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Data Science Updates is the University of Wisconsin-Madison's resource for news, training, events, and professional opportunities in data science, brought to you by the Data Science Institute, powered by American Family Insurance, and the Data Science Hub.
October 16, 2024
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Upcoming Symposium Will Address AI and Sustainability
The third annual UW–Madison Sustainability Symposium will take place on Wednesday, October 23rd, from 1-5:30pm at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. This no-cost event is open to the entire campus community. The Sustainability Symposium provides a space to share research on sustainability, generate ideas, and inspire collaboration, and it will feature a keynote by Dr. Sara Beery on AI and sustainability. The Data Science Institute is proud to support this event, which is hosted by the Office of Sustainability. Learn more and register for the Sustainability Symposium.
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Data Science Seminar Spotlight: SILO
Recent advances in information science are allowing scientists and researchers in a wide range of disciplines to sense, process and share data in ways, and at scales, that were previously impossible. The Systems, Information, Learning and Optimization (SILO) research group provides the time and space for researchers to come together and find common threads. Weekly SILO seminars are offered both remotely and in-person, and speakers cover a variety of topics related to machine learning, optimization, and information theory. Pizza is served for the in-person attendees. Please join the SILO mailing list for an RSVP link for in-person seminar attendance or Zoom information ahead of each seminar.
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UW–Madison Researchers use AI to Identify Risks Associated with Brain Tumors
For years, cancer researchers have noticed that more men than women get a lethal form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. They’ve also found that these tumors are often more aggressive in men. But pinpointing the characteristics that might help doctors forecast which tumors are likely to grow more quickly has proven elusive. DSI Affiliate Pallavi Tiwari and her colleagues are turning to artificial intelligence to reveal those risk factors and how they differ between the sexes, hinting at the promise of AI for improving medical care for cancer patients. Learn more about their work.
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AWS SageMaker Immersion Day
October 23, 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.; Computer Sciences, Room 1240 + Zoom. Amazon SageMaker Immersion Day provides a comprehensive overview of developing and deploying machine learning (ML) models, from feature engineering and using built-in algorithms to training, tuning, and deploying models in production-like environments. Instructors will guide you in migrating your existing ML model through a 'Lift-and-Shift' process, enabling you to move your on-premise ML workloads to the Amazon SageMaker platform. We will also discuss advanced topics like Model Debugging, Model Monitoring and AutoML, and provide guidance to evaluate your ML workload through AWS ML Well-architect lens. If you’d like to attend, please complete the registration form by October 18th. For more information, visit the SageMaker Immersion day calendar listing.
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Registration for Mini-Workshop Series
Registration is open for the Data Science Hub's Fall 2024 Mini-Workshop Series. The Mini-Workshop Series are one-to-two day workshops throughout the Fall covering a range of topics listed below. All workshops take place online from 9am-1pm. Register for any and all that you are interested in. Tickets close the Friday before each mini-workshop. To learn more and register, visit the mini-workshop event page.
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| Topic |
Date & Time |
Location |
| Intro to Docker |
October 23-24
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
Zoom |
| Interactive Data Visualizations in Python and Streamlit |
November 6
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
Zoom |
| Intro to Machine Learning with Sklearn |
November 20-21
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
Zoom |
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mRNA-Seq-Tuxedo Suite 1 and 2
Suite 1: October 22, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Biotechnology Center, Room 1360 (425 Henry Mall), $290
Suite 2: October 29, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Biotechnology Center, Room 1360 (425 Henry Mall), $375
At the Suite 1 workshop, participants will learn the principles behind mRNA-Seq analysis with a hands-on introduction to Linux-based open source software and analysis pipelines for mRNA-Seq. This Workshop is aimed at teaching the computational process that takes the raw data all the way through the high level analysis. We'll explore the "Tuxedo Suite 1" pipeline (bowtie, samtools, TopHat, htseq-count, cuffdiff, and other open-source options.) To register and for more information, visit the suite one calendar listing.
At the Suite 2 workshop we will explore the Tuxedo Suite #2 pipeline (Hisat2, StringTie, Ballgown) to analyze bulk mRNA-seq experiments including differential gene expression, starting from raw data all the way through the high level analysis. To register and for more information, visit the suite two calendar listing.
