Presentation to the University of Virginia Engineering Foundation Board of Visitors, Charlottesville VA USA, May 5, 2017

1. The Future of Data Science @
UVA
Philip E. Bourne PhD, FACMI
Stephenson Chair of Data Science
Director, Data Science Institute
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
peb6a@virginia.edu
www.slideshare.net/pebourne
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
1

2. Points to Make Up Front
• Profound thanks to Don Brown, Arlyn Burgess,
Reggie Leonard, Cathy Anderson & Wanda
Sanford, the internal and external advisory
groups and the UVA administration for getting
us this far
• This is my 5th day on the job
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
2

3. Points to Make Up Front
• I am a realist – I have just come from the National
Institutes of Health a $32bn/yr federal agency
• While a computational biologist by training I am
cognizant of moving forward in a way that
benefits all disciplines across grounds
• At UCSD I was AVC for Innovation and Industrial
Alliances – I support strong ties between UVA,
public, private & government sectors
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
3

4. DSI Background
• History - Established in 2013 as the first across grounds initiative - a
unique confluence of computation, science, engineering, mathematics,
statistics, commerce, health sciences, social science, humanities, law, &
more
• Governance - Advised by external business and government partners &
internal faculty
• Research – Focus on differentiating research, scholarship and
infrastructure in data science across all 11 schools
• Education – ~50 MS students/yr in data science
• Infrastructure – Meeting specific hardware and software infrastructure
needs for data science
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
4
Adapted from Don Brown

5. DSI Research Today –
Grants
• Currently involves the DSI Director and/or DSI affiliated
faculty
• Examples:
– Precision Individualized Medicine for Diabetes -NIH/UVA
– The Creation of the Muhajirat in America: Social Media as a
Platform for Crafting Gender-Specific Interventions for the
Domestic Radicalization of Women - NIJ
– Biomedical Big Data - NIH
– Culturally Aware Asymmetric Threat Tracking - ARO/ARL
– Center for Visual and Decision Informatics - NSF
– Logistical Pathways To Critical Diversity in Organizational
Leadership - LMI
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
5
Adapted from Don Brown

6. DSI Research Today –
Presidential Fellows - Examples
• Evaluating the Effects of Social Relationships on Brain
Activities via High-Dimensional Differential Graphical
Models by Sara Medina-DeVilliers (Department of Clinical
Psychology), and Pan Xu (Department of Systems &
Information Engineering)
• Responsive Landscapes: Translating Environmental Data
into Land Management & Design by Stephanie Roe
(Environmental Sciences), and Bonnie-Kate Walker
(Architecture)
• Loneliness in an Age of Unprecedented Social Connection:
Using Data Analytics to Explore the Role of Social Media in
Bolstering or Impairing Well-Being by Yu Huang (Systems &
Information Engineering), Brandon Ng (Psychology), and
Adi Shakhed(Psychology)
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
6
Adapted from Don Brown

7. DSI Education Today –
MS in Data Science
• An integrated curriculum developed in
consultation with practicing data scientists that
builds progressively to a challenging capstone
experience
• Core courses in analytics and computation
• Capstone projects from a wide range of
disciplines, e.g., science, business, and health
• Practice: Distinguished guest lecturers, case
studies in practice, proposal and report writing,
and presentations
• Course in data ethics, law, and policy
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
7
Adapted from Don Brown

8. Going Forward….
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
8

9. Timeline
• Define goals – End of June 2017
• Develop 5 year strategic plan – End of 2017
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
9

10. Identified Overarching Objectives
• Catalyze an open scholarship environment of
which data/analytics are a key part
• Catalyze interdisciplinary research with a data
science focus
• Be better identified nationally and internationally
• Move UVA more towards a data driven enterprise
• Expand workforce training programs
• Build upon the public-private foundation
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
10

11. Catalyze an Open Scholarship
Environment
• Model after the Human Genome Project
– $1bn federal investment - $140bn return to private
sector thus far
• Establish a data/analytics commons
• Abide by the FAIR principles
• Seek social change
– Data sharing
– Data-knowledge integration
– Preprints / OA publishing
– Recognize openness as a rewardable characteristic
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
11

12. Catalyze Interdisciplinary Research
• Joint faculty hires between schools and DSI –
4/yr for 5 years; 2 @ 50% DSI commitment; 2
@ 25% commitment
• Tiger team members 2-4 per year supported
for 2 years
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
12

13. Move UVA Towards a Data Driven
Enterprise
• Need to eat our own dog food
– Research data, administrative data, educational
data not integrated. Examples:
• Improve the health and wellbeing of students
• Leverage failed grants
• Interface with the private sector
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
13

14. Expand Educational/training Programs
– Further solidify the MS Data Science Program
– Establish an MSDS/MBA and MSDS/nursing
– Establish an on-line presence in data science
– Support the private sector
• Bootcamps
• Certificate programs
– Support the public
• Hackathons
• Crowdsourced activities
– Establish a cross disciplinary PhD program
– Review the need for an undergraduate minor
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
14

15. Build Upon the Public-Private -
Government Foundation
• Continue to host the Governor’s Data
Analytics Summit
• Continue and expand the capstone projects
with the private sector
• Establish a data science incubator
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
15

16. Questions For Us All
• How to inspire alumni to partner with us?
– Capstone projects and certificate programs are
happening what else?
• How to engage global partners?
– Have inroads into CZI, BMGF, Sloan, Moore, EOSC, but
need to build a more formal network around data
• What other educational initiatives do we need to
meet your workforce needs?
5/5/17
UVA Engineering Foundation Board of
Trustees Meeting
16