The University of Virginia’s Biocomplexity Institute, Darden School of Business, and School of Data Science announce the Data Science for the Public Good Forum, an opportunity for civic engagement, comprised of a Distinguished Speaker Series and Annual Symposium.
On June 4 from 4-5pm on Zoom, Mark Hansen, who has worked for decades at the intersection of data, art, and technology, will be the speaker for this event. Mark Hansen holds a B.S. in Applied Math from the University of California and a Ph.D. and M.A. in Statistics from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a professor at Columbia University, where he teaches advanced data analysis and computational journalism.
In 2018, Hansen’s Computational Journalism course at Columbia Journalism School contributed the original reporting for the New York Times’ piece, The Follower Factory, which exposed the bot economy behind the sale of fake followers on Twitter. In July 2018, the article was cited by Twitter as the reason for its “purge” of tens of millions of suspicious accounts.
The Data Science for the Public Good (DSPG) Forum builds on the Biocomplexity Institute's highly successful and distinctive DSPG research platform that leverages cutting-edge public policy analytics and unprecedented data access, and serves as an honest broker to identify, visualize, and understand the full complement of interests that affect the public good.
As central programs of the Forum, the Distinguished Speaker Series and Annual Symposium will bring together key public and private stakeholders to discuss how “doing data science” can support evidence-based policymaking and innovation to enhance the quality of life where we all live, learn, work, and play.
We can’t wait to begin these important conversations with you!
Tune in on June 4 from 4-5pm on Zoom. Registration required in order to receive the Zoom link. More information available here.