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ComBEE - Data Viz with Dashboards with Python
October 22, 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.; Orchard View Room, Discovery Building
At this ComBEE meeting, we will showcase how to visualize data by creating a data dashboard in python (using streamlit).
This session will be hands-on and you will be able to follow along by bringing your laptop and having a GitHub account set up. This is an hour long preview of the full workshop coming up Nov 6th. Some python experience is helpful but not required for this session (python experience is required for the full workshop).
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Posit Day 2: Intro to Shiny Apps – Python Focus
November 19, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.; Zoom. This is the second installment of the Fall 2024 Posit Days. Ryan Johnson will talk to us about Shinny apps using Python and touch on concepts such as: User interface- Inputs & Outputs, Server Logic, Reactivity, and Layout and Style. This event will be online and open to everyone affiliated with UW–Madison. Learn more and register for Posit Day 2.
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Have questions about anything data science-related? Come see the Data Science Hub facilitators at Coding Meetup on Thursdays from 2:30-4:30 p.m. CT. To join Coding Meetup, join data-science-hubgroup.slack.com
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Research Cyberinfrastructure (RCI) Cloud community meeting
October 16, 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Zoom. RCI is organizing a cloud community group, a platform that offers you the opportunity to gain and share valuable cloud computing skills. By joining this community, you’ll share your experiences using cloud resources and be part of a collective effort to understand the growing importance of cloud computing and to identify the latest cloud technologies. For more information and access to the Zoom link, visit the cloud community calendar listing.
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Transforming Media and Entertainment through Data and AI with Sowmya Subramanian
October 23, 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.; 1240 Computer Sciences. Join the RED Talk with Sowmya Subramanian, a UW-Madison Computer Sciences alumna and Warner Bros. Discovery’s EVP. She will discuss how the media and entertainment industries are transformed with data and AI. To register or learn more, visit the RED Talk calendar listing.
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Statistics Seminar: Bayesian computational methods for spatial models with intractable likelihoods by Brian Reich
October 23, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.; 133 Service Memorial Institute. Learn how extreme value analysis is critical for understanding the effects of climate change. Exploiting the spatiotemporal structure of climate data can improve estimates by borrowing strength across nearby locations and provide estimates of the probability of simultaneous extreme events. A fundamental probability model for spatially-dependent extremes is the max-stable processes. While this model is theoretically justified, it leads to an intractable likelihood function. Hear from Brian Reich who proposes to use deep learning to overcome this computational challenge. For more information, visit the statistics seminar c alendar listing.
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MadPrompts: Creativity Unleashed
October 16, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.; Discovery Building. MadPrompts is not just an event; it's a mesmerizing game show-style competition where talented contestants engage in a creative showdown to craft the most captivating image inspired by a mysterious meta prompt, engineered by the power of AI. New this year: an AI-Generated Video Competition will be part of MadPrompts! Videos selected by a panel of judges will be showcased during the live event. The fusion of art and technology promises to be nothing short of extraordinary! Admission is free. Light snacks and a bar with beer, wine, and soda will be available. Pre-registration is encouraged, but not required. For more information, visit the MadPrompts calendar listing.
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ML+X Nexus: Crowdsourced ML and AI Resources
Nexus is the ML+X community’s centralized hub for sharing machine learning (ML) and AI resources, designed to make the practice of ML/AI more connected, efficient, accessible, and reproducible. It is intended to host a wide range of resources (original or external), including educational materials, recorded talks across campus, model use guides, datasets, EDA case studies, and more. While practitioners can use Nexus to expand their expertise, educators and researchers will find it useful for sharing ML knowledge and procedures, reducing redundancy, and improving learning outcomes. Visit ML+X Nexus to begin expanding your knowledge, or visit our How to Contribute page to share a useful ML resource from your field.
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Help Build Community Around Applied Machine Learning and AI
The ML+X community is seeking additional members to join its leadership team! Members of the leadership team will have the opportunity to help grow and sustain a lively and engaged machine learning (ML) community of practice, ensuring that practitioners across campus have ample opportunities to discuss modeling challenges, learn from one another, and support each other’s work. Anyone who is passionate about ML and communal learning (including students!) is welcome to join the leadership team.
