January 2025

Welcome to the January edition of the Data Science Initiative newsletter!

As we step into a new year, we’re thrilled to reflect on the remarkable growth and achievements of the Data Science Initiative over the past year. From record-breaking events to innovative programs and impactful grants, 2024 has been a year of progress and collaboration. In this issue, we celebrate these milestones and look ahead to the exciting opportunities in 2025.

Visit our website for more highlights, and thank you for being part of the thriving data science community at UMN!

Compete in the U of M Data Viz Championship! 

Students, staff, and faculty from all campuses can submit data visualizations, compete against peers, and win prizes!
Find details about the competition, submit your visualization (Opens Google forms), and note that the deadline is Jan 20th.

Featured Article/Celebrating Success 

Reflecting on a Year of Growth and Success at the Data Science Initiative

As we welcome the New Year, we're excited to share highlights from an incredible year of growth, innovation, and achievement at the Data Science Initiative. Here's a look at how 2024 has set the stage for our continued success:

Women in AI and Data Science (WiADS) Conference

This November, the Women in AI and Data Science (WiADS) Conference reached new heights. Hosted at the McNamara Alumni Center, the event featured an exceptional lineup of speakers identifying as women, non-binary, or gender-diverse, with a prestigious keynote from celebrated Author and Data Scientist Cathy O’Niel setting the tone for an inspiring day.

The conference welcomed 670 in-person attendees and over 330 online participants from 378 unique organizations, including leaders like the University of Minnesota, Target, Optum, and U.S. Bank. Attendees praised the quality of discussions, diversity of perspectives, and meaningful connections made throughout the day.

We’re thrilled to announce WiADS will now be an annual event!

Explore recordings and highlights from the event here

Spring Research Workshop on Generative AI

The 2024 Spring Workshop on Generative AI was a resounding success! Held from May 22-24, the workshop brought together scholars, practitioners, and students to explore cutting-edge developments in generative AI. Featuring an impressive lineup of speakers—including the Minnesota Secretary of State, leading experts like Dr. Xiao-Li Meng, and UMN faculty—the event fostered meaningful discussions and interdisciplinary collaborations.

Highlights included keynotes on generative AI's challenges and applications in health data, public policy, and societal impacts, along with engaging sessions on AI governance, ethical issues, and innovative research at UMN. Due to the event's success, we’re excited to announce this workshop will now be an annual event, focusing on different data science and AI topics each year.

Save the Date: Mark your calendars for the 2025 Spring Workshop on AI and Data Science, happening May 29-30, 2025!

Stay tuned for more details on next year’s exciting program.

Access 2024’s keynote recordings and highlights here.

AI Makerspace

This year, we launched the AI Makerspace—a groundbreaking program offering hands-on guidance from AI experts. As one of only a few universities to offer such a resource, the Makerspace is an evolving space for learning and innovation, driving our commitment to democratizing AI education. 

RSVP to 2025 makerspace hours

Seed Grants and Fellowships

We revamped our seed grant program to align with DSI’s mission and strategic goals, launching two new initiatives: Faculty Fellowships and Data Set Grants. These grants, totaling $831,734 in funding, represent one of the largest internal university programs of their kind.

• Faculty Fellowships: With 12 applications received, we selected two fellows. This program aims to support faculty in advancing data science research aligned with societal impact.
• Data Set Grants: Out of 22 applications spanning nearly every college, we awarded 5 grants, including 2 large awards (up to $200,000) and 3 small awards (up to $100,000). These unique grants enable faculty to build critical data sets, which will be available to UMN Faculty and Staff  upon completion, that can drive future research.

Graduate Assistantships

Our competitive graduate assistantship program received 39 applications this year, with a 30% acceptance rate. We awarded a total of $550,000 to support emerging scholars, ensuring data science education remains a cornerstone of our mission.

Grants and Proposals

Our newly established proposal team hit the ground running this fall, assisting with the submission of 9 proposals and contributing to the development of 3 additional proposals through team-building efforts. The DSI has started offering professional proposal assistance to PI’s with proposals that align with our mission and goals.

Expanding Our Team

To support our continued growth, we’ve added 1 full-time staff member, 1 graduate assistant, and 2 student workers to the DSI. These additions strengthen our ability to deliver high-quality programs and drive impactful research.

