With funding from the HDSI, Professor S. Bryn Austin and team are developing the Proposal Pivot Engine (PPE), a data-driven tool to help researchers adapt their proposals for non-federal funding sources like philanthropic organizations and industry partners. The prototype will use natural language processing and machine learning to analyze proposals, map funding ecosystems, and generate…
Newly Funded – Climate Stress, Nutrition, and Chronic Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa
This project, led by Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition Walter C. Willett will use machine learning to analyze existing Africa/HSPH Partnership for Cohort Research and Training (PaCT) data for patterns between climate stress, diet, and disease risk; while testing smartphone-based real-time data collection in sub-Saharan Africa. The research aims to identify vulnerable populations affected by…
Protecting continued progress in data science
To our colleagues, friends, and supporters, Recently, we have witnessed unprecedented attacks on scientific discovery, scholarship, and students, especially international ones. We are in an extraordinary and perilous moment that demands a steadfast response. As Harvard University defends academic freedom, we recommit ourselves to advancing the science of data, and we invite you to support our…
Newly Funded – A Question-Answering Dataset for AI Agents in Modern Chip Design
Vijay Janapa Reddi (Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences) and the Edge Computing Lab aim to expand QuArch v0.5, the first dataset of 1,500 validated question-answer pairs designed to test and improve language models specifically for microprocessor design. The expansion will cover more advanced topics and establish a public leaderboard, creating a…
Announcing Two New AWS Impact Computing Projects
The HDSI is excited to announce the launch of two new research projects supported by the AWS Impact Computing Project at the HDSI. The project titles and principal investigators can be viewed here. These new awards bring the total number of funded projects under the AWS sponsored research program to eight, furthering and expanding research aimed at generating…
Newly Funded – Trust at First Sight: How We Process and Accept Scientific Information through Visualizations
An Wang Professor of Computer Science, Hanspeter Pfister, and former HDSI Postdoc Carolina Nobre (now an Assistant Professor at University of Toronto) follow up on their previous Trust in Science award to explore how people process and trust scientific information when it’s presented through data visualizations, such as graphs and charts. Using eye-tracking technology, researchers…
Newly Funded: Sharing Data Science Methods used in a Randomized Trial of a Novel Microbiome-Directed Food in Niger
Associate Professor of Nutrition, Sheila Isanaka, is conducting a randomized clinical trial in Niger evaluating a novel microbiome-directed food for treating acute malnutrition in children. Utilizing advanced data science techniques, the study analyzes the gut microbiome’s impact using DNA sequencing, metagenomic and metabolomic analyses, as well as machine learning. The study integrates multiomic datasets to…
Building Capacity for One AI, One Harvard – HDSI Celebrates a Gift from OpenAI
The Harvard Data Science Initiative (HDSI) is delighted to announce a gift from OpenAI to support our commitment to pioneering AI research. This contribution is part of OpenAI’s NextGenAI program, which has committed $50 million across 15 leading research institutions using AI to accelerate research breakthroughs and transform education. Francesca Dominici, HDSI Faculty Director, reflects…
Newly Funded: Wildfires and the Resilience of Commercial Activity
Plimpton Associate Professor of Planning and Urban Economics Rachel Meltzer‘s (Graduate School of Design and HDSI Faculty Affiliate) project investigates the economic effects of wildfires on commercial property valuation in California, a relatively unexplored area compared to the impact of other disasters like floods and hurricanes on residential markets. By integrating spatial data on wildfire…
Tackling Agriculture and Food Security – Celebrating Solutions from the HDSI Agri Datathon
On the weekend of October 4-6, 2024, the Harvard Data Science Initiative (HDSI) hosted its first-ever datathon in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS). Through the weekend, 20 teams of undergraduate and graduate students from around the Greater Boston Area tackled pressing data science challenges at the intersection…
Announcing Four Faculty Special Projects Fund Awards
The Harvard Data Science Initiative has recently granted four new Faculty Special Projects Fund awards to Harvard University faculty: Sensing the LandscapeCraig Douglas (Harvard Graduate School of Design) This project explores the use of sensor networks to monitor and visualize atmospheric conditions at Harvard’s House Zero, creating innovative data-visualizations for public exhibition. A Large-Scale Analysis of P-HackingSharad…
Announcing Four New AWS Impact Computing Projects
HDSI is excited to announce the launch of four new research projects supported by the AWS Impact Computing Project at the HDSI. These projects span all three subject areas prioritized by the AWS collaboration, namely climate change/mitigation, food security, and social determinants of health. The project titles and principal investigators can be viewed here. These new awards bring…