2137123 and #2234326), the events created a place for networking opportunities, community bridging, and student recognition.

The MS-CC community is built on lifting each other up and growing together. When joining the MS-CC, individuals become part of a vibrant community where they can collaborate, receive support, and advocate for their collective needs.

Joining the MS-CC as a participant is simple, quick, easy—and free! Fill out this form, join the mailing list, and stay informed about upcoming meetings and activities. MS-CC participants can also get involved by joining a committee or working group. Registration is open for a virtual orientation for prospective committee and working group members on Sep. 12 at 4 p.m. ET.

Get Involved

Looking at upcoming MS-CC events or activities, the MS-CC hosts monthly All Hands Meetings on the fourth Thursday of each month at 12 p.m. ET. It’s a great way to stay informed about upcoming workshops, webinars, events, the latest activities, and opportunities for collaboration, with their next meeting being on Sep. 28, 2023. Zoom details can be found here, along with recordings of past All Hands Meetings.

The MS-CC also hosts Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Plan Community of Practice monthly calls for IT leaders, staff, faculty, and/or others leading, interested in, or contributing to the development of CI Plan documents for their campus.

The MS-CC CI facilitation team and several leadership board members will be participating in the 2023 Internet2 Technology Exchange Conference from September 18–22, 2023. They are hosting the Science DMZ and Networking for All workshop on Monday, September 18, and giving a presentation titled “Cyberinfrastructure Advancement Designed by and for HBCUs and TCUs” on Wednesday, September 20.

Future cyberinfrastructure and cybersecurity workshops at HBCUs and TCUs, as well as additional communities of practice for MS-CC participants, are being planned and will be announced on their website in the coming months.

Contact the MBDH if you’re aware of other people or projects we should profile here, or to participate in any of our community-led Priority Areas. The MBDH has a variety of ways to get involved with our community and activities. The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub is an NSF-funded partnership of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Indiana University, Iowa State University, the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, and the University of North Dakota, and is focused on developing collaborations in the 12-state Midwest region. Learn more about the national NSF Big Data Hubs community.

blog, Education & Workforce Development

Student Profile: Addison Graham

July 27, 2023Written by MBDH

By Aisha Tepede

The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH) is committed to being a venue for outreach and engagement that increases the potential for benefitting society through the Priority Areas the organization leads and the amplification of other investments and opportunities.

One avenue for this is the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) recent Convergence Accelerator program track focused on disability-related research, which allows universities and nonacademic institutions to develop solutions to address societal challenges for persons with disabilities through convergence research and innovation within a collaborative and multidisciplinary effort. Our recent story on these awards explores them in more detail.

In this post, we will focus on a discussion surrounding the impact these projects have on people with disabilities with Addison Graham, a fourth-year undergraduate student at Illinois State University (ISU) studying Special Education—Specialist in Low Vision and Blindness, with a Certificate in Early Intervention and the president of ISU’s Braille Birds student group.

How did you decide on special education as a career and choose to emphasize low vision and blindness?
“I got here by how I believe most people get into the field, pure chance. I wanted to pursue a specialization of Special Education. When visiting Illinois State University’s (ISU) Summer Seminar, I was introduced to the three subfields of the major (i.e., LBS—Learning Behavioral Specialty, DHH—Deaf & Hard of Hearing, and LVB—Low Vision & Blindness). I chose to attend the LVB talk where an LVB professor talked to us about the field. My father then suggested I go into the field and see if I liked it; not wanting to do everything my father suggested but understanding that it was a great suggestion, I decided to go along with it. Now, I am a 4th year still majoring in Special Education with a Specialty in Low Vision and Blindness with a Certificate in Early Intervention (SED w/ LVB Cert. in EI).”

When working with individuals with disabilities, do you think it teaches you more about yourself and the type of educator you want to be?
“Absolutely! Training to become a teacher is a stressful, but rewarding, endeavor. Much reflection and analysis of what, how, and why you do the things you do in your lesson plans is thoughtfully considered at every step.”

With braille being one of the biggest inventions for visually impaired people, and as the world moves into more technological advances, what do you think is important for inventors to remember when creating new technologies to help the community?
“To answer the question, web developers must adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Standards; however, *no new technologies are needed to support individuals with visual impairments. I have an asterisk there for a reason, which I will touch on in a moment, but let me explain my position.

The Asterisk: New technologies have changed the way Blind People live for the better. Some of these solutions were designed explicitly for the Blind Community, and others not so much, but what is important is how helpful they are to the people who use them on a daily basis.”

He adds, “It is important for inventors to consider and incorporate the Blind Community. This does not mean having one blind man look over the project and say, ‘Good enough, I think.’ But reach out to experts in the field of Education & Policy for the Blind. People who are blind will be your boss, employee, and consumer; why make something they can’t even use? Having organizations such as American Printing House for the Blind (APH), American Foundation of the Blind (AFB), Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired (IBVI), and/or National Federation of the Blind (NFB) to consult with your company or team or having a separate person on the team dedicated to understanding and implementing accessibility into your specific project is a necessity.”

He closes with, “Remember, oftentimes this community doesn’t need a complete workaround, just a ‘digital ramp’ to allow them to access the same information as everyone else. If the Bus 101 Company creates an app to let people know when and where the bus routes are, it cannot be just a picture. If it is, then it should be accompanied by Alt Text that is easy for the blind user to navigate to find their stop just as easily as any sighted person. Accessibility to software, hardware, places, and products, is the gateway to independence, but if we only address the needs of these very real human beings whenever it is convenient for us, then we deprive real people of the opportunity to live their life on their terms.”

What is a “Digital Ramp”?
“The phrase ‘Digital Ramp’ refers to the common example people think of when they hear the word ‘accessibility,’ that is a physical ramp to a door for someone who is in a wheelchair. If a ramp refers to someone with a physical disability getting access to a building through the ramp rather than the inaccessible stairs, then the lack of a digital ramp can be thought of as a barrier for people who use technology but are unable to access it. Examples include the following: a deaf person not having the options for captions; an elderly person, someone who is technologically illiterate, or someone with a cognitive delay being expected to navigate a frustratingly unintuitive website to secure something necessary (e.g., government-subsided healthcare); or a blind individual using Bus 101’s app being shown a picture of the bus routes with no Alt Text rather than a description of when and where the buses will be.”

As the interview continued, Addison shared recommendations for industries in order for them to better support the Blind Individuals already using their services or inside of the field itself. See the table below:

Property Management Personnel or City Planners	Use of braille signs from reputable companies on everything permanent that has visual information (i.e., print text, pictures, models). Use of tactual information on maps in parks, cities, airports, hospitals, shopping malls, etc. Following American Disability Act (ADA) guidelines when designing buildings, indoor and outdoor spaces. Consider designs that include and prioritize humans rather than cars.
Business & Education Personnel	Use digital document accessibility features to improve usability for individuals with visual impairments, such as: • If you have to, only use PDFs with text selectable or Object Character Recognition (OCR) and avoid using poor scan-in PDFs. • Use Headers (e.g., Title, Header 1, Header 2, etc.) and Repeating Header Row in Tables (i.e., using the “Repeat as Header Row at the Top of Each Page” feature in Table Properties under section “Row” allows Screen Readers and visual users to access the Header Row Title of the specific column they are in). • Use audio descriptions to describe what’s happening when the audio of the video does not tell you enough information (e.g., a step-by-step tutorial with light piano music playing in the background).
Hardware Developers	Use of physical buttons and tactual indicators for all ports and cable types as well as access to screen-reading technology via software by using an AUX port.
Software Developers	Adherence to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Standards as well as universally accessible screen-reading technology that is available via the hardware of an AUX port.

Get Involved

blog, Education & Workforce Development

Workshop on Data for Good for Education for Faculty Opens for Registration

April 13, 2023Written by MBDH

By Aisha Tepede

The continued growth of the Data for Social Good (DSG) movement provides an opportunity to increase student motivation and persistence within courses and degrees in data science. To help accelerate faculty use of data for good projects in courses, the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH) is hosting a free workshop in partnership with Trinity Christian College on June 2–3 near Chicago. Some travel support is available, including for early-career faculty and those from primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) and minority-serving institutions (MSIs).

The Workshop on Data for Good for Education (D4G4ED) aims to provide professional development opportunities for instructors seeking to engage their students through meaningful social good projects within a classroom setting and to learn about the latest developments in this field.

The workshop is meant to inspire, educate, and most importantly, allow faculty to share and prepare materials for use within their teaching context. The workshop will support faculty in developing their teaching to better incorporate the DSG movement, which provides a natural connection to relevance with grassroots-level improvements in our society while promoting the broad applicability of data science. This important component of increasing persistence and success for our current generation of students is connecting their coursework to meaningful change or outcomes.

The workshop aims to create networking opportunities for students, faculty, schools, and social good organizations, relating to nonprofits and governments with data science and analytics needs. This event facilitates a venue for sharing successes from projects and courses that use DSG while acting as an onboarding and support platform for faculty and schools interested in including DSG within their schools.