As we step into 2025, we’re more committed than ever to advancing data science, fostering collaboration, and driving innovation. Thank you for being a part of our journey—we look forward to achieving even greater milestones together in the year ahead!

? Be the Star of Our Community Corner Spotlight! ?

This past year, the DSI Community Corner has proudly showcased incredible individuals both within and beyond our university, celebrating their remarkable contributions to data science and AI.

In 2024, we were thrilled to feature inspiring individuals like Dr. Jenna Marquard, whose work on human-centered AI has advanced how technology supports healthcare decision-making, and Zhenong Jin, a researcher whose innovative approaches to climate and agricultural data have sparked cross-disciplinary collaborations. We also spotlighted Ayisha Tabbassum, a dynamic external speaker at our WiADS conference, whose expertise in AI and data systems inspired new ideas and connections across our community.

Now, we’re inviting you to join this growing tradition.

Are you—or someone you know—pushing the boundaries in data science, AI, or interdisciplinary research? Whether you’re an internal member of our university community or an external collaborator making an impact through our events or programs, we’d love to feature you in our upcoming newsletters as part of the 2025 Community Corner Spotlight series.

Being in the spotlight offers you the chance to:

• ✨ Share your innovative work and story with a wide, engaged audience.
• ✨ Inspire others through your insights, tools, and vision for the future.
• ✨ Celebrate the connections and contributions that drive the DSI forward.

? How to Get Involved:

Let us know if you’d like to be featured or nominate someone who’s making an impact. This is your chance to shine and help us showcase the amazing talent and innovation that defines the DSI community.

Submit your interest to Leah Saaristo at [email protected]. Let’s celebrate the diverse voices that make the Data Science Initiative extraordinary!

Initiative Updates

Building Bridges: Advancing Healthcare Innovation Through AI and Data Science

On November 15, the inaugural workshop of the AID-H working group brought together attendees from across the University of Minnesota. Participants represented a variety of colleges, showcasing the interdisciplinary nature of this initiative. The event was a launchpad for meaningful collaborations at the intersection of healthcare, data science, and artificial intelligence. The presentations underscored the diverse ways AI and data science are advancing healthcare research and practice.

Key Themes and Next Steps

Based on participant feedback and discussions during the first workshop, four initial themes have been identified, such as:

• Cancer
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Mental Health
• Pharmacy and Nutrition

Additional themes are being anonymously contributed by workshop members, with new suggestions already emerging.

To further these efforts, the working group encourages continued engagement:

1. Shared Spreadsheet
   Indicate your interest in one or more themes, propose new themes, or share your expertise using the shared spreadsheet. Feel free to leave any comments or elaborate on your interest or expertise associated with the themes which help us further organize the following events.
2. Slack Discussions
   Join the AID-H Slack workspace to engage in discussions, create theme-specific channels, and share updates.
3. Monthly Thematic Series
   Starting in 2025, the group will organize monthly sessions focusing on one theme at a time. These will include presentations and group discussions addressing specific challenges and opportunities.

Get Involved

• Add interested colleagues to the shared spreadsheet.
• Explore opportunities for funding through the DSI Seed Grants to support pilot projects and new collaborations.

This workshop was just the beginning, look forward to building a vibrant community advancing healthcare innovation through AI and data science.

Research Spotlight - Seed Grant Awardee

Title: Robust Bayesian Transfer learning

PI(s): Steffen Ventz

DSI Track: Foundational

MnDRIVE Area(s): (None)

Summary Paragraph:

Many contemporary data science problems deal with high-dimensional statistical and machine-learning models. In many health-related data science applications, investigators seek to fit these high-dimensional models (dimension p) to datasets with small sample sizes (size n) compared to the number of model parameters, which poses substantial challenges and can lead to highly variable model estimates. This proposal introduces a general class of Bayesian transfer learning models, a class of models that incorporate information from different but related source data into the analysis of a target study to enhance the accuracy of statistical inference. We will introduce and study a class of methods for high-dimensional models in settings where the data from a target study and multiple source studies are available. We will apply the Bayesian transfer learning model to three fundamental data science problems: (a) the estimation of graphical models for inference on high-dimensional network (dependence) structures, (b) the analysis of longitudinal outcome data, and (c) high-dimensional Bayesian risk predictions.

