CICS Center for Data Science Hosts Research Symposium on April 27

The Center for Data Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is organizing its second annual Data Science Research Symposium on Thursday, April 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Computer Science Building. In support of the Center's mission to collaborate with industry and drive economic development in the Commonwealth and beyond, the event connects faculty members, senior researchers and graduate students with industry and public sector leaders to explore practical applications of data science and the potential of its research.

        Andrew K. McCallum, director of the center and professor of computer science in the College of Information and Computer Sciences, says this year's symposium will showcase the center's growing portfolio of industry-sponsored data science research, and examine technical trends and future opportunities in this rapidly-growing field. "We're excited to build on the success of last year's symposium, which reinforced and validated the importance of public-private collaborations. This year, we'll bring together top data science research talent in industry, academia, and government to share successes, identify new research frontiers, and launch transformational new partnerships."  

        Along with UMass Amherst and Five College faculty and students, industry researchers from forty companies will participate, including Amazon Labs, Bloomberg, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Elsevier, Google, IBM, Lexalytics, MassMutual, MathWorks, Microsoft, MITRE, Optum, Oracle, Prudential, Systems & Technology Research, Twitter, and Voya Financial. Public sector officials from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative will also participate. More than 120 people are expected.

        Among the subjects to be discussed are the use of data science for human language understanding, imagery and video interpretation, investment and risk management decision-making, as well as related advances in deep learning, probabilistic programming, and the design of highly reliable cloud computing systems. Industry spotlight talks will complement faculty talks, providing perspectives from multiple sectors on future university-grade research challenges.

        The symposium will also include lunch and opportunities for professional networking.  More information: ds.cs.umass.edu/event/2017-data-science-research-symposium