The two-day workshop will consist of facilitated sessions to highlight existing teaching practices around data for good, including Plenary Talks, structured workshop sessions, a “Marketplace of Ideas and Innovations,” group working time, and a networking session.

Guest speakers at the workshop include Dr. Dharma Dailey from the eScience Institute at the University of Washington and Dr. Richard Blumenthal from the Computer and Cyber Sciences Department at Regis University. Each speaker has a unique background surrounding data-intensive research and Artificial Intelligence (AI) research. Drs. Dailey and Blumenthal will be leading workshop sessions on embedding DSG activities in course curricula, and how to engage with external clients to develop real-world projects that are appropriately scoped for student work. The speakers and the workshop session aim to increase knowledge and interest in research, social good, and curricular-innovation goals.

This workshop is supported in part by the National Science Foundation through the MBDH Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program, through a proposal developed by Karl Schmitt, Data Analytics Program Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Data Analytics at Trinity Christian College.

Get Involved

blog, CDE, Education & Workforce Development, news

New Opportunities for student data science enthusiasts: NSDC launches chapter in the Midwest

April 6, 2023Written by MBDH

By Iishi Patel

Data science awareness is becoming increasingly important in today’s world as the amount of data generated daily is growing exponentially. With the right skills and knowledge, data science can be leveraged to solve complex problems across various domains, from healthcare to finance and beyond. Therefore, the need for initiatives like the National Student Data Corps, which aims to create awareness about data science, has never been more critical.

MBDH Student Community Monthly Webinar and Slack Community tile showing three students with their laptops sitting together at a table.

The National Student Data Corps (NSDC) is a community-based project that teaches data science fundamentals to students across the USA and other countries, with a focus on underserved students and institutions. It began in 2020 with the launch of its first chapter in the northeastern region. Today, the NSDC community includes over 3,550 individuals from 532 institutions in the USA and 26 other countries. The NSDC’s goals include giving access to resources and research opportunities in data science. It also provides resources for career development in this field and shows its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility through panel discussions, Slack discussions, and newsletters.

With the growth of data science enthusiasts in the Midwest, NSDC proudly launches its Midwest Regional Chapter under the leadership of Florence Hudson, the executive director of the Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub; Emily Rothenberg, the program coordinator; and Lauren Close, the operations manager. The NSDC’s Midwest Regional Chapter plays a crucial role in expanding access to data science education and resources to students and enthusiasts across the region. By providing a platform to learn, share ideas, and collaborate, the chapter empowers its members to develop their data science skills and advance their careers. The Midwest Regional Chapter is also supported by J.D. Graham and John MacMullen from the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub. The chapter already has members from Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota and encourages students, enthusiasts, and learners across the region to grow and learn about data science in new and exciting ways.

The Midwest Regional Chapter aims to reach out to a broad audience, from students who want to learn data science outside of a regular institution to enthusiasts at all levels. The program coordinator Emily describes the Midwest Regional Chapter as a space to continue their learning and a sense of community for people who cannot currently go to school, or a higher education institution, and want to keep up with data science technologies. The chapter is in the process of planning events like data science mentorship opportunities, webinars, and career panels.

The chapter is ready to invite participants for their flagship event, the 2023 Data Science Symposium, hosted by NSDC. Here, participants will get to present their research findings on a data science topic of their choice. The winner gets to showcase their research at a live event sponsored by NSDC.

In the immediate future of the chapter, the leadership aims to build a one-stop repository of resources for data science enthusiasts and invite students from all over the Midwest to join. The leadership also looks forward to having student representatives in various universities and colleges throughout the Midwest. The chapter also actively maintains a Slack channel to keep members updated about their latest events and engage in mentorship.

To become a part of the Midwest Chapter, you can sign up here. You can also follow their events calendar to stay up to date. A forthcoming event in collaboration with the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub is an information session about Exploring Science Policy Careers. It’s a great opportunity to learn about and interact with the chapter on April 7, 2023, at 12:00–1:00 p.m. CT/1:00–2:00 p.m. ET.

Get Involved

Contact the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub if you’re aware of other data science education-related people or projects we should profile here. We invite participation in any of our community-led Priority Areas. The MBDH has a variety of ways to get involved with our community and activities.

blog, Education & Workforce Development

Building hands-on data science skills with the Midwest Carpentries Community

January 31, 2023Written by MBDH

By Aisha Tepede

This story is part of a series on partnerships developed by the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub with institutions across the Midwest through the Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program.

Science relies more and more on software and computing technologies, but researchers often don’t receive the training they need to effectively use these tools. A worldwide organization called The Carpentries is trying to help with hands-on training that is developed and taught by a community of volunteer experts.

Since 2012, the organization has run 3,799 workshops in 68 countries and trained 4,108 instructors. Moreover, they have had the ability to deliver 35 collaboratively developed, open lessons to 95,000 novice learners for at least 110 member sites. The organization has since been a pillar for a global and inclusive community in order to provide and teach coding and data skills. The Carpentries clusters its instructional content into three brands: Software Carpentry, Data Carpentry, and Library Carpentry.

To build the community at local and regional levels, The Carpentries are helping to facilitate subgroups in geographic areas. The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH) co-leads the Midwest Carpentries Community (MCC), which is open to all in the 12-state region, regardless of institutional affiliation.

The MCC began as a proposal from Dr. Sarah Stevens at the University of Wisconsin to the MBDH Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program, which incubates new community initiatives.

Through monthly meetings and other activities, MBDH and the MCC members showcase The Carpentries instructors and best practices at academic institutions and other organizations, and provide a welcoming venue to develop collaborative efforts toward building regional capacity for The Carpentries instructors at smaller and underresourced institutions in 12 Midwest states.

The MCC strives to foster a community of practice to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration. It will be developing a centralized website to coordinate trainings and subject-matter workshops, and will be using mentoring programs to empower community members to act as hosts and instructors. The organization provides an interpersonal network through connections with other institutions, both domestically and internationally. Sarah Stevens stated,

“The project aims to build ‘hands-on data science instruction capacity,’ by using the existing curriculum and workshop model of The Carpentries, which includes communities of instructors, trainers, maintainers, helpers, and supporters who share a mission to teach foundational computational and data science skills to researchers.”

“Our partnership with Sarah and the University of Wisconsin has been very successful,” said John MacMullen, Executive Director of the MBDH. “In 2023, we plan to continue our monthly community calls as a part of The Carpentries new regional communities initiative. We will also open our Carpentries membership to underresourced institutions that want to train new instructors and establish new Carpentries activities.”

The MCC meets on the last Monday of each month. The Carpentries also has a Slack community that features a Midwest community channel for ongoing discussions and networking.

Get Involved

The MCC is supported by the National Science Foundation through the MBDH Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program.

blog, CDE, Education & Workforce Development

Meet the Artist: Ariann Rousu and the Native Dancer Project

January 26, 2023Written by MBDH

By Isabel Alviar

Art is how a culture records its life, how it poses questions for the next generation, and how it will be remembered. A team from the AI and VR Lab at the University of North Dakota (UND) is developing a multiuser computer environment for competitive powwow dancing, called the Native Dancer Project, which uses art and technology to embody Native culture. Characters within the multiverse will move in ways associated with Native dancing and consist of models dressed in street clothing as well as in Native dance regalia found in dances custom to the Anishinaabe, Dakota, Lakota, Sioux, and other northern plains-associated tribes.

Different angles of Native dance regalia for a female digital character.

Among the team of artists and designers is Ariann Rousu, whose work involves designing the digital gaming characters. Ariann has received a Photography and Digital Imaging certification, earned her Associates Degree in Liberal Arts and Fine Arts, and graduated from UND with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2022. In addition to her extensive art and design background, she brings a unique perspective to the Native Dancer Project from growing up on a reservation in Callaway and as a current member of the White Earth Ojibwe Nation in Minnesota. She says about the project, “It has always been important to me to keep learning and expanding my skill set as an artist as well as play my part in being prideful of, preserving, and sharing my Native culture. This project is challenging me to do just that, and I am grateful for the opportunity.”

Interestingly, Ariann’s role on the Native Dancer Project did not actually start with designing. When she first started working in the AI Lab at UND, her job was to test the range of motion of a space suit for NASA potentially going to Mars and perform data analysis on the movements. In order to do so, her team tested multiple individuals in the space suit using motion picture software by putting sensors all over their bodies and recording numerous movements using small cameras. Her space suit research was a great learning opportunity for the motion picture capture process and developing her visual skills as an artist.

Since then, Ariann’s main focus has been creating the digital characters and their clothing for the Native Dancer Project. The goal of these characters is not to be modeled after a specific individual, but rather, they are being developed to represent someone who could be a member of a northern plains-associated tribe. A large part of Ariann’s work when designing these game characters is trying to maintain a level of realism and respect so they are not too cartoon-like and accurately portray modern powwow dancers today. She says, “Even though I am Native, it is important to remain aware of and be open to learning how to more accurately represent the culture and dances.” Additionally, her goal for creating the clothing is to keep it modern, stylish, and modest, while maintaining Native influence.