View 2023 Seed Grant Awardees

Events

AI Makerspace Hours

When: Every other Friday starting September 13, 2024 to April 18th, 2025 
Where: Walter 575

*Notice: there are no makerspace hours between December 7 and Jan 23. They will resume Jan 24.

The DSI and MSI invite all students, staff, and faculty to our AI Makerspace Hours, a unique event where you can dive into AI on our state of the art HPC with hands-on experience. With the support of our expert MSI staff, you'll learn everything from basic coding to training advanced generative AI models. Enjoy access to dedicated HPC nodes for practical learning and a set of comprehensive tutorials.

RSVPs are not required but highly recommended; otherwise, attendees will need to spend a few minutes creating an account on the HPC. Please bring your own laptop (it doesn't need to be a high-performance one). There will be one or two laptops available to loan out if needed. 

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn, explore, and innovate with us! RSVP Now!

DSI Seed Grant Showcase

When: Tuesday, February 11th, 2025 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.  
Where: Coffman Union’s Mississippi Room

Join us to celebrate the impactful work of the DSI seed grant recipients. This event fosters community, encourages collaboration, and sparks ideas for future research development. Light refreshments will be provided—don’t miss this chance to connect with fellow data science enthusiasts and explore cutting-edge research.

RSVP Now

Data Discovery Across Departments 

Events in other departments/initiatives/institutions - (External (Non-DSI Events)

Integrating AI into your assignments and exploring the pedagogical implications

When: January 15th, 2025 
Where: Virtual                              

Register for this short course where you will be introduced to the basics of generative AI (GenAI) and create/reimagine an assignment for your spring 2025 course. You will determine under what circumstances GenAI may be used and create a policy that explains your GenAI use. Finally, attend a synchronous small group discussion among peers to discuss decisions made about GenAI use. The format includes approximately 3-4 hours of asynchronous work (available January 15th) and a 90-minute synchronous workshop on February 20, 2025. 

Student focus groups: When and why students use AI

When: January 15th, 2025 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. 
Where: Virtual 

This hour-long webinar shares the results of student focus groups held in November 2024 on the topic of generative AI in course work. Undergraduate and graduate students from multiple disciplines and campuses were asked to talk about:

• how generative AI is impacting their engagement in course assignments,
• when they are using AI tools and for what purposes, and
• What are the implications of generative AI in their own education and development? 

The results offer actionable insights to instructors as they adjust teaching practices in order to leverage the opportunities these tools provide, while mitigating the potential negative impacts on learning and education.

University of Minnesota Day of Data 2025

When: January 15th & Thursday, January 16th, 2025 
Where: Virtual

Join us for the University of Minnesota Day of Data 2024!  This year features a series of virtual events to foster data enthusiasm and critical thinking around applications of data. Topics include the use and ethics of data and AI, a special webinar from the Financial Systems User Network (FSUN) on visualizing and analyzing financial data, and an opportunity to organize your files in the Day of Data Clean Up. These events are free of charge, and open to all students, faculty, staff, and alumni from all University of Minnesota campuses. Whether you are new to data or a data expert, you are welcome! Virtual events are spread out over two exciting "days of data". Attend one or both events. 

Find out more and register 

AI + Local News Hackathon

When:

• Workshop: Thursday, Jan. 30, 1:30–5 PM (optional reception 5:30–6:30 PM)
• Hackathon: Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1 (all day)

Where:

• Workshop: Minneapolis Marriott Northwest, Brooklyn Park, MN
• Hackathon: Murphy Hall, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Join the Minnesota Journalism Center for two exciting events exploring AI's role in newsrooms. The Jan. 30 workshop will feature discussions on ethics, trust, and AI applications, with brainstorming sessions to spark ideas. The Jan. 31–Feb. 1 hackathon will bring together journalists, developers, students, and community members to prototype solutions for newsroom challenges. RSVP details coming in January—subscribe to our newsletter for updates! Head to the site to learn more

UMN Interdisciplinary Health Data Competition

The Business Advancement Center for Health (BACH) at the Carlson School will host the 6th Annual UMN Interdisciplinary Health Data Competition, where graduate students from diverse disciplines collaborate to tackle real-world healthcare challenges using data science. Participants will explore datasets, develop innovative solutions, and present their insights to sponsors and judges.

