August Newsletter

August Announcement

Welcome to the August edition of the Data Science Initiative newsletter! This month brings a host of exciting new opportunities and events as we continue to grow and innovate. We’re thrilled to share our growth and initiative updates designed to support our vibrant data science community. Read more below on our upcoming events (like our new AI Makerspace Hours series!), how the DSI is taking over the WiADS, the revamped seed grants, and apply to the DSI Graduate Assistantship Program.

Stay tuned for more updates and opportunities in our upcoming newsletters as we continue to advance data science at the University of Minnesota!
 

Featured Articles

​​​​​DSI's New Frontier: DSI Assumes Leadership of WiADS Event

The Data Science Initiative is proud to announce we will be taking the helm of the Women in AI & Data Science Conference (WiADS) with assistance from MinneAnalytics!

The last WiADS (previously MinneWiADS) was presented by MinneAnalytics in 2022. This data science and tech conference will bring together leaders, experts, and anyone interested in data science and AI, especially those who identify as women and non-binary, to share knowledge, make connections, and inspire one another. This free conference is open to all, and is intended to provide a platform for women in data science and AI. It will include technical sessions, business applications, panel discussions, and of course, the opportunity to connect with your peers in the community. Take a look at the previous MinneWiADS event, hosted by MinneAnalytics to learn more about what to expect in our upcoming conference.

Save the date: The first WiADS hosted by the DSI will take place on November 4th, 2024. The event will be located at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis!

The call for abstracts is now open - submit your information.

Community Corner Spotlight

Christy Henzler

Intrigued to learn more? Head to the Community Corner page on our website to delve deeper into Christy's answers to our community corner questions.

The Latest Community Corner Spotlight

Initiative Updates

Announcing New DSI Seed Grants!

The Data Science Initiative is excited to launch new seed grants to support innovative research in data science. These grants focus on key areas such as Robotics, Global Food, Environment, Brain Conditions, and Cancer Clinical Trials. Opportunities include Rapid Response Grants, DSI Faculty Fellowships, and Data Sets Grants, each offering significant funding and support. Research staff and faculty across all disciplines are encouraged to apply.  

For more details and application information, visit the Seed Grant Page on the DSI site 

SAIL 2024

The planning committee for SAIL 2024 is seeking panelists for the main conference sessions on October 8-9. This is an excellent opportunity to share your expertise, represent our Institute, and contribute to meaningful discussions shaping the future of AI research and leadership. 

Topics of interest to this group may include Institute Sustainability, Developing Educational Opportunities in AI Research, Overcoming AI Development Challenges, Foundational AI Research, BPC & AI, and Generative AI.

If you're interested in participating as a panelist, or if you'd like to recommend a colleague, please complete the Panelist Request Form for SAIL 2024. The form can be accessed here. AIVO is requesting submissions by early next week, if possible. 

Key Details:

• Event: Summit for AI Institutes Leadership (SAIL) 2024

• Dates: October 7-10, 2024

• Location: Pittsburgh, PA

• Panelist Opportunities: October 8-9, 2024

If you have any questions about the event, please don't hesitate to reach out to Shawn Haag at  [email protected].

Reminder: If you would like access to the DSI Spring Research Workshop Recordings/Presentations:

Access recordings of the keynote talks on the DSI MediaSpace Kaltura.

Access speaker presentations within the DSI shared file. 

Research Spotlight - Seed Grant Awardee

 Development of Novel Statistical Imaging Partitioning Tools for Interpretable Lesion-wise Cancer 

PI(s): Lin Zhang
DSI Track: Foundational
MnDRIVE Area(s): Cancer Clinical Trials
 

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer among men and is characterized by high tumor heterogeneity with most patients diagnosed at early stages. Aid of image techniques plays an important role in PCa management for improving accuracy in PCa detection and staging. A variety of classifiers, dominated by deep learning algorithms, have been developed for automated analysis of imaging data. However, these methods encounter several major limitations including lack of interpretability and uncertainty quantification, and failing to account for within-subject correlations in multimodal imaging data analysis. The goal of this project is to develop novel statistical image partitioning methods for lesion detection using 3D PCa imaging data that address the limitations of existing methods. It is motivated by and based on our previous collaboration with Dr. Metzger in Radiology on 2D PCa imaging analysis. We will leverage statistical approaches for interpretable lesion detection by joint inference of lesion boundaries and altered spatial process within lesions with uncertainty quantification, and apply to 3D and multimodal images that account for inter-modality correlations and differences. The successful completion of the project will result in significant contributions to the clinical management of PCa and strongly support future applications of external funding.

