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.
April 15, 2026
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Join us for a new Data Carpentry Image Processing workshop focused on building practical, reproducible skills for working with image-based data using Python. This workshop will take place May 18-21, 9am-1pm at the Discovery Building. Participants will get hands-on experience using Python to organize, process, and analyze image datasets, with an emphasis on scalable workflows and good data practices. Participants should have basic familiarity with programming concepts (e.g., Python) and the command line. No prior image analysis experience is required. Learn more and register on the workshop webpage.
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Water sustainability is one of the defining challenges of our time. The upcoming Blue Futures: Water@UW Spring Symposium on April 22, 2–5 PM, will explore the influence of emerging technologies, scientific innovation, and evolving policy landscapes on water systems. This event will highlight the innovations, partnerships, and policies redefining how we understand, manage, and protect our most vital water resources. Kyle Cranmer, Director of the UW–Madison Data Science Institute, and Tressie Kamp, Associate Director of the UWM Center for Water Policy, will give keynote presentations. Register today!
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Thank You, Student Employees!
It’s Student Employee Appreciation Week, and we want to recognize and thank Emma, Maggie, and Manasvi! Emma, a senior majoring in biochemistry and math, and Maggie, a sophomore pre-law student, support events, administration, and more at the Data Science Institute. Emma has been instrumental in getting this newsletter to your inbox this year. Manasvi, a sophomore studying information systems and marketing with a certificate in data science, supports workshops and the Research Bazaar at the Data Science Hub. Thank you to all three of our student employees for their dedication, enthusiasm, and hard work!
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April 16, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m; Online. Join Learn@UW for a session exploring what AI is and what to keep in mind when using it, while getting guided hands-on experience with UW–Madison’s vetted and approved AI tools: Microsoft CoPilot and Google Gemini. Learn how to log in and start engaging with AI and the opportunities and challenges it presents, all while gaining confidence to engage with it thoughtfully and critically. No technical expertise is required—just a willingness to explore and ask questions. Registration is required. Another session of this workshop will be held online on