Key Details:

Cash Awards:

• 1st Place: $4,000 per team
• 2nd Place: $2,000 per team
• 3rd Place: $1,000 per team

Important Dates:

• Registration: Nov. 18 - Dec. 15, 2024
• Kickoff Event: Feb. 4, 2025
• Final Presentations: Feb. 26, 2025

Registration Link

National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR) Conference

When: March 6-9, 2025

The NICAR conference will be held in Minneapolis March 6-9, 2025. Lots of data journalism training at all skill levels, with discounts for freelance, early career and student journalists. Not sure if it’s for you? Here’s an interesting take from a “NICAR newbie." 

CatchLight and Prism Photo Workshop are collaborating to develop a better understanding of the current state of local visual journalism in U.S. media with their Local Visual Journalism 2024-2025 Survey, open until January 10. It’s long, but there are prizes! 

NIH Data Sharing Index (S-index) Challenge

When: Mandatory Registration (intent to participate) Due: March 3, 2025

Are you passionate about Open Science and FAIR data principles?

Calling all researchers, healthcare professionals, data scientists, informaticians, and anyone interested in expanding data sharing in research to participate in the Data Sharing Index (S-index) Challenge.

Total prize pool of $1million, with a first prize of $500,000!

Led by the National Eye Institute (NEI) with contributions from multiple National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs), aims to incentivize the creation, development, and validation of a quantitative data sharing index.

To learn more about NIH Data Sharing Index (S-index) Challenge and register. 

Annual Research Ethics Day Webinar

The Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research: Challenges & Emerging Guidance

Wednesday, March 5, 2025 
9:00am – 3:00pm Central | 10:00am – 4:00pm Eastern | 7:00am – 1:00pm Pacific

Researchers across many disciplines are increasingly utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), including large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, to support empirical research and data analysis, academic writing, peer review, and development of new tools. The broad reach of AI in research raises pressing ethical questions about scientific integrity, authorship, data privacy, bias, and equity.

This conference brings together leading experts from a range of disciplines, from biomedical sciences to the humanities, to confront the challenge of ethical use of AI in research. National leaders will discuss how AI is being used in research, the challenges to research ethics and integrity, current guidance on using AI in research and publication, and much more. Learn more about the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research 

Call for Proposals: 2025 Data-Intensive Research Conference

When: August 6-7, 2025 
Where: Minneapolis, MN & Virtual  

The IPUMS Big Microdata Network and NDIRA, a collaboration between IPUMS and the University of Minnesota Life Course Center, are currently accepting submissions for the 2025 Data-Intensive Research Conference, to be held in person in Minneapolis, Minnesota; key components of the program will also be available to virtual participants. The conference theme is Understanding Health and Population Dynamics through Big Microdata. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2025. Submit an abstract.

Learning Resources

Spring Semester

Undergraduate Course: MILI 3589: Medical Technology and Society (LIB ED – Tech & Society)

Credits: 3 | Open to all majors | Spring Semester

Explore the intersection of innovation, economics, and healthcare with Prof. Pinar Karaca-Mandic. This course delves into medical technologies—pharmaceuticals, devices, biotech, and more—focusing on their evaluation from both social and business perspectives. Learn about FDA regulatory pathways, U.S. payment policies, market assessments, and factors influencing technology adoption. Perfect for those interested in the economic and social impact of cutting-edge medical advancements.

Undergraduate Course: MILI 3963: Health Market Analytics

Credits: 3 | Open to all majors | Spring Semester

Dive into healthcare data with Dr. Caroline Carlin in this STEM-focused course. Gain hands-on experience with health insurance claims data using tools like R, Tableau, and SAS. Designed for students with a background in statistics and familiarity with programming tools, this course explores healthcare data structures, systems, and analytics to support management decisions. Topics include legal and ethical issues, software applications, and programming for medical industry analysis. Perfect for those looking to enhance their data science skills in the healthcare field.