Male digital character for the Native Dancer Project.

Female digital character for the Native Dancer Project.

Photography is about light, and oftentimes, digital art does not look realistic because people do not understand how light works in the digital realm. For a project centered around realistically portraying Native culture, in the early stages of the project, it was less about creating characters and more about Ariann learning how to use new tools proficiently. From her previous photography experience, she had worked with the Adobe Creative Suite and other 3D modeling programs, but she was also introduced to new software for the Native Dancer Project. The characters for the project are being developed using a program called Character Creator 4 (CC4) by Reallusion, where designers can customize avatars in various styles. The clothing is being created with a program called Marvelous Designer that helps artists design garments and add intricate patterns and detailing for 3D characters. Every week, Ariann writes blog posts detailing the progress she has made, such as the steps she took, and any challenges that arose. At this stage, Ariann has successfully developed two characters—a male and female—with realistic features and characteristics. Additionally, she has completed a few street clothing outfits for the characters that include articles of clothing such as pants with basic patterns, fitted t-shirts, skirts, etc. Her goal for the next month is to have the first piece of regalia finished, a traditional Jingle Dress for the female character. Further down the line, her goal is to have more characters with multiple regalia features. She also hopes to use her motion picture capture experience to record real Native dancers, then use and modify the data to help create fully dressed characters that demonstrate powwow dancing.

Native dance regalia number 1 for a female digital character.

Native dance regalia number 2 for a female digital character.

If art is how a culture records its life, then the beauty of both art and culture is that they are ever-changing with time. Although Ariann has her goals for the direction of the Native Dancer Project, she admits, “Even I don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like in the future. But it will be interesting and I’m excited to see where it goes.”

Get involved

Contact the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub if you’re aware of other people or projects we should profile here, or to participate in our activities, which include a Data Science Student Community and other regional activities, such as the Collaboration Cafe and the Midwest Carpentries Community.

blog, Education & Workforce Development, partners

MBDH Partners on New Data Science Workshop for Underrepresented High School Students

December 14, 2022Written by MBDH

By Aisha Tepede

This story is part of a series on partnerships developed by the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub with institutions across the Midwest through the Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program.

Deciding what to do after high school can be overwhelming. There are various academic and career options that are provided but many students may feel uncertain and unprepared to make those big decisions. In central Michigan, high school students from several rural towns have the opportunity to learn about data science concepts for future careers at a summer workshop cosponsored by Central Michigan University and the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH).

Central Michigan University (CMU) holds inclusivity as core to its mission. According to the CMU mission, vision and values site, the institution prides itself on inclusion, and the student body and faculty “thrive on student-centered education and fostering personal and intellectual growth to prepare students for productive careers, meaningful lives, and responsible citizenship in a global society.”

The university’s dedication to growth goes beyond its current students and into its larger local community. With the institution having a strong and historic relationship with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, the partnership allows for the advancement and improvement of community members’ quality of life. With Native Americans being underrepresented at major points in the academic data science pipeline, it speaks volumes that the university is seeking collaboration to engage with high school students early in their career planning and help them understand potential career paths in data science.

After seeing the lack of programming geared toward at-risk high school students in the community, CMU faculty members, Dr. John E. Daniels and Dr. Mohamed Amezziane developed a proposal to create a data science workshop for high school students from underrepresented and tribal communities. Daniels and Amezziane stated, “We wish to target students who are unsure about their future but might not be considering college due to financial issues or uncertainty in a major. Often, these students come from underrepresented groups and are overlooked as potential university students.”

With support from the MBDH, CMU will partner with several high schools in rural central Michigan to offer a 5-day summer workshop at CMU, introducing approximately 35 rural and underrepresented high school students to data science. Participants, including student members of the local Ojibwa Tribe, will be recruited with the support and recommendations of their local high schools.

Upon completion of the workshop, students will be more familiar with data science, will analyze data using open-source statistical software (R), and will learn how to prepare and give a professional presentation summarizing their assigned research project. The context of the assigned learning modules and project will be on making healthy lifestyle choices (nutrition, alcohol/drugs). Data used in the workshop will come from selected sources, such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). According to the website, NHANES is a resource that consists of demographic, socioeconomic, dietary, and health-related questions designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States.

Central Michigan University’s Data Science program was started 18 months ago and is attempting to generate interest among the local student population. The flexibility and versatility of data science provide an opportunity to attract and recruit students who might not fit the typical college-prep template. Not only does the program hope to foster students’ interest in data science but the CMU Admissions staff will also offer assistance to students on how to apply to data science programs, fill out Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) financial aid forms, and address possible application barriers that would prevent students from completing a successful admission application.

Through best practices and student feedback from this 5-day program being evaluated, there are plans to make this a yearly event. Overall, the university hopes to see an increase in the number of students pursuing Data Science as a major at CMU or other regional colleges and universities. In addition, by personalizing the data sets, Daniels believes the students will connect how using statistical software could be used to make better decisions in their own lives.

Our workshop will focus on making healthy lifestyle choices,” Daniels said. “Instead of preaching about smoking, drinking, or texting while driving, we hope to use data science as a vehicle to demonstrate the consequences of one’s lifestyle choices and at the same time learn about all of the tools and techniques data science has to offer. The methods we will be teaching can be applied to a variety of research questions and data sets. Perhaps this will inspire some students to recognize the value of data science and to pursue it in higher education.”

Dr. Jeff Inungu, CMU Professor and Director of the Master of Public Health Program, believes that by using the lens of public health and data science, “Experience and integrative learning offer students opportunities to gain skills that are highly desirable and prepare them to become leaders who are able to meet the ever-changing challenges of promoting, protecting, and enhancing the health of vulnerable communities.”

Regarding the long-term goals for the workshop, Daniels says, “Overall, the program will continue to focus on data science, reinforce the healthy lifestyle context, and gradually increase the number of workshop participants. The desired outcome is a steady increase in data science majors in our geographic area.”

When the workshop concludes, the team will work with the MBDH to assess the impact of the project and make resources available for faculty at other institutions to use in developing similar events on their campuses.

Get Involved

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation through the MBDH Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program.

Contact the MBDH to learn more, or if you’re aware of other people or projects we should profile here. We invite participation in any of our community-led Priority Areas. The MBDH has a variety of ways to get involved with our community and activities.

blog, CDE, Education & Workforce Development, Smart, Connected, & Resilient Communities

Data Science for the Public Good Young Scholars Program

December 9, 2022Written by MBDH

By Isabel Alviar

Data is the new science; it has the potential to answer the world’s problems if the right questions are asked. And some data science education programs are now focusing on working with local communities to help with real-world problems.

The Data Science for the Public Good (DSPG) Young Scholars Program is an immersive summer program that engages students from across Iowa to work together on projects that address social issues in the world today. Both graduate and undergraduate students are selected through a competitive statewide search. Graduate students (fellows) lead, support, and guide students together with Iowa State University (ISU) faculty and research associates, while undergraduate students (interns) acquire programming and statistical analysis experience through formal training and practical applications.

Working in teams, fellows and interns collaborate with project stakeholders and research faculty across disciplines. Research teams combine disciplines including statistics, data science, and the social and behavioral sciences to address complex problems proposed by local, state, and nonprofit agencies. Some of the program highlights for scholars include: expert training in tools for quantitative computing and data visualization (R, GIS, Tableau, etc.); professional training through workshops, seminars, and career talks; individualized mentors working closely with students; technical reporting and publication opportunities; and opportunities to interact with decision-makers in local communities, nonprofits, and state government agencies.

This past summer’s DSPG Program ran from May 23 to August 5. In light of COVID-19 and to accommodate non-ISU students, the program was held entirely online. Nonetheless, DSPG Scholars were provided the same opportunities to develop a professional portfolio, expand their networks, and learn about practical applications of data science to solving real-world problems. At the end of the summer, scholars got to present their research at the Annual DSPG Symposium. The symposium featured several distinguished keynote speakers and poster presentations by the Young Scholars. Final presentations for the 2022 DSPG Program were held on Thursday, August 4 via Zoom and recordings are available on ISU’s website.

Community Learning through Data Driven Discovery (CLD3) graphic, containing an outer wheel, a middle wheel, and an inner circle. The outer wheel represents the continuous interaction and communication across stakeholders, involving the following activities: engage community stakeholders to identify issues, partner with subject experts, provide data insight for decision-makers, share learnings to drive change, and support community in next steps. The middle wheel represents the data-driven learning process, involving the following activities: discover data, integrate data, act, measure and evaluate, and redirect. The frontier between the outer and middle wheels represents the active collaboration between all partners. The inner circle represents the rigorous research framework to guide the data science. The graphic is courtesy of the Iowa State University Public Science Collaborative. — Source: Iowa State University Public Science Collaborative

The program is led every year by five land-grant universities and funded, in part, by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to create a coalition for the public good. Christopher Seeger, one of the professors leading Iowa State’s program, said, “Ultimately, this is a community service. We let the community drive the conversation, while we listen to what they want and how we can help.” All of the projects were built upon a model called the Community Learning through Data Driven Discovery Process (CLD3), and helped local communities tackle real problems. Projects were incredibly diverse, with topics ranging from wholesale local food benchmarking to evaluating indicators for equal local housing needs to creating interactive commodity reports for agricultural marketing.

