Data Science newsletter – October 4, 2021

Newsletter features journalism, research papers and tools/software for October 4, 2021

 

Funding Iowa’s new computer science requirements – Iowa schools must offer computer classes by 2022, but $3.7 million is available now to help

Cedar Rapids Gazette, NewBoCo, Samantha Dahlby


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Computer science is becoming a bigger priority than ever in our schools. Fortunately, the state of Iowa is stepping in to help fund it.

A state law passed in 2020 requires all Iowa high schools to offer computer science instruction beginning July of next year. All grade schools and middle schools must follow suit by July 2023.

It’s a tall order, but $3.7 million in grant funding has been made available to help train teachers as they put that curriculum in place.


Burro is Building Robots to Transform Agriculture

S2G Ventures


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Currently, one Burro enables a harvest crew to increase productivity by nearly 50 percent giving farm owners a return on investment in less than 2 months. Automation will not only benefit farm owners, but farmworker jobs will become more profitable and less strenuous since workers will be able to produce more with less effort. Burro’s field team is fully comprised of native Spanish speakers, many of whose family members initially came to the US to do the work that they are now supporting with the product.


Interdisciplinary Team Awarded $1 Million NSF Grant for Youth Advocacy and Disaster Resilience

Georgia Institute of Technology, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts


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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $1 million Stage 2 Civic Innovation Challenge (CIC) grant to the Georgia Tech-led project “Visualizing Resilience: BIPOC Youth advocacy through Mapmaking.”

The interdisciplinary team of researchers previously received a $50,000 grant through Stage 1 of the CIC for the first iteration of the project, “Co-Creating Data for Disaster Resilience with Historically Marginalized Communities in Savannah.” 

With the new funds, they will develop “a creative toolset for education and advocacy,” said Yanni Loukissas, associate professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, one of two Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts faculty members on the project. The team will work to help residents in environmentally vulnerable communities reimagine disaster resilience and advocate for these interventions in their neighborhoods.


Virginia Tech launches National Security Institute; Eric Paterson appointed executive director

Virginia Tech, VTx


from

Virginia Tech has announced the formation of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute, aspiring to become the nation’s preeminent academic organization at the nexus of interdisciplinary research, technology, policy, and talent development to advance national security.

“As chairman of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, I am pleased that Virginia Tech is strategically organizing and prioritizing its national security research and workforce efforts,” said U.S. Sen. Mark Warner. “Given the university’s nearly $50 million Department of Defense research portfolio, and its strategic locations in Northern Virginia near key national intelligence agencies and the Pentagon, this purposeful focusing of Virginia Tech’s efforts in national security is welcome news. Virginia Tech’s new National Security Institute will help our nation develop new security-related technological advancements while helping train the future generations of intelligence leaders.”


Mayor de Blasio Announces Columbia University Will Operate and Oversee Pandemic Response Institute

New York City, Office of the Mayor


from

Today, Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) announced their selection of Columbia University to launch and operate the Pandemic Response Institute (PRI), with its key partner, the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH), and several community, research, and industry partners.

The PRI will be supported by up to $20 million in City capital funding for eligible costs and be dedicated to preparing New York City for future health emergencies and epidemics in a more effective and equitable manner, while positioning the city as a global leader to serve as a model for public health response.

“The Pandemic Response Institute, operated by Columbia University with key partner CUNY SPH, will play a critical role in preparing for future pandemics, and promoting equity in public health,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.


New High School in Newark Aims to Bring More People of Color Into Data Science, Information Tech Industry

TAPinto Newark, Tom Wiedman


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The inaugural class of students at Newark School of Data Science & Information Technology have big ambitions once they graduate from the West Ward’s newest school.

“I want to become an entrepreneur. I want to make an engineering company or something like that and be the boss,” one student, Chanse McIntyre, told TAPinto Newark.

The new high school, one of three new district schools which opened this fall, will give students like Chanse the opportunity to pursue their higher education and career pathway in the sciences and technology.


