Three School of Engineering professors will join colleagues from across Vanderbilt University and the Medical School in analyzing the directions for new university big data and data science initiatives.
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Susan R. Wente named the 20-member Data Science Visions Working Group this week.
Joining the group are:
- Hiba Baroud, Littlejohn Dean Faculty Fellow, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, and director of graduate recruiting for civil engineering
- Doug Schmidt,Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor, professor of computer science, professor of computer engineering, and associate chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Yevgeniy Vorobeychik, assistant professor of computer science, assistant professor of computer engineering, and assistant professor of biomedical informatics
“Big data and data science form a natural hub for collaboration across disciplines and among our schools and colleges. Our compact campus and One Vanderbilt culture allow discoveries and advances in data science to flourish,” Wente said.
“To ensure that we are positioned for continued success, this working group will develop a vision for the university that will chart the path ahead in this exciting new field,” she said.
The committee will be co-chaired by Andreas Berlind, associate professor of physics and astronomy and director of graduate studies for astrophysics, and Yu Shyr, the Harold L. Moses Professor of Cancer Research, professor and incoming chair of biostatistics, professor of biomedical informatics, professor of cancer biology, professor of health policy and director of the Center for Quantitative Sciences.
Vanderbilt’s scientific and scholarly efforts in big data and data science are diverse, ranging from transportation systems and structural biology to “smart” applications and educational neuroscience, to name a few.
The group will collect and analyze feedback to identify thematic research areas and educational programs to advance as well as highlight opportunities for cross-campus coordination, with a goal of delivering a draft report to the provost in the spring.
Seth Smith, associate professor of radiology and radiological sciences and associate professor of biomedical engineering, and Brad Malin, professor of biomedical informatics and professor of computer science, also were named to the group.
See the full list of Data Science Visions Working Group members.