A webinar that further highlighted some of these projects and the DSPG Program was hosted by the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub on October 27, 2022. Matthew Voss, Rural Policy Data Analyst for the Public Science Collaborative, featured a project from his summer as a graduate fellow where his team created analytics and dashboards to help a nonprofit organization, Eat Greater Des Moines (EGDM), more effectively target, locate, and expand food rescue in Central Iowa. Their client came to them because they had an abundance of data but did not know how to use it to answer crucial questions posed by their board, such as where people are experiencing the most food insecurity, which distribution sites have the greatest losses due to food waste, etc. This is where the DSPG Scholars stepped in. For their project, the students cleaned the large data sets and then used them to develop sustainable pipelines in Google Sheets and Google Data Studio that visually answered EGDM’s questions through interactive dashboards. The project is now published on the nonprofit organization’s website, where the DSPG team is directly credited for all of their work.

Voss’s project was just one example of how the DSPG Young Scholars Program is making a positive impact on the community while also teaching students valuable data science skills. Two other DSPG fellows, Kelsey Van Selous and Harun Çelik, also presented their projects on the webinar. Dr. Cassandra Dorius, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, and a founding co-director of the DSPG Program, said, “Students were very creative and motivated, and produced great analytics and projects. We are excited to see how this work improves people’s lives moving forward.”

Get Involved

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National Workshop on Data Science Education Featured Multiple Hub Talks

August 18, 2022Written by MBDH

Kim Bruch, West Big Data Innovation Hub Science Writer

Organized by UC Berkeley’s Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society, with support from Microsoft and the West Big Data Innovation Hub, the Summer 2022 National Workshop on Data Science Education offered an array of insight about current data science education initiatives across the academic spectrum, from high school to undergraduate and graduate level programs as well as adult learners.

The latter two days of the workshop focused on national perspectives and programs for data science education, including student driven data science communities of support and learning. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Big Data Innovation Hubs hosted two panels alongside a program of presenters that discussed topics such as investigating the ethics behind algorithms, incorporating Python into statistics and computer science classes, and the latest developments in data science education and community building.

“The West Hub was happy to coordinate the NSF Big Data Hubs’ contribution to this workshop,” said West Big Data Innovation Hub Executive Director Ashley Atkins. “It was an opportunity to share with a national audience some of the undergraduate-focused work the Hubs are pursuing across the country.”

Many lessons learned were discussed during the NSF Big Data Hub panel entitled “Building National Capacity for Student-Driven Data Science Communities.” The panel was moderated by Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub Executive Director Florence Hudson and included presentations by John MacMullen, Emily Rothenberg, Scott Blender, Abhishek Sinha and Rajeev Bukralia.

“The National Student Data Corps began as a grassroots effort in the Northeast region in 2021, and grew to nearly 3,000 community members by June 2022 across the U.S. and in 20 countries around the world,” said Hudson. “Students, professors, industry and nonprofit data science professionals worked together to build this dynamic community of support to increase data science awareness and provide free open online data science resources for students and educators, along with data science career panels, mentoring via a 500-person slack channel, career and chapter resources. We are working together to democratize data science for all.”

Temple University Engineering and Data Science Student Scott Blender talked about the National Student Data Corps (NSDC) from a student perspective—focusing on goals of the chapter systems. He said that their aim is “to inspire, educate, and serve local communities with professional development opportunities by leveraging NSDC resources and events.”

A similar student-aimed program discussed was the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub’s Data Science Student Groups Community. Rajeev Bukralia, professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, also spoke about his development of the Data Resources for Eager and Analytical Minds (DREAM) student group, which is the largest registered student organization on campus, and brings data science perspectives to students from many disciplines. Details about both DREAM and NSDC can be found on their respective websites.

“We are focused on building a group of student leaders to share best practices about how to grow inclusive, multi-disciplinary student organizations,” said Executive Director of the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub John MacMullen. “Learning from more established groups such as DREAM can help newer student organizations understand how to build strong, diverse teams with engaged participants.”

Another great NSF Big Data Hub Panel at the workshop was entitled Data Science Program Development. South Big Data Hub Executive Director Renata Rawlings-Goss of Georgia Tech opened the panel with a thorough explanation of how they developed their data science education efforts.

West Hub principal investigator Jennifer Chayes gave an overview of Berkeley’s Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS), where she serves as associate provost.

Eric Van Dusen speaking during a panel discussion. Photo by KLCfotos. — Workshop organizer Eric Van Dusen, outreach and technology lead for the Data Science Undergraduate Studies program, speaks during a panel discussion. (Photo/ KLCfotos)

“This is the fifth annual conference and the West Big Data Hub has always been a key partner-stakeholder in convening folks in this space. It was great to have multiple hubs collaborating to share so many perspectives,” said CDSS Technology and Outreach Lead Eric Van Dusen, who organized the workshop.

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Student Group Profile: DREAM at Minnesota State University, Mankato

March 25, 2022Written by MBDH

The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub is developing a community of data science student groups across the Midwest region to share their experiences and best practices. This story is part of a series of student group profiles.

For this profile, we spoke with leaders from DREAM, Data Resources for Eager & Analytical Minds, a recognized student organization at Minnesota State University, Mankato. It has over 300 student members who focus on data science, data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, information technology, and computer science. DREAM organizes and hosts conferences, trainings, competitions, and industry talks to support the students’ academic and professional development. The DREAM members have won many awards at various data science competitions and have authored dozens of research papers and conference presentations. DREAM is a past recipient of the Outstanding RSO of the Year award.

What are the goals of your group, and who is your core audience?
DREAM was founded in 2016 when one dedicated data science professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU), Dr. Rajeev Bukralia—the esteemed faculty advisor of DREAM—excited the students of the potential of and career opportunities in data science. Since the start, DREAM’s goal has been to explore, raise interest in, and share the wonders of data science and related fields. Our mission is to help students venture into the more interesting aspects of data science and corresponding fields, and in the process, connect students to industry mentors and professionals. We want to support anyone from any background who has interest in data analytics, data science, or computer science. Our core audience is varied because data itself is varied and can come from any field. Our audience is anyone who wants to understand that data on a deeper level, be they business majors, biology students, or just about anything else; we welcome anyone from any background who wants to participate!

What kinds of activities have you done previously, and what do you have planned for this year?
COVID has changed the format of our group considerably, but we still have regular industry talks and we act as a center for communicating events and opportunities to students interested in data science. Recently, we have had multiple industry leaders speak on their experiences working in the industry. They shared their experiences and tips to help set students up for success. So far this semester, we have hosted four industry talks with professionals from big companies such as UnitedHealth, One Drop, and Ovative. The larger projects we have planned for this semester focus around supporting students through the 2022 Data Derby Hackathon, setting up the spring election, and creating fun, themed training sessions for students to dip their toes into key tools for data science, such as Python and Power BI. We also hope to involve the members of our club in a student research showcase this spring in collaboration with MinneAnalytics.

As DREAM grows, we hope to expand our reach into the community. Through school or library programs, we hope to spark an interest in data science in kids grades 6 through 12. Programs like this would not only have to be volunteer-run, but also volunteer-created. So, after completing a few training sessions at the university, we hope to create an introductory data science curriculum that is interesting enough to captivate young students, but also approachable enough for young students.

What challenges have you faced in starting or maintaining your group?
The pandemic, of course, has been a large shift for a group like ours, which has over 300 students, dozens of which would be packed into a room eating pizza together on any given Thursday night pre-COVID. Since then, we have had to switch to Zoom for our meetings, although we’re trying to get back in person soon. There are also the general challenges of collaborating with university administration to secure and maintain the backend functions of the club and making sure to bring in a constant stream of new students to sustain the club.

What suggestions do you have for others who want to start a group on their campus, or expand their current group?
Reach out and promote your group through classes on your campus that are relevant—for example, we promote DREAM in the introductory data science courses and the database management courses.

Run events regularly—consistency will help build up more engagement, both from members of the group that are excited to participate more, or from members of the student body that just decide to pop into one meeting because they see it happening every week.

Keep a careful eye on your roster. Make sure you always have a copy backed up. Also, keep it organized so you can keep track of current students, alumni, etc. Your email roster is your direct point of contact with your group, so be sure to communicate with them regularly and to always maintain the current contact details.

Stay true to the mission. Be active and involved in community events. Try different methods to promote your group’s spirit and resources, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, etc.

