Conference: Partnership for Advancing Data Science Excellence and Education in Southern EPSCoR States

This project will establish a collaborative partnership among three southern EPSCoR jurisdictions—Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana—focused on advancing education, scientific research, and workforce development in data science and related fields. The initiative is led by the University of Alabama in Huntsville, with key participation from Alabama A&M University, one of Alabama’s largest HBCUs, as well as Mississippi State University and Louisiana State University. The partnership will implement a range of impactful programs, including workshops prioritizing early-career professionals, data science summer camps targeting high school students, and development of college-level educational and research activities. As data science-related careers continue to grow nationwide, this collaboration aims to position the partnering jurisdictions to compete effectively in the global market. The project focuses on advancing data science and machine learning techniques to address systematic errors and their impact on data analyses within the physical sciences. A key activity of the project includes hosting a workshop focused on the emerging multidisciplinary field of data science. Through the workshop, the project aims to address systematic, or epistemic, errors in statistical data analysis. A central feature of the workshop is the engagement of scientists and students from diverse disciplines, including the physical sciences, statistics, machine learning, and computer science. The initiative will also foster the development of educational and research programs for both grade-level and college students, encompassing undergraduate and graduate certificate and degree offerings. These programs aim to prepare participants for careers in this rapidly growing field. The ultimate objective of this project is to establish a permanent multidisciplinary data science infrastructure in the South, supporting long-term growth and innovation. This project is supported by the EPSCoR Workshops and Outreach investment strategy. EPSCoR funds workshops, conferences and other community-based activities to explore opportunities in emerging areas of science and engineering, and to share best practices in strategic planning, broadening participation, communication, cyberinfrastructure, evaluation and other areas of importance to EPSCoR jurisdictions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.