Data holes could complicate Moderna and J&J coronavirus booster shot process

Axios, Caitlin Owens


from

There are two broad kinds of data relevant to the booster process: data on the original dose’s effectiveness over time, and data on a booster shot’s effectiveness. The latter is more problematic.

  • An FDA advisory committee ended up significantly narrowing its Pfizer booster recommendation from what the company had originally requested, saying there wasn’t enough data to justify a third shot for all adult age groups.
  • That was with the real-world Israeli data, in addition to data submitted by the company.
  • This same committee will review the Moderna and J&J data, potentially in a matter of weeks. It’s unclear what data the companies will have submitted to the FDA by then, or what international data will then be available.

  • Is Your Behavioral Data Truly Behavioral?

    Medium, Behavior Design Hub, Florent Buisson


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    In business analytics and data science, the goal is most often to predict and change customers’ behaviors. You want to know the probability that someone will repay their loan, that they’ll purchase a certain product or renew their subscription, and so on; and then you want to affect that probability, for example by sending them a reminder or a coupon.

    Doing so require having data that adequately reflects behaviors. This means having or building variables for repaying a loan, purchasing a product or renewing a subscription. Beyond that, we’re often interested in understanding how certain behaviors affect other behaviors. Does having recently added a family member to your subscription increase the probability of renewal?

    From that perspective, a very large share of data in business is indeed about behaviors. However, I’ll argue that it’s rarely truly behavioral, in that it doesn’t do a good job of reflecting behaviors. The main reason for that is that the way data is recorded is driven by business and financial rules, and is transaction-centric rather than customer-centric.


    MIDAS leads multi-university collaboration on data equity systems

    University of Michigan, The University Record


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    The Michigan Institute for Data Science is leading a multi-university partnership to develop a framework for a national institute that would enable research using sensitive data, while preventing its misuse and misinterpretation.

    With a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, U-M researchers are collaborating with colleagues at the University of Washington and New York University to establish a Framework for Integrative Data Equity Systems.

    “Data science continues to have a transformative impact on science and engineering, and on society at large, by enabling evidence-based decision making, reducing costs and errors and improving objectivity,” said H.V. Jagadish, the Bernard A. Galler Collegiate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and director of MIDAS, a unit based in the Office of the Vice President for Research.


    Study Shows Climate Change Could Be Altering the Marine Food Web

    Stony Brook University, SBU News


    from

    Climate change is redistributing biodiversity globally, and distributional shifts of organisms often follow the speed and direction of environmental changes. Research by scientists at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) reveals that this phenomenon is affecting where large marine mammals are distributed relative to their prey species, which could have important implications for marine food web dynamics. Their findings are published in Scientific Reports.


    Researcher banned from Facebook beseeches Congress to regulate social media

    The Next Web, Thomas Macaulay


    from

    During Congressional testimony on Tuesday, Laura Edelson, who investigates online ads and misinformation, called for new data requirements and legal protections for researchers.

    “We hope that Congress will push for laws that require platforms to be a lot more transparent, and protect researchers engaged in legitimate public interest research from legal threats,” Edelson told TNW after testifying.


    An Inconvenient Truth About AI AI won’t surpass human intelligence anytime soon

    IEEE Spectrum, Rodney Brooks


    from

    The third and current age of AI arose during the early 2000s with new symbolic-reasoning systems based on algorithms capable of solving a class of problems called 3SAT and with another advance called simultaneous localization and mapping. SLAM is a technique for building maps incrementally as a robot moves around in the world.

    In the early 2010s, this wave gathered powerful new momentum with the rise of neural networks learning from massive data sets. It soon turned into a tsunami of promise, hype, and profitable applications.

    Regardless of what you might think about AI, the reality is that just about every successful deployment has either one of two expedients: It has a person somewhere in the loop, or the cost of failure, should the system blunder, is very low.


