To advance the research goals of the School of Data Science, the School is organizing Research Interest Groups around key areas. The groups will be comprised of a wide range of faculty who bring expertise to different aspects of these areas. The aim is to promote collaboration, which will lead to new, impactful insights.
Graph and Network Data
The Research Interest Group on Graph and Network Data within the School of Data Science focuses on the analysis and application of network science and graph neural networks. Network-structured data captures the interrelationships between entities and are a powerful tool for understanding complex systems across various domains, including social networks, transportation systems, brain networks, and biological networks. By studying network properties and dynamics, this group aims to develop advanced methodologies for analyzing, modeling, and visualizing complex data structures, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration and contributing to the broader goals of data-driven research and innovation.
Contact: Alex Gates
Affiliated Faculty
Hudson Golino (Department of Psychology)
Brain Science & Data Science
The Research Interest Group on Brains in Data Science within the School of Data Science focuses on the application of modern data science methods to the study of neuroscience at any scale. Neuroscience here is broadly defined, from single cell recordings to human neuroimaging. This group aims to advance the field of neuroscience by bringing together data scientists and applied neuroscientists to facilitate collaboration. Please get in touch with our contact faculty if you are interested in joining (non-School of Data Science faculty and students welcome).
Contact: Teague Henry
Affiliated Faculty
Stefanie Sequeira (Department of Psychology)
Kevin Pelphrey (School of Medicine)
Gender and Technology
This RIG will sponsor a webinar series "Gender and Tech: Addressing Harms and Advancing Rights" to bring together leading scholars, advocates, practitioners, data scientists and tech experts to discuss the intersections of gender, technology, democracy and human rights. The goal is to critically examine how big data and digital technologies impact women, queer and gender-diverse individuals, while exploring pathways for more inclusive, rights-focused data and AI governance frameworks. The RIG will turn these discussions into a white paper with recommendations that will be published in the fall of 2025.
Contact: Jess Reia
Affiliated Faculty
Teaching & Learning Data Science
This RIG focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning, specifically, documentign and evaluating UVA's approach to data science pedagogy.
Contact: Prince Afriyie
Affiliated Faculty
Environment & Data
This RIG focuses on the applications of data science to environmental problems, as well as the environmental impacts of data technologies (on water, energy consumption, climate change, etc.). It is co-sponsored with UVA's Environmental Institute.
Contact: tbd
Affiliated Faculty
under construction
Sports & Human Movement
This RIG focuses on sports analytics and the study of human movement. The group will host a Sports Summit in May 2025.
Contact: Natalie Kupperman
Affiliated Faculty
under construction
Data as Public Infrastructure
This RIG brings together faculty to explore the use of data science technologies by local and regional governments, nonprofit organizations and civil society groups.
Contact: Aaron Martin
Affiliated Faculty