Get involved

You can find the DREAM club on Twitter and their website.

Are you a student group leader or advisor? We’d like to hear more about your group’s activities. Contact us if you’d like us to profile your organization or participate in our student groups webinar series. You can also join our new Slack community to continue the discussion and make new connections.

About the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub

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Student Group Profile: Girls Who Code, University of Michigan DCMB

March 7, 2022Written by MBDH

In light of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on March 8th, we talked with the leaders of Girls Who Code club at the University of Michigan about their work on empowering young girls to participate in coding projects and the STEM field by and large.

What are the goals of your group, and who is your core audience?
We are an organization founded by doctoral students from the Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics at the University of Michigan. Our goal is to provide a collaborative and supportive environment for students of all skill levels and backgrounds interested in learning to code. Our club curriculum focuses on computational data analysis and the Python programming language. Participants learn fundamental coding concepts and implement their new skills in their chosen data science capstone project. Our core audience includes girls, women, and allies who support our mission of closing the gender gap in technology.

What kinds of activities have you done previously, and what do you have planned for this year?
Our Girls Who Code club meets weekly from September through May. During the summer, we offer a two-week intensive Summer Experience (SE) program. During club and SE, students participate in live coding lectures, work through paired programming exercises, hear from guest speakers, and complete a data science capstone project. We have also facilitated field trips to the Ann Arbor Google office and connect students to faculty at the University of Michigan for long-term research experiences. Along the way, we have partnered with other STEM outreach organizations at the University of Michigan. For instance, this year, we will collaborate with FEMMES (Women+ Excelling More in Math, Engineering, and the Sciences) and DFB (Developing Future Biologists) to provide hands-on programming activities.

University of Michigan Girls Who Code group photo

What challenges have you faced in starting or maintaining your group?
A primary challenge we faced in starting the club and SE programs was the lack of live-coded Python for data science curriculum for our target age group (high school). However, given the expertise of our student facilitators, we were able to develop a custom curriculum teaching Python fundamentals and data science skills, including statistical analysis, from scratch. We rely entirely on hard-working undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral volunteers, and recruiting volunteers who can dedicate time to this extracurricular activity is often difficult. To help address this challenge, we have started paying our SE instructors. The pandemic created a massive shift in how we delivered our programming, and we had to shift the club to a virtual format within a week. We have continued virtual instruction, and despite its challenges, we have been able to expand our reach.

University of Michigan Girls Who Code Zoom screenshot 1

University of Michigan Girls Who Code Zoom screenshot 2

What suggestions do you have for others who want to start a group on their campus, or expand their current group?
Find ways to collaborate with existing organizations so that you can build on their previous work instead of reinventing the wheel. Identify and understand the needs of the communities that you’re interested in working with to ensure that your programming aligns with your target audience. It’s also a good idea to consider your organization’s longevity and plan at the onset for the transfer of leadership responsibilities after the original leadership moves on. Creating documents that allow for knowledge transfer and working with faculty that can provide continuity are two such ways to address this.

Get involved

You can find the Girls Who Code club on Twitter, Facebook, and their website. The club has also compiled resources on coding, online teaching, and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion on their GitHub page.

About the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub

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Student Group Profile: Iowa State University Data Science Club

February 10, 2022Written by MBDH

For this profile, we talked with leaders of the Iowa State University Data Science Club.

What are the goals of your group, and who is your core audience?
Our main goal is to promote the field of Data Science, whether it be information on the field, internship opportunities, school resources, or skills you need to learn to get a job in the field.

Our main audience is data science majors and any other adjacent majors with some prior coding experience. And anyone, in general, that would be interested in this type of career.

What kinds of activities have you done previously, and what do you have planned for this year?
We have focused a lot on company presentations and internship opportunities in the field. We have now been focusing on workshops surrounding data science essentials, like Google Cloud, Machine Learning, or Tableau basics.

What challenges have you faced in starting or maintaining your group?
One of the main challenges has been keeping people engaged. Workshops aren’t super fun but essential to learning about the field. Company presentations are nice but don’t appeal strongly to freshmen and sophomores. We have been working on making the club more of a community. Having members help each other with homework, talk about outside activities, have fun events occasionally that don’t relate to data science, but just make a place for collaboration and talk to others about their love for the field.

What suggestions do you have for others who want to start a group on their campus, or expand their current group?
Start big, expect small. In the beginning, focus on appealing to as many as possible. Do as many things as you can to interest people. But always have a foundation for your goal as a group, stay centered, stay consistent. You may have a ton of people at the first meeting and very few at the next, but the key is to stay consistent and think big picture.

In terms of expansion, bring outside help, see if your school can help, collaborate with outside companies. Put yourself in a position where your group will not just be a fun place to hang out but a place that could benefit your resume and help bring you to experience for future internship opportunities.

Get involved

About the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub

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MBDH Learning Innovation Fellows Program Builds on Success with Second Cohort

February 9, 2022Written by MBDH

This story is part of a series on partnerships developed by the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub with institutions across the Midwest through the Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program.

The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub and the Gala Sustainability Learning Initiative at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability continue to build on the success of last year’s Learning Innovation Fellows pilot program with a second cohort of fellows. The student fellows, hailing from a range of midwestern institutions, work with faculty advisors at the intersections of the Midwest Hub’s “Cyberinfrastructure and Data Sharing” and “Data Science Education and Workforce Development” themes. The program brings together data science and sustainability, delivering open-access, data-enriched learning tools on the Gala platform, along with experiences and mentoring for student fellows.

Teams

Alternative Transportation Scenarios

Shanshan (Shirley) Liu (Student Fellow) is a PhD student from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include transportation electrification policy and planning, sustainable transportation systems, and transportation energy. Shirley’s project is based around Shelie Miller’s case study, Assembling Our Transportation Future, which asks readers to think about transportation policy hinge points in American history. She is using Python to create tools that allow students to analyze scenarios of alternative vehicle adoption and evaluate them from the perspective of energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Shelie Miller (Faculty Advisor) is a professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. Her research uses life-cycle assessment and scenario modeling to identify environmental problems before they occur. Miller’s research group works on a variety of energy-related topics, including the energy-water nexus, bioenergy, refrigeration in the food system, and autonomous vehicles.

Modeling Rainforest Carbon Cycling

Anneke van Oosterom (Student Fellow) is a sophomore double majoring in biology and data science at St. Catherine University. She is currently involved with the biology department at St. Kate’s through the Biology Club and as a microbiology lab prep assistant. Through the fellowship she is creating a systems model using the Insight Maker modeling tool to demonstrate carbon cycling in tropical rainforests for Ann Russell’s forthcoming case Healing the Scars: Tropical Rainforest Carbon Cycling (developed through the OCELOTS network for tropical ecology).

Ann Russell (Faculty Advisor) is a terrestrial ecosystems ecologist at Iowa State University, with special expertise in the biogeochemistry of tropical and managed ecosystems. Her research addresses links between traits of plant species and ecosystem processes, focusing on species and management effects on belowground processes, and subsequent implications for human impacts on soil fertility and carbon sequestration. Her research is designed to enhance our understanding of human impacts on the biosphere, improve biogeochemical models, and help guide selection of species for sustainable management of agroecosystems.

Scenario Planning for the Rouge River

Julie Arbit (Student Fellow) is in her final semester as an environmental policy and planning student within the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan (UM). She works as a research associate for the Center for Social Solutions at UM, where her main project focuses on equity in flood risk, response, and recovery. Julie is using ArcGis Online and Python to create scenario planning tools for the case The Rouge River: Redlining, Riverbanks, and Restoration in Metro Detroit.

Perrin Selcer (Faculty Advisor) is an associate professor and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan Department of History. He works at the intersection of environmental history, history of science, and international relations.

Accessible Data Science Tools for Water Utilities

Thien Nguyen (Student Fellow) is a second-year computer science undergraduate and sustainability enthusiast at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMN). He has previously worked with UMN’s Institute on the Environment, writing geospatial analysis algorithms in Google Earth Engine to observe soil degradation in Senegal’s Peanut Basin. Thien is working with PhD student Matt Vedrin to create tools for a PIT-UN funded collaboration working to help classrooms, communities, and workforces confront challenges in the monitoring and improvement of drinking water distribution systems.

Lutgarde Raskin (Faculty Advisor) is a professor at the University of Michigan School for Civil & Environmental Engineering. She works to rethink engineered systems to better harness the power of microorganisms to treat water and recover resources from waste streams. Dr. Raskin and her team work to understand and improve various aspects of the engineered water cycle microbiome to improve human health using sustainable design approaches, with a focus on biofiltration, disinfection, distribution, and building plumbing biostability.

Get involved

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation through the MBDH Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program.

blog, CDE, Education & Workforce Development

New MBDH Community Development and Engagement partners

December 16, 2021Written by MBDH

By Qining Wang

The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH) recently partnered with multiple institutions in the region for new data science activities under its Community Development and Engagement Program. This program incubates new projects and provides support to help them grow.