Events

Join us for insightful seminars that delve into the world of data and its foundational principles as well as its wide-ranging applications in data science.

Data Science Mixer for Recently Hired Faculty

When: Tuesday, September 3rd from 3:00 - 4:30 pm

Where: Coffman Memorial Union, President's Room

Discover the Data Science Initiative at our welcoming gathering! If you've joined the university within the last five years, this is your perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in our dynamic community. Come learn about the DSI! We have exciting events, seed grants, and essential news that you won't want to miss. Connect with both new and seasoned faculty, exchange innovative ideas, and explore collaboration opportunities. Enjoy light refreshments while discovering how the DSI can elevate your work and benefit your unit. Don't miss this chance to become an integral part of our vibrant network and get involved with like-minded colleagues!

Please RSVP hereand add this event to your Google calendar

AI Makerspace Hours

When: Every other Friday starting September 13, 2024

Where: Walter 575

The DSI and MSI invite all students, staff, and faculty to our AI Makerspace Hours, a unique event where you can dive into AI on our state of the art HPC with hands-on experience. With the support of our expert MSI staff, you'll learn everything from basic coding to training advanced generative AI models. Enjoy access to dedicated HPC nodes for practical learning and a set of comprehensive tutorials.

RSVPs are not required but highly recommended; otherwise, attendees will need to spend a few minutes creating an account on the HPC. Please bring your own laptop (it doesn't need to be a high-performance one). There will be one or two laptops available to loan out if needed. 

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn, explore, and innovate with us! RSVP Now!

Data Science & AI Career Fair

When: October 23rd from 2:00 - 5:00 pm

Where: Coffman Memorial Union, Mississippi Room

The Data Science Initiative at the University of Minnesota invites you to join us at the Data Science & AI Career Fair. This unique event is designed for students, staff, and faculty to network with potential employers and industry leaders in the fields of data science and artificial intelligence. Gain valuable insights into various career paths and connect with top companies.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to network, learn, and explore career possibilities with us! For more details, visit the Site

Events in Data Discovery Across Departments  

Data management workshop series - Fall 2024

Keep your research organized by learning data management skills! Join us this fall for a series of workshops to build and enhance your data management strategies. Topics will range from introductory skills to specific tool-based workshops on citation managers, backup workflows, the future of data sharing, and publishing your data. Sign up for a single workshop or join for the entire series. There is an opportunity to earn a Foundations of Data Management Badge by attending at least 3 out of 5 of the workshops below and completing assignments in the associated asynchronous Data Management Canvas course. 

Learn more about each workshop and register at z.umn.edu/dmbootcamp. Free to U of M graduate students!

Hosted by Research Data Services, a collaboration of University Libraries and LATIS.

2024 Advances in Learning Health System Sciences Conference

When: September 9–10, 2024

Where: Coffman Memorial Union

Discover how real-world data, health data science, and resultant real-world evidence can impact the future of healthcare. Bringing together interest holders of learning health systems throughout the state of Minnesota and beyond and supported by the University of Minnesota Data Science Initiative, the Clinical Translational Science Institute, and the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs,  the 2024 Advances in Learning Health System Sciences Conference is hosted by the Center for Learning Health System Sciences, a joint partnership of the University of Minnesota Medical School and School of Public Health. Engage with experts in healthcare policy, healthcare operations and innovation, applied data science, evidence-based care, and implementation science through thought-provoking sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities.

For more information and registration, visit the conference website

Register ends August 16. Register here to secure your spot!

28th Annual IEEE High Performance Extreme Computing Virtual Conference

When: September 23rd to 27th, 2024

Where: Virtual

The 28th Annual IEEE High Performance Extreme Computing Virtual Conference is happening from September 23rd to 27th, 2024. They are seeking submissions showcasing advancements in High-Performance Computing, AI/Machine Learning, and more. 

Submission deadline: July 7, 2024. Don't miss this chance to contribute to cutting-edge computing technology! 

For details, visit the conference website.

Learn more about IEEE

Learning Resources

Join the new Data Management Network! 