    Who knew the CDC could help you identify facial hair styles? (and which don’t work well with facemasks)

    Twitter, Daniel S. Katz


    from


    Surge in students choosing data science degrees amid calls to tackle workforce shortage

    ABC News (Australia), Antonia O'Flaherty


    from

    Students are rushing towards data science degrees as demand for qualified graduates surges, with enrolments increasing by up to 400 per cent at one institution, according to new Queensland figures.

    However, despite the surging enrolments in the field, workforce demand still outstrips the number of graduates and qualified workers.

    Griffith University introduced data science into two double undergraduate degrees in 2019. Enrolments have since increased by 400 per cent, a spokesperson said.


    Bergen: Floating university to gather ocean data from Norway to Caribbean

    Science|Business, University of Bergen


    from

    During the next year and a half, the Norwegian sailing ship will be on its longest voyage ever. The One Ocean Expedition is a part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The main goal is to create attention and share knowledge about the crucial role of the ocean for a sustainable development in a global perspective.

    The ship is equipped with modern instruments and will collect high-quality data of ocean physics, chemistry, and biology continuously throughout the journey. It will also serve as a floating university, bringing crews of students and young leaders together at different legs. High-level meetings and public events will happen during port visits.

    Real-time access to data, video and stories from the ship will serve to inspire and engage not only scientists but also citizens for ocean-based action towards sustainable development worldwide. You can follow the expedition via oneoceanexpedition.com.


    New DataRobot University Certification Brings the Power of AI Cloud to Citizen Data Scientists

    Business Wire, Data Robot


    from

    AI Cloud leader DataRobot today launched its first professional certification for Citizen Data Scientists, the Citizen Data Scientists Professional Certification. This new addition to the DataRobot University (DRU) curriculum puts the power of DataRobot’s AI Cloud in the hands of citizen data scientists so they can make trusted predictions and solve their business’s most challenging problems.

    The certification furthers DataRobot’s mission to democratize access to AI for all users, offering citizen data scientists the opportunity to upskill and earn a formal credential in driving innovation using automated AI.


    N.Y. Utility to Create AI System That Foresees Outages

    Government Technology, Albany Times Union, Larry Rulison


    from

    NYSEG, an electric and gas utility that serves areas of the Capital Region not served by National Grid, is developing a new computer-based outage prediction system that will use artificial intelligence.

    New York State Electric & Gas says it is developing what it is calling an “outage prediction model,” essentially a software program that will use machine learning or artificial intelligence — AI — to predict outages during storm events.

    NYSEG and its parent company, Avangrid, along with its sister utility, RG&E, short for Rochester Gas & Electric, are working with researchers at the University at Albany and the University of Connecticut on developing the AI system.


    The Turbulent Past and Uncertain Future of Artificial Intelligence – Is there a way out of AI’s boom-and-bust cycle?

    IEEE Spectrum, Eliza Strickland


    from

    A look back at the decades since that meeting shows how often AI researchers’ hopes have been crushed—and how little those setbacks have deterred them. Today, even as AI is revolutionizing industries and threatening to upend the global labor market, many experts are wondering if today’s AI is reaching its limits. As Charles Choi delineates in “Seven Revealing Ways AIs Fail,” the weaknesses of today’s deep-learning systems are becoming more and more apparent. Yet there’s little sense of doom among researchers. Yes, it’s possible that we’re in for yet another AI winter in the not-so-distant future. But this might just be the time when inspired engineers finally usher us into an eternal summer of the machine mind.


    Events



    I am excited to speak about the data science library, dabl. With dabl, quickly create supervised models and identify modeling & data quality issues.

    Twitter, Andreas Meuller


    from

    Join me & @DataUmbrella
    on Tuesday, October 5 at 9am PT (12pm ET, 7pm EAT).


    Milwuakee Data Day

    Data You Can Use


    from

    Online October 20, starting at 10 a.m. Central. “Data Day, hosted by Data You Can Use, provides an opportunity for leaders, from neighborhoods to universities, to better understand what data are available, the implications of data on community revitalization, and how to increase connections between research and practice.” [$$]

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