Fall Semester

Undergraduate Course: MILI 3585: Business of Healthcare Markets (LibEd)

*These three courses collectively could be used for Undergraduate Minor in Management - Business of Healthcare track

Funding Opportunities and Deadline

If you're interested in exploring these or other data science opportunities, whether it's finding the right team, preparing your submission, or partnering with industry on federal and state funding initiatives, please reach out—we’re here to help!

• NEH Digital Humanities Advancement Grants - The Digital Humanities Advancement Grants program (DHAG) supports work that is innovative, experimental, and contributes to the critical infrastructure that underpins scholarly research, teaching, and public programming in the humanities. Optional draft due: Nov. 13, 2024; deadline: Jan. 9, 2025
• NIH AHRQ - Examining the Impact of AI on Healthcare Safety - The purpose of this NOFO is to invite grant applications that support healthcare safety by determining (1) whether and how certain breakthrough uses of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems can affect patient safety; and (2) how AI systems can be safely implemented and used. AI has the potential to improve the safety, effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare. However, as with most technologies, this potential must be balanced by identifying and mitigating potential risks for patient harm and user burden. Deadline: Jan. 25, 2024
• NSF Emerging Mathematics in Biology - The Emerging Mathematics in Biology (eMB) program seeks to stimulate the development of innovative mathematical theories, techniques, and approaches to investigate challenging questions of great interest to biologists and public health policymakers. It supports the development of the mathematical foundation of Artificial Intelligence/Deep Learning/Machine Learning (AI/DL/ML) enabling explainable AI or mechanistic insight. The program emphasizes the uses of mathematical methodologies to advance our understanding of complex, dynamic, and heterogeneous biological systems at all scales (molecular, cellular, organismal, population, ecosystems, evolutionary, etc.). Deadline - March 3, 2025
• NSF Ethical and Responsible Research (ER2) - The ER2 program supports projects that focus on what constitutes or promotes responsible and ethical research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.  The ER2 program promotes the development, improvement, and dissemination of responsible and ethical research practices and aims to build on organizational cultures that value and reward such practices. Deadline - January 23, 2025
• DOD FY25 Minerva Research Initiative University Research Program - Minerva’s University Research program aims to support innovative basic research projects that contribute to the advancement of social science and provides new methods and understandings on social and behavioral questions of security and defense-related interest. Minerva aims to improve DoD's basic understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral, and political forces that shape regions of the world of strategic importance to the U.S. The research program seeks to: Leverage and focus the resources of the Nation's top universities; Define and develop foundational knowledge about sources of present and future conflict with an eye toward better understanding of the political trajectories of key regions of the world; and Improve the ability of DoD to develop cutting-edge social science research and foreign area and interdisciplinary studies that is developed and vetted by the best scholars in these fields. Deadline - Feb. 28, 2025

For students:

• The NSF PACK fellowship: The PACK fellowship is a graduate student opportunity to conduct research at the University of Kiel, Germany for 3 weeks. Applicants from any science or engineering discipline are encouraged to apply now! 

Open Positions: Assistantships and Internships

• Ecology Assistant - Americorps, Remote positions
• Honeywell Internships - Honeywell is looking for 22 interns will be a part of  other Honeywell businesses  (Non US Persons Possible)
• Quantinuum Internships - Quantinuum is looking for summer interns in Health Safety and Environment, Manufacturing Engineering, Optics Engineering, Metasurface Design (PhD), Trapped-ion Quantum Computing Theory (PhD), PMO Project Engineering, and Technical Solutions Consulting.
• Statewide California Earthquake Center Internships: Through hands-on research and professional development, SCEC interns acquire skills in data analysis, problem-solving, and systems thinking, collaborating with a diverse community of experts from over 90 institutions. SURE offers immersive, in-person research, while SOURCES provides accessible, remote opportunities. Both programs empower students to deepen their knowledge, expand professional networks, and contribute to impactful projects that address pressing geoscience challenges.
• Department of Defense High-Performance Computing Internship Program: The Department of Defense’s (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) sponsors two summer research opportunities: the High-Performance Computing Internship Program (HIP) and the Faculty Immersion Experience (FIX). These 10-week experiences are offered in collaboration with more than a dozen DoD hosting organizations nationwide. Both programs seek to strengthen DoD and academic collaboration, enhance research capabilities, and encourage broader university-level participation in high-end computing.