What is this? We are starting a network to connect research staff who work on data management in individual labs, departments, and units. This will help facilitate the sharing of resources and knowledge and help data managers link to broader technology resources across the university.

Who should join?: Individuals who engage with research data management within a lab, center, department, college or central research office. 

How to join? Fill out our interest form (https://z.umn.edu/join-dmn) to be added to the kick off event on September 10, 2024 as well as our slack and email groups. 

What do we mean by "Data Management"? The broad definition this group will take is data management as the "collection of practices, concepts, and processes that help maintain data integrity, quality, security, and usability throughout the data lifecycle. Data management best practices, policies, and tools help us apply the appropriately steward data from the moment it is created through the last day it is retained (https://data.wisc.edu/data-literacy/manage/)." Importantly, we want this group to be centered on individuals who manage research data in the scope of individual research projects, studies, groups, or centers and are focused on the stewardship of data to advance scholarship and knowledge. We anticipate most individuals will be engaging in broad data sharing as part of their stewardship of data. This includes both open and restricted data sharing. 

Questions? Please reach out to Shannon Farrell ([email protected]) or Alicia Hofelich Mohr ([email protected]) with any questions. 

HPC for Ag: Breaking the Compute Barrier, Upskilling Agri-Food Researchers to Utilize HPC Resources

When: Mondays 10:30 - Noon from September 16 - November 18

If you are a researcher that works in the Agri-food domain (e.g., breeder, molecular biologist, food scientist, socioeconomist), you know a little bit of programming (e.g., in R and/or Python), but you feel a little limited (e.g., some of your calculations run for days on your laptop), then you could benefit from this course. We wish to show you how to step up to the next level, improve your coding efficiency, and make use of High Performance Computing (HPC) and Cloud resources readily available to you.

TOPICS COVERED: The upcoming event will delve into several key topics, including "HPC for Ag: Breaking the Compute Barrier" and "Upskilling Agri-Food Researchers to Utilize HPC Resources." Additionally, participants will gain insights into "Intro to Cloud Computing," "HPC Basics," "Expanding HPC Skills," "Computer Science for the Agri-Food researcher," and "HPC and Cloud Concepts." Moreover, discussions will encompass "Computer Hardware and Resources" pertinent to this event, fostering a comprehensive understanding of high-performance computing and its application in agricultural research. 

Register now for the HPC for Ag Course 

Funding Opportunities and Deadlines

If you are interested in any of these or other data science related opportunities and need help organizing your submission or finding the right team please contact us, we’re here to help!

Upcoming Funding

• Academic Data Science Alliance: Announcing the call for student keynote proposals for the 2024 ADSA Annual Meeting. Proposals must come from students at ADSA member institutions and can be from any academic stage. Group proposals are accepted, but funding is likely for one speaker per keynote. Keynotes will be 20-25 minutes with Q&A. The ADSA’24 program committee will select two keynotes that highlight the conference theme and showcase excellent student research. Selected keynotes will have registration, travel, and lodging fully supported. Submit proposals by August 15, 2024.
• NSF MFAI: Mathematical Foundations in AI Deeper mathematical understanding is essential to ensuring that AI can be harnessed to meet the future needs of society and enable broad scientific discovery, while forestalling the unintended consequences of a disruptive technology. The overall goal is to establish innovative and principled design and analysis approaches for AI technology using creative yet theoretically grounded mathematical and statistical frameworks, yielding explainable and interpretable models that can enable sustainable, socially responsible, and trustworthy AI. Full proposal due: Oct. 10th, 2024
• NIH AI and Patient Safety: The NIH is interested in supporting healthcare safety by determining (1) whether and how certain breakthrough uses of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems can affect patient safety; and (2) how AI systems can be safely implemented and used. AI has the potential to improve the safety, effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare. However, as with most technologies, this potential must be balanced by identifying and mitigating potential risks for patient harm and user burden. Sept. 25, 2024, next due date Jan. 25, 2025

Upcoming Deadlines

• NEH: The Dangers and Opportunities of Technology: Perspectives from the Humanities. Due Sept. 12, 2024

For students:

• The NSF PACK fellowship: The PACK fellowship is a graduate student opportunity to conduct research at the University of Kiel, Germany for 3 weeks. Applicants from any science or engineering discipline are encouraged to apply now!