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University of Wyoming’s Data Science Center Relocates to School of Computing
March 28, 2023
The University of Wyoming has taken a bold step in reimagining its Data Science Center by relocating it to the new School of Computing. This move is aimed at transforming the center to become an academic hub for data science and catalysing new programs and opportunities in data science for UW students.
A Brief Overview of the UW Data Science Center
The UW Data Science Center was established in 2018 as a deliverable of the $20 million research infrastructure improvement award from the National Science Foundation. The center was created to focus on microbial ecology and data science.
During the initial phase, the center played a critical role in:
- Applying data science discussions across UW
- Serving as a data science hub with weekly seminars and working sessions
- Hosting and facilitating data science internships for the university’s undergraduate and graduate students.
The Future of the UW Data Science Center in the School of Computing
According to the School of Computing Director, Gabrielle Allen, the relocation of the Data Science Center to an interdisciplinary School of Computing provides a unique opportunity for the center to grow and impact all disciplines. With the ever-increasing amount of data in the world, data science has become an in-demand career path for companies, research labs, national defense units, non-profit and other private and public organizations to better leverage this data for decision-making.
Furthermore, the center aims to:
- Appoint a director
- Establish a broad faculty group to work on new academic programs and student opportunities in data science
- Provide incentives for faculty to include data science in existing courses
- Provide students with research opportunities and experiential learning in data science
- Pursue external funding
The Importance of the Data Science Center to Wyoming Innovation Partnership Project
The Data Science Center will play a critical leadership role in the Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP) project designed to develop a DataHub to facilitate the sharing and reuse of research data. According to Jeff Hamerlinck, the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center (WyGISC) director and WIP DataHub component lead, the center’s efforts towards building the Wyoming DataHub will benefit efforts to engage more students and faculty with the DataHub infrastructure through new and innovative coursework and related experiential learning opportunities.
Immediate Opportunities Available to Data Science Students and Faculty
The Trent and Mary McDonald fund provide financial support for the Data Science Center. As such, the center offers two immediate opportunities to support excellence in data science:
- The Graduate Student Summer School Support program provides up to $1,000 to cover summer school attendance or workshops relevant to the student’s research and future career.
- The Faculty Fellows program provides two faculty members with $5,000 each to support their data science research, teaching, and engagement activities.
For more information on these opportunities, students and interested faculty members can visit the School of Computing website at www.uwyo.edu/soc/initiatives/uw-data-science-center.html.