In the last proposal cycle, the MBDH Seed Fund Steering Committee selected three projects to support, led by the Tribal Nations Research Group (TNRG), St. Catherine University, and Trinity Christian College.

TNRG Digital Agriculture Meeting

The TNRG, together with the University of North Dakota and Grand Farm/Emerging Prairie, will host a one-day workshop in 2022, at the Microsoft Business Center in Fargo, North Dakota. This workshop will connect tribal colleges and universities working with their local tribal governments to extend digital agriculture and educational opportunities to Native farmers.

Approximately 30% of the nation’s Native population and 20 of the 37 of the nation’s tribal colleges and universities are located in the MBDH service area. Because of this, the MBDH is well-positioned to engage tribal stakeholders on issues related to Data Science Education and Workforce Development. This is especially true in the context of Digital Agriculture, where many of these institutions are working with their local tribal governments to extend agricultural programs and educational opportunities to Native farmers.

Tribal communities have not had the dedicated capital for building a resilient and sustainable infrastructure for harnessing food on their lands for a long time. The lack of such infrastructure creates food insecurity that can be detrimental to Indigenous peoples. In addition, due to climate change, it is crucial to build sustainable farming practices that can provide sufficient food and preserve the ecosystem everywhere in the long run.

One way to realize optimal farming practices is to incorporate digital agriculture, which integrates digital technologies into crops and livestock management. Technologies such as machine learning and big data analysis tools can improve agricultural production while minimizing the harm to the ecosystem. For instance, by correlating multiple parameters related to crop growth using machine learning, farmers can better predict crop yield based on other parameters such as nutrients in the soil, weather, and fertilization. Those technologies can therefore make information on ecosystems, crops, and animals more findable and interpretable to farmers.

However, implementing digital agriculture on tribal lands involves extra layers of nuance. Data scientists and agricultural experts must conduct digital agriculture research in tribal regions under proper data sovereignty standards, such as the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance. Indigenous peoples are entitled to know what data is collected and how data scientists use and analyze their data. The data should enable Indigenous peoples to derive benefit from any fruits of the research involving tribal communities.

This workshop will serve to increase the accessibility of digital agriculture in Native communities, emphasizing respecting the culture, traditions, and sovereignty of the Native people. In addition, this workshop will enlist more tribal stakeholders nationwide for broader engagement in digital agriculture, potentially developing a Data Science Workforce Development and Education proposal for Native communities. Anita Frederick, the President of TNRG, will lead this workshop and present the importance of Data Management and Data Sovereignty.

“Outreach to Indian tribes is often difficult for non-tribal entities and individuals,” Frederick said. “As a direct result, tribal populations are often left out of initiatives that could help to address some of the economic, health, and other societal conditions that tribes face. Clearly, American Indian citizens must have access to the opportunities envisioned in the Big Data Revolution. The proposed project is a first step in helping to close the growing Big Data gap that is emerging between Indian country and the rest of the nation.”

St. Catherine Data Science Boot Camp

MBDH will also support a data science program “created by women for women” at St. Catherine University (aka St. Kate’s), one of the USA’s largest private women’s universities, located in St. Paul, Minnesota. This program aims to cultivate a new generation of women and historically underrepresented data scientists. In addition to teaching data science and data analytic principles, this program will also raise students’ awareness of using data science in ethically, socially, and environmentally just ways.

Introduced in the fall semester of 2018, the data science program at St. Kate’s reaches both current and prospective students of the University. Monica Brown, the Mary T. Hill Director of Data Science at St. Kate’s, will lead the program’s two initiatives in 2021-2022. Working alongside her colleagues at St. Kate’s for over 13 years, Brown aspires to make data science and data analytics principles accessible to every student in the St. Kate’s community.

Brown will launch a one-week Data Science Boot Camp in the summer of 2022. This boot camp will provide hands-on coding experience to middle- and high-school students, particularly those historically excluded from data science. In addition, Brown will invite data science professionals to speak about future career opportunities. Overall, this program aims to enable younger students to envision themselves as future data scientists and to elicit their passion for coding and data science. The lessons learned organizing this event will be shared with others who wish to do so with their own student populations.

“St. Kate’s is grateful for the partnership with MBDH towards the support of a boot camp,” said Brown. “We very much look forward to bringing younger students onto our campus to encourage and empower them through data science activities.”

Trinity Data Science for Social Good Workshop

The third project to be incubated under the MBDH’s Community Development and Engagement program will be an annual workshop and conference on Teaching with Data for Social Good (DSG) in summer 2022. DSG addresses the importance of teaching data science for positive social impact, and this conference serves as an opportunity that encourages teaching faculty to include DSG in their curricula proactively.

Trinity Christian College, a faith-based institution located on the outskirts of Chicago, will host this meeting. The workshop chair will be Dr. Karl Schmitt, an assistant professor in the Data Analytics department at Trinity and the coordinator of the Data Analytics program.

The meeting format resembles that of regional professional society meetings, consisting of a workshop, keynotes, and contributed talks. To provide more practical assistance to teaching faculty incorporating DSG, faculty will directly generate teaching materials that include DSG in the primary workshop sessions. Additionally, faculty will also have a chance to practice teaching DSG by actively advising student teams participating in a colocated datathon. In this student competition, student teams will use data science to solve practical problems.

“An important component of increasing persistence and success for our current generation of students is connecting their coursework to meaningful change or outcomes,” Schmitt said. “Through the Workshop on Data for Good in Education, the MBDH will be supporting faculty in developing their teaching to better incorporate the Data for Social Good (DSG) movement. This provides a natural connection to relevance with grass-roots level improvements in our society while promoting the broad applicability of data science.”

Beyond these outcomes, Schmitt said, “the workshop will be a professional development opportunity for all instructors seeking to more deeply engage their students through meaningful social good projects within a classroom setting. It will inspire, educate, and most importantly, allow faculty the chance to share, and prepare, materials for use within their own teaching context.”

Get involved

Learn more about other Community Development and Engagement partnerships, and contact the MBDH if you have an idea for a project to help build the data science community in the Midwest.

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Teaching During a Pandemic

November 4, 2021Written by MBDH

By Raleigh Butler

This story is part of a series on coronavirus research in the Midwest region. To explore other NSF-funded research addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit the COVID Information Commons, a project of the four NSF Big Data Innovation Hubs.

In early 2020, the USA was brought to a standstill when stores, schools, and other everyday locations closed to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. This piece will discuss a variety of RAPID awards funded by the National Science Foundation in the Midwest to support research to mitigate a variety of education-related pandemic challenges. Links to the NSF award abstracts will be linked in the article.

Remote Learning Research

A common topic for early school-related COVID-19 research was the exploration of remote or online styles of teaching and learning. In the early stages of the pandemic, it was unclear when schools would be able to reopen. Teachers and administrators were attempting to learn from prior work on remote learning at all levels, kindergarten through college.

For instance, in a project led by researchers from the Chicago Board of Education, researchers discuss the impact of public school students studying computer science remotely. Issues broached include access to the appropriate technology outside of school and possible socioeconomic variables at play. An award to the University of Kansas touches on a similar topic at the graduate level. This work is STEM-focused, addressing COVID-19-related challenges in engineering. One question the researchers ask is: “To what extent do the relationships between perceived e-mentoring support and student outcomes vary by demographics, disciplines, and institutional characteristics?”

A project at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln explores this topic from the faculty perspective. The project goal is described as “to identify cognitive and emotional themes concerning faculty and staff adaptability and community engagement during a crisis compared to those found under typical teaching circumstances.“ Adaptability is a key theme here—professors, regardless of their experience using online-teaching technology, were expected to learn how to do so. In Illinois, the Chicago Public Schools did its own research on forced remote learning and “mitigating the impact” of the sudden transition from in-person to online learning.

Remote Learning Activities

Researchers at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities put an interesting spin on remote learning with their work on virtual reality (VR). Virtual reality allows learners to immerse themselves in a different world using a pair of electronic goggles or a headset. This device is used to portray a different world, like being “inside” a video game. The Minnesota researchers recognize that “many people, especially young adults, typically being used to active social life, can find this physical/social distancing leading to social isolation. Unfortunately, social isolation is strongly associated with negative outcomes for mental health and therefore represents a serious threat to long-term compliance.” The project aims to promote web-based VR as a way for people to interact safely in a shared environment, despite not actually being physically together.

The need for activities—especially for young learners—is addressed in Indiana University Bloomington’s research project. They have launched a Facebook group called CoBuild19, which works on making STEM activities more accessible to children.

Remote learning has also been addressed in an award granted to the Georgia Research Alliance. This award focuses on “ALOE”—Adult Learning and Online Education. Given the current state of the pandemic, it is immensely difficult, if not impossible, to continue education safely in person. The National AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education (AI-ALOE) addresses this by working to move adult-education opportunities online.

Mis/Disinformation

There’s a lot of information available about COVID-19. Some is real, some is misinformation (simply incorrect), and some is disinformation (incorrect with the intent to deceive). Many people have trouble deciding what sources to trust. A project led from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor plans to follow a sample of university students. The premise of the research is to determine “whether and to what extent people follow recommendations and change behavior.”

Teaching About the Pandemic

Teaching about the pandemic itself is important. A relevant award is an exploration by researchers at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln into using popular media to educate youth on COVID-19-related issues. By using illustrated media such as comics to raise youth awareness of accurate coronavirus-related information, perhaps it’s possible to lessen the mis/disinformation discussed in the University of Michigan’s work. The project proposes assembling “an integrated package of high-quality, widely accessible media and other outreach materials designed to engage middle school youth, educators, and libraries in learning about viruses in relation to COVID-19.”

The researchers, wanting the material to be accessible, propose that “[t]hese resources will be disseminated broadly and at no cost to youth and educators of all kinds, including schools, libraries, museums, and other established networks for formal and informal science education.” Indeed, children’s lives are being altered drastically by COVID-19. It’s important that they know what is occurring to cause such alterations. In fact, the University of Missouri and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill collaborated to develop a curriculum for high school students. The curriculum covers epidemics in both scientific and social contexts.

Get involved

The projects described above were all funded by the NSF, which published a related story.

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MBDH Learning Innovation Fellows program – first cohort projects

April 9, 2021Written by MBDH

This story is part of a series on partnerships developed by the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub with institutions across the Midwest through the Community Development and Engagement (CDE) Program.

The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub Learning Innovation Fellows Program, housed at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, enables teams to form for work toward better understanding of the intersections of the Hub’s “Cyberinfrastructure and Data Sharing” and “Data Science Education and Workforce Development” themes.

Our fellows work with faculty and teaching staff to create innovative interactive data analysis activities that can nest within sustainability science case studies. They design, prototype, and pilot these features in classrooms within the MBDH network. The program leverages talent and resources from two existing, open-source science learning environments. Gala (www.learngala.com) is a community-based, responsively designed sustainability science learning environment. Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBESHub, or Qu) is a virtual center for faculty development and open educational resource sharing (https://qubeshub.org) that has had long-term support from NSF, formalizing and professionalizing open educational resources.

Through a series of virtual “Networkshops,” we connect undergraduate data science majors, graduate/professional students, faculty, and professionals. We can thus be inclusive, incorporating into classrooms problem-driven, data-rich material that speaks to lived infrastructural and environmental challenges from a range of communities across our region, and beyond. The team includes the following:

Leadership—

Rebecca Hardin (PI) is an anthropologist and Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (UMSEAS), where she leads collaborations on the open-source, open-access learning platform Gala (www.learngala.com) and research group on Digital Justice. Rebecca also coordinates the Environmental Justice Field of Specialization and related Certificate program at UMSEAS.

Ann E. Russell (Co-PI) is an ecosystems ecologist, with special expertise in the biogeochemistry of tropical ecosystems. She is an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University, and PI of the NSF Research Collaborative network ALIVE: Authentic Learning in Virtual Environments.

M. Drew Lamar (Co-PI) is a mathematician and Associate Professor of Biology at William & Mary. His teaching and research are highly interdisciplinary in nature, using techniques and concepts from mathematics, statistics, biology, and computational sciences. Drew is Co-PI and Director of Cyberinfrastructure for the Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES) virtual center, with an interest and passion in open-source software development, quantitative biology education, and development of education gateways.

Ed Waisanen (Program Manager) is Program and Platform Lead for Gala (learngala.com). He has a master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan, with a focus in Environmental Informatics and a background in multimedia production. Ed is focused on developing tools and communities that emphasize curation, open exchange, and narrative approaches to deepen learning.

Teams—

Data Learning for Restoration Ecology

Kyra Hull (Fellow) is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a first-year graduate student at Grand Valley State University, studying Biostatistics. Kyra is working on the following case about forest restoration, which is bilingual (Spanish and English versions): https://www.learngala.com/cases/a3224235-cdc0-44fc-a98b-46735dfef6c9

Karen Holl (Faculty Advisor) is a Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research focuses on understanding how local and landscape-scale processes affect ecosystem recovery from human disturbance and using this information to restore damaged ecosystems. She advises numerous public and private agencies on land management and restoration; recently, she has been working to improve outcomes of the effort of the many large-scale tree-growing campaigns.

Data Learning to Address Groundwater Contamination

Saba Ibraheem (Fellow) is a second-year Health Informatics student at the University of Michigan, focusing on data analytics and research in health care. Saba is working on the following case, which is bilingual (English and French versions): https://www.learngala.com/cases/dioxane-plume

Rita Loch-Caruso (Faculty Advisor) is a toxicologist in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, with a research focus in female reproductive toxicology and, in particular, mechanisms of toxicity related to adverse pregnancy outcomes such as premature birth.

Alan Burton (Faculty Advisor) is a Professor at the School for Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on sediment and stormwater contaminants and understanding contaminant bioavailability processes, effects, and ecological risk at multiple trophic levels. He is also a specialist in ranking stressor importance in human-dominated watersheds and coastal areas.

Data Learning in Livestock Ecologies

Daniel Iddrisu (Fellow) is a second-year student in Masters in International and Regional Studies, with a specialization in Africa, at the University of Michigan. He earned a BA degree in Integrated Community Development from the University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana. His research focuses on health, development, gender, and environmental health. The case he is working on takes place on the Greek Island of Naxos, but comprises skills for modeling and analyzing human/livestock interactions more broadly: https://www.learngala.com/cases/livestock-grazing

Johannes Foufopoulos (Faculty Advisor) is an Associate Professor at University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, who focuses his lab research on fundamental conservation biology questions and on issues related to the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. Major research projects examine how habitat fragmentation, invasive organisms, and global climate change result in species extinction.

Data Learning on Safari

Rahul Agrawal Bejarano (Fellow) has a background in computer science and he is currently working on a master’s degree at the University of Michigan School of Environment and Sustainability, with a concentration in Sustainable Systems. Rahul uses data from a diverse range of sources to shed light on today’s environmental challenges and develop innovative solutions, and is working on identifying climate-related vulnerabilities to our supply chains. He is working on this case, about the interactions of various wildlife species in the Serengeti: https://www.learngala.com/magic_link?key=oOTYOXyDRpmY_yM4AFlnXQ

Charles Willis (Faculty Advisor) is a Teaching Assistant Professor, Biology Teaching and Learning at the University of Minnesota. He is currently interested in the research and development of pedagogy practices for non-major biology students. In particular, he is focused on studying student-student and instructor-student feedback in online spaces. His research is also concerned with understanding how changing environments shape plant diversity on both evolutionary and ecological time scales. Currently, he is focused on using historical specimen data to study how historic climate change (over the past century) has impacted plant phenology and diversity across North America.

Jeffrey A. Klemens (Faculty Advisor) is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Thomas Jefferson University, where he serves as program director for the undergraduate biology curriculum. His current research activities are focused on the use of agent-based models to describe habitat use by organisms in the urban environment and the role of active learning in science education, particularly the use of systems thinking and other modeling techniques to improve student understanding of complex phenomena.

Data Learning in Detroit’s Eastern Market

Ghalia Ezzedine (Fellow) is a second-year master’s student studying Health Informatics. She is interested in leveraging data and digital tools to improve population health. In her free time, she likes to try new recipes, work out, and occasionally jump off a bridge or airplane. She chose this case study because of her interest in nutrition, and the shift in foods available at this iconic marketplace: https://www.learngala.com/cases/2b92db37-de87-4321-a531-510dea225189

Josh Newell (Faculty Advisor) is an Associate Professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. He is a broadly trained human-environment geographer, whose research focuses on questions related to urban sustainability, resource consumption, and environmental and social justice. His research approach is often multiscalar and integrative and, in addition to theory and method found in geography and urban planning, he draws upon principles and tools of industrial ecology and spatial analysis.

blog, CDE, Education & Workforce Development

Midwest Big Data Hub co-leads local events for 4th Annual Global Women in Data Science Conference

April 17, 2019Written by MBDH

The Midwest Big Data Hub co-led local participation in the 4th annual Global Women in Data Science (WiDS) Conference, with sponsorship from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and the University of Illinois. The event was free and open to all. The WiDS Conference, hosted on March 4th at 150 locations around the world, seeks to unite and connect women working in data science fields.

“We were very excited to co-sponsor this with NCSA, and support this inaugural Illinois event for Stanford’s Global Women in Data Science Day,” said Melissa Cragin, Executive Director of the Midwest Big Data Hub. “Partnering with others on events such as the Illinois WiDS allows us to best use our human resources and experts network to broaden participation in data science and Big Data research and education. I was honored to participate and have the opportunity to moderate such a terrific panel of accomplished leaders, who shared their perspectives on data science, data-enabled research, and opportunities for women in this space.”

panel discussion — Faculty panel moderated by MBDH Executive Director Melissa Cragin

The WiDS local events, hosted this year at NCSA, featured a variety of speakers from diverse backgrounds presenting sessions on opportunities for women in data science, technical vision talks, and the variety of data science and technology careers available in the Midwest.

