Data Science
- Department Interdisciplinary
- Academic Division The College
- Offerings Minor
We live in a world increasingly driven by data. Data science is a rapidly expanding, multidisciplinary field that draws on statistics, computer science and math, with applications in a wide variety of academic disciplines and industries. We extract meaning from data to learn more about the world and society.
Data Science
The data science minor allows students to complement discipline-specific skills and knowledge with a deeper understanding of how to analyze and extract meaning from data to learn more about the world, society and their discipline. We prepare students to be excellent data analysts in their major disciplines and to be prepared to effectively work with data after graduation. Students:
- Collect and analyze data in a reproducible and ethically responsible manner
- Obtain data through searching, scraping, mining or experimental methods
- Parse, transform and generate wide-ranging data sets for analysis
- Statistically analyze data to summarize, draw inferences and make predictions
- Identify patterns and relationships in datasets using visualization and algorithms
- Communicate data methods and conclusions to diverse audiences
Students trained in data science can apply their skills in a wide variety of ways including serving as central operations manager at Uber (Holley Beasley ’15), working as executive vice president at Microstrategy (Rich Cober ’96), and serving as head of industry at Google (Ames McArdle ’02).
DataCon
W&L hosts DataCon, where people from all corners of industry come to discuss the impacts of data science on industry and the world. Students from all over the university, from biology to sociology to business, participate in the Data Science Program to learn from each other and discover how to ethically learn from data.
News
Christianson will be working as a research coordinator studying autism in infants and young children.
The scholarship will support Wright鈥檚 future studies in urban sociology.
The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards of up to $5,000 to U.S. undergraduate students who are Pell Grant recipients.
Moye-Green 鈥23 is the university鈥檚 first Knight-Hennessy Scholar.
Ben Bankston 鈥25 is finding opportunities at 六合厅开奖现场 to challenge himself in and out of the classroom.
Sahin is 六合厅开奖现场鈥檚 first sophomore to receive the scholarship since 2009.
The professor and pollster will discuss applied sociology methods in her March 19 talk.
Nelson will deliver a lecture on 鈥淲here Math Meets Imagination鈥 on March 19.
Josh Rassin 鈥24 will begin his two-year placement with a startup company following graduation.
Lauren Shelby 鈥23 will be pursuing her master鈥檚 degree at New York University.
Dixon has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Taiwan.
First-year Johnson Scholar to offer preliminary research on foot-limb dominance and neuromuscular asymmetry in pediatric soccer players.
Meet the Faculty
At 六合厅开奖现场, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Dan Johnson
David G. Elmes Term Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science
Johnson鈥檚 courses include Psychology Mythbusters and Introduction to Data Science: Mind Analytics. His lab uses computational models and empirical data to investigate the mechanisms underlying creativity processes like the generation of novel ideas. In the Computational Cognition and Creativity Lab, he and students use computational models and empirical data to investigate the mechanisms underlying creativity processes like the generation and selection of novel ideas.
Jeff Barry
Associate Professor and Associate University Librarian
- P: 540-458-8641
- E: barryj@wlu.edu
Barry teaches courses listed under digital culture and information, journalism and writing. His research interests include digital storytelling, the evolution of literary magazines and social network analysis.
Cody Watson
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
- P: 540-458-4872
- E: cwatson@wlu.edu
Watson teaches applications of deep learning in software engineering and the progression of software 2.0. Has recently been exploring the applications of software methodologies to deep learning-based solutions.
Jonathan Eastwood
Department Head, Sociology and Anthropology; Professor of Sociology
Professor Eastwood is a social theorist who also has a strong interest in quantitative methods. He teaches seminars on classical and contemporary theory as well as a series of courses that train students how to use quantitative and computational tools to answer sociological questions.
Lingshu Hu
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
- P: 540-458-8383
- E: lhu@wlu.edu
With a PhD in journalism focusing on computational methods and a graduate certificate in AI and Machine Learning, Professor Hu鈥檚 primary teaching interests include making data analytics accessible to students in the social sciences and helping students master storytelling skills with data analytics and visualization.
Keri M. Larson
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
- P: 540-458-8601
- E: larsonk@wlu.edu
Larson teaches courses that help students learn to understand and use data in areas of management. She has researched the analytics of unstructured textual data to support organizational decision making.
Sybil Prince Nelson
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Prince Nelson 鈥01 teaches courses in calculus, probability and statistics. Her research is focused on creating tree-based models for classifying and predicting outcomes from complex data.
Holly Shablack
Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science
Shablack鈥檚 courses include Heath Psychology, Introduction to Data Science: Trends over time, and Emotions, Language, and Culture. Her research examines how our language and various socio-cultural factors influence our attitudes, emotions, physical and mental health, and behavior.
Natalia Toporikova
Associate Professor of Biology
Professor Toporikova鈥檚 courses include Biological Clocks and Rhythms, The Architecture of Living Systems, Dynamics of Biological Systems and Pregnancy: A Kiss in Time? In her research, she applies methods of computational modeling to study a wide range of biological systems. Some recent projects include neural control of breathing, pregnancy initiation in rats, and daily circadian cycle.
Gregg Whitworth
Associate Professor of Biology
Whitworth鈥檚 courses include Data Science: Visualizing and Exploring Big Data and The Molecular Mechanics of Life.