— No minimum experience in ML is required. We are particularly seeking increasing representation from the Digital Humanities, Psychology, Math, Political Science, Chemistry, and more. If interested, please fill out the ML+X leadership application form. Contact endemann@wisc.edu if you have any questions or require additional information.
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STUDENT
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Call for Applications: STEM Public Service Fellows
Apply by October 19 – Participate in a year-long professional development program for STEM grad students and postdocs invested in the social and community impact of their work. Fellows build foundational knowledge and skills in public service and community engagement, then gain hands-on experience in a mentored practicum with a campus, community, or governmental organization. Questions? Email Dr. Anna Courtier (connect@wiscience.wisc.edu) or visit the STEM Public Service Fellows webpage.
Apply by November 11 – This year-long teaching program is for grad students and postdocs in the biosciences (or connected fields) pursuing careers that include college-level teaching. Fellows get hands-on experience with research-based, inclusive teaching and serve as instructors (not TAs!). Through coursework and practical teaching experience in an undergraduate course, Fellows participate in a supportive community of colleagues and collaboratively develop innovative and effective ways to teach science.
Attend a virtual info session to learn more. Find the Zoom links, the application, and more information on the Scientific Teaching Fellows webpage. Questions? Email Dr. Cara Theisen (chtheisen@wisc.edu). Wednesday, Oct. 16, 12:15 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.; Zoom
Thursday, Nov. 7, 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.; Zoom
Requirements
- Interest in and enthusiasm for teaching, and a willingness to try new teaching approaches
- Your major field of study involves the life sciences in some way
- Preferred experience in teaching experience, research, and mentoring experience
Responsibilities
- Serve as an instructor and gain firsthand experience designing and teaching a first-year biosciences course
- Develop instructional materials that encourage active learning, and test them in an authentic teaching setting
- Experience all aspects of teaching, from developing learning outcomes to managing a classroom environment to grading
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New Research Topics: NVIDIA Academic Grant Program Accepting Proposals
Apply by December 31 - NVIDIA’s Academic Grant Program is calling for research proposals to advance work in three new interest areas: Data Science, Graphics and Vision, and Edge AI. NVIDIA will continue accepting submissions for projects related to Simulation and Modeling and Gen AI and LLMs. For more information, please see the NVIDIA FAQs webpage.
New areas of interest:
- Data science submissions can include data processing, operational research and route optimization, and graph neural networks.
- Graphics and vision submissions can include augmented and virtual reality, ray tracing, rendering, and AI for graphics.
- Edge AI submissions can include robotics, autonomous vehicles, 5G/6G, smart spaces, and federated learning.
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DATA VISUALIZATION OF THE WEEK
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Scientific Framework For Assessing Planetary Health
The Potsdam Institute's 100-page report outlines a comprehensive framework for assessing planetary health, incorporating a multidisciplinary approach from diverse scientific fields such as ecology, meteorology, and political science. The framework identifies nine components (Planetary Boundaries) of planetary health, that operate within a safe space where humanity can thrive while keeping the planet stable and resilient. Once a boundary is breached, the risk of permanently damaging Earth’s life support functions increases.
The report reveals that six out of nine Planetary Boundary processes have exceeded safe levels, indicating significant environmental stress. The transgressed boundaries include:
1. Climate Change: CO2 levels and radiative forcing are too high.
2. Biosphere Integrity: Loss of genetic diversity and biosphere functionality are beyond safe limits.
3. Land System Change: Forest areas have fallen below safe levels.
4. Freshwater Change: Human impacts on water flows exceed safe levels.
5. Biogeochemical Flows: Nutrient cycles are disrupted beyond safe limits.
6. Introduction of Novel Entities: The release of untested human-made substances is excessive.
Ocean acidification is also nearing a breach, prompting urgent re-evaluation. The report underscores the need for a collaborative approach across scientific disciplines to effectively address climate change and its impacts.
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Data Science Updates is a collaborative effort of the Data Science Institute and Data Science Hub.
Use our submission form to send us your news, events, opportunities and data visualizations for future issues.
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