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.
January 21, 2026
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Let’s have some fun with the data in our lives. Join us on February 27 at 4:30 for the Data Story Slam, an informal social event where storytellers will share observations, surprises, predictions, aspirations, and other anecdotes about the ever-increasing presence of data in the world around us. Share a story in a supportive, inclusive space, or come to listen and encourage. The Data Story Slam is open to all, and refreshments will be provided. This event is presented in conjunction with the 2026 Data Science Research Bazaar. Please RSVP to let us know you are coming!
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The UW–Madison Data Center Working Group kicked off its efforts at a well-attended meeting on January 13. This cross-campus, interdisciplinary effort is focused on advancing research, collaboration, and strategic engagement related to data centers and their technical, environmental, social, economic, health, and policy dimensions. The Data Center Working Group is a collaborative effort of the Data Science Institute and the Sustainability Research Hub that aims to position UW–Madison as a leader in data center related research, innovation, and broader societal impact.
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Join Extension and UW–Madison experts to gain a clear understanding of how local and tribal governments can use AI. Through hands-on sessions and lectures tailored to address the unique needs of local and tribal governments, you will gain critical tools and strategies. Learn more about sessions, topics, speakers, and how to register at go.wisc.edu/aiforum.
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SciPy seeks proposals for posters, talks, and tutorials at their 25th annual conference at the University of Minnesota, July 13-19. SciPy is a community dedicated to the advancement of scientific computing through open source Python software. The annual SciPy Conference brings together participants from industry, academia, and government to showcase their latest projects, learn from skilled users and developers, and collaborate on code development. The deadline to submit a proposal is February 25, 2026.
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Application Due January 26; University of Chicago. Don't miss the opportunity to attend (or send someone in your lab) to MBL’s Workshop on Molecular Evolution, the most prestigious workshop serving the field of evolutionary studies. Founded in 1988, it is the longest-running workshop if its kind, and it has earned worldwide recognition for its rich and intensive learning experience. This workshop is hosted by the University of Chicago and runs from May 17-27.
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January 29, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 pm; 4218 Sewell Social Sciences. In this workshop, we will learn the importance of satisfying each regression assumption, how to check for assumption violations with statistical and visual tests, and how to correct for any violations.
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January 30, 12:30 a.m. - 4:30 pm; 4218 Sewell Social Sciences. In this class you'll learn the basic of how Stata works and how to use it. This class (or comparable experience) is a prerequisite for the rest of SSCC's Stata training. It will also prepare you to excel in classes that use Stata, like Sociology 361 or Economics 410. We suggest new graduate students consider taking this class before or during their first semester.
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Have questions about anything data science-related? Come see the Data Science Hub facilitators at Coding Meetup on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30-4:30 p.m. CT. To join Coding Meetup, join data-science-hubgroup.slack.com.
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January 21, 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.; Orchard View Room, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. Join the Systems, Information, Learning, Optimization (SILO) group in welcoming Professor Yury Polyanskiy from the department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his talk titled Theory and Practice of LLM Quantization. His talk aims to discuss LLMs and reducing their power consumption by reducing information density.
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January 30, 3:00 p.m.; 1418 Van Hise Hall. This panel brings together experts from the UW–Madison Data Science Institute, Libraries, and Institutional Review Boards Office to discuss ethical considerations related to the use of generative AI in research, and to share information about local resources and policies related to the use of AI throughout the research cycle. The panelists will address evolving research norms, responsible use practices, and institutional resources and expectations. The session will include time for questions and discussion. All are welcome! This panel is part of the Series on Generative AI and Research in Language Studies.
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February 17, 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Morgridge Hall, Seminar Room. At the CHTC Researcher Forum, you’ll learn about what we’re working on and how other users are leveraging computing resources, and you'll have the opportunity to share your feedback and your research! All CHTC users (undergraduate, graduate, postdoc, staff, PI) and those in the research computing community are invited to attend this annual event. Please RSVP by February 3rd.
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DATA VISUALIZATION OF THE WEEK
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In the early 2000s, biofuels were regarded as a valuable source of energy, growing crops and repurposing them into fuels. The total growth of the biofuel industry per country is visualized below, producing a worldwide total of 1,400 terawatt-hours in 2024. The amount of land estimated to be used for crop production for biofuels is estimated at roughly 32 million hectares, about the size of Poland. However, using solar panels covering that amount of land would actually drastically increase the amount of usable energy produced to nearly 32,000 TWh, a 2,200% increase. This meets the amount of electricity consumed globally in 2024, making solar energy both renewable and extremely efficient.
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Reposted from Our World in Data: Research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems.
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Data Science Updates is a collaborative effort of the Data Science Institute and Data Science Hub. This newsletter was originally created by the Data Science Hub and published as Hub Updates.
Use our submission form to send us your news, events, opportunities and data visualizations for future issues.
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