“I always enjoy telling my story about how I got started working big data research,” said Ruby Mendenhall, Illinois Professor of Sociology and African-American Studies and NCSA faculty affiliate. “My story also demonstrates the importance of doing outreach to groups that are not traditionally represented in data science such as African American Studies.”

As part of her 2017-2018 NCSA Faculty Fellowship, Mendenhall and NCSA research programmer Kiel Gilleade completed a pilot study called the Chicago Stress Study that examines how the exposure to nearby gun crimes impacted African American mothers living in Englewood, Chicago. Mendenhall and Gilleade developed a mobile health study which used wearable biosensors to document 12 women’s lived experiences for one month last fall. As part of their research, Mendenhall, Gilleade, and their team were able to create an exhibit based on the study data they collected in order to bring the unheard, day-to-day stories of these mothers to life.

Professor Donna Cox, Director of NCSA’s Advanced Visualization Lab, was a panelist at this year’s local conference, and praised the insights of the other speakers while emphasizing the importance of the larger WiDS conference. “It was valuable to hear other panelists,” said Cox. “The future of Women in Data Science should include raising awareness about important issues emerging in data science, especially socially-relevant issues. We need more women actively involved in the ethics of data science.”

Alice Delage, Associate Project Manager for NCSA and Program Coordinator for the MBDH, said, “Hosting WiDS Urbana-Champaign at Illinois was an opportunity to highlight the campus expertise around data science led by women.” Delage, who co-chairs the local Women@NCSA group, said, “Data science and technologies are increasingly impacting our lives and society, and it is imperative that women and minorities be part of these transformations. We wanted to showcase the groundbreaking work being done in that area by Illinois female data scientists and to inspire more women and underrepresented communities to engage in the field.”

There are also opportunities to expand the event next year by better incorporating student work in the program, Delage said, or running a datathon, for example. Some of this year’s participants have already volunteered to help with next year’s event.

A full list of this year’s speakers at the WiDS Conference at NCSA is here. For more information about the global WiDS conference and ways to get involved, please visit https://www.widsconference.org.

The MBDH is one of four regional Big Data Innovation Hubs with support from the National Science Foundation (award # 1550320), and works to build capacity and skills in the use of data science methods and resources in the 12-state U.S. Midwest Census region. Learn more about the Hub at https://midwestbigdatahub.org.

Thanks to NCSA Public Affairs for contributing to an earlier draft of this post.

Education & Workforce Development, events, news, partners

Guest post – Data Science Education at Two-Year Colleges

September 19, 2018Written by MBDH

By Matt Fall

Executive Director, Center for Data Science, Lansing Community College

Recently, the American Statistical Association (ASA), with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), hosted a two-day summit in Washington D.C. to discuss outcomes and curricula for data science programs at two-year colleges. The Two-Year College Data Science Summit (TYCDSS) was intended to help spur the growth of data science programs at these institutions and included representatives from two and four-year institutions, government, and industry.

Sallie Keller (Virginia Tech) plenary talk (photo: Nicholas Horton)

The summit included several plenary talks discussing the role of two-year colleges in addressing the need for data scientists as well as a brief presentation from a graduate of a community college data science program. The majority of the summit, however, was devoted to a series of working sessions where the participants discussed ideal outcomes and competencies for three categories of students:

Category 1: students intending to complete an Associate’s degree and begin working
Category 2: students intending to earn an Associate’s degree and transfer to a 4-year program
Category 3: students seeking a certificate

The working discussions provided an opportunity for the summit participants to discuss what was expected and feasible for a student from each category to complete. The discussions were captured by a designated writing group and there will be a forthcoming write-up summarizing the recommendations of the summit participants with guidelines for two-year college data science programs.

This summit was particularly timely for my colleagues at Lansing Community College (LCC) as we have recently begun development of a data science program. Prior to the summit, participants were provided access to a list of resources that included relevant research, reports from related workshops, and sample syllabi. Of particular interest to us, as we design the layout of our program, were the Park City Math Institute’s Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Programs in Data Science (2016) [PDF], the Oceans of Data Profile of the Data Practitioner (2016), and the Oceans of Data workshop report on Building Global Interest in Data Literacy (2016). The resources provided, candid discussions with other two-year colleges regarding their programs, and the discussions about realistic competency expectations were also of interest and informative to our program design.

The intent of the TYCDSS directly supports the MBDH’s priority area of interest in data science, education and workforce development. Two-year colleges provide higher education accessibility to many students who could not or would not otherwise pursue an advanced degree. An increasing number of these schools are offering certificate and Associate’s degree programs in data science and analytics to support growing workforce demand. Growth in these types of programs should naturally lead to an increase in data competency, enrollment in university programs, and larger hiring pools for data science based careers.

Related information:

American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges’ Data Science Resources Page
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Data Science for Undergraduates: Opportunities and Options

blog, Education & Workforce Development

Midwest Big Data Summer School 2018

July 11, 2018Written by MBDH

Midwest Big Data Summer School reveals how big data can advance research efforts

By Paula Van Brocklin, Office of the Vice President for Research, Iowa State University

The Midwest Big Data Summer School, held May 14-17 at Iowa State University, helped nearly 140 academic and industry researchers, graduate students and post-docs from nine states broaden their understanding of big data and its ability to advance their research interests. Iowa State has organized and hosted the event since 2016.

“The summer school seeks to bridge the gap between scientists and engineers using data science technology by introducing them to data science techniques and vocabulary,” said Hridesh Rajan, lead organizer of the Midwest Big Data Summer School and professor of computer science at Iowa State. “The idea is to help these individuals better communicate and leverage their data-science needs.”

The curriculum

The school’s first three days introduced attendees to a range of big data topics, including data acquisition, data preprocessing, exploratory data analysis, descriptive data analysis, data analysis tools and techniques, visualization and communication, ethical issues in data science, reproducibility and repeatability, and understanding domain/context.

On the final day, participants selected one of four tracks, which focused on a sub-area of big data analysis. The tracks were:

Foundations of Data Science
Software Analytics
Digital Agriculture
Big Data Applications

Several individuals at Iowa State were instrumental in developing and organizing the tracks’ curricula. Click here for a list of those involved.

Speakers

Keynote presenters at this year’s summer school were:

Chid Apte, director, Mathematical Sciences and Blockchain Solutions, IBM Research
Tom Schenk, chief data officer, City of Chicago
Jacek Czerwonka, principal software engineer, Microsoft Research
Will Snipes, principal scientist, ABB Research

A complete list of speakers, including their bios, is available here.

Data science evolving quickly

The field of big data, also referred to as data science, is relatively new yet advancing quickly. For this reason, organizers encourage researchers and scientists to learn as much as they can through resources like the Midwest Big Data Summer School.

“Our aim is for early career researchers and professionals – both in academia and industry – to get a taste of what it’s about, what the state of the art is and how they can start thinking about using data science in their own domains,” said Chinmay Hegde, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Iowa State and a co-organizer of the summer school.

Many thanks

Rajan recognizes the summer school would not be possible without the help of many.

“We are especially thankful for the Midwest Big Data Hub, the National Science Foundation, the Office of the Vice President for Research, Iowa State’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the departments of computer science and statistics for providing both funding and personnel support for this event.”

Next year
Plans are in the works for the 2019 Midwest Big Data Summer School, though no dates have been set. Rajan said more application-specific tracks may be added to next year’s curriculum. Watch the Midwest Big Data Summer School website for more details in the spring of 2019.

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Reposted from Iowa State University’s Research News blog. View the original post here.

Education & Workforce Development, events, workshop

MBDH partners on US Ignite Reverse Pitch challenge

February 20, 2018Written by MBDH

part of Hub’s focus on Smart, Connected, and Resilient Communities

US Ignite Hackathon
UIUC collaborators and mentors meet with HackIllinois teams on US Ignite Challenge

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) was awarded a $20,000 grant from US Ignite to host a Smart Gigabit Communities Reverse Pitch Challenge. The MBDH, along with other local partners (see below), contributed towards matching the grant, bringing to $40,000 the total resources available to support the development of smart gigabit applications for the benefit of the local community. Read More

Education & Workforce Development, events, partners, Smart, Connected, & Resilient Communities

New Report on “Keeping Data Science Broad”

January 26, 2018Written by MBDH

A new report on the “Keeping Data Science Broad: Negotiating the Digital and Data Divide Among Higher Education Institutions” initiative was released by the South Big Data Hub and collaborators, including the Midwest Hub. This initiative brought together the BD Hubs community and other stakeholders to explore pathways for keeping data science education broadly inclusive. Read More

Education & Workforce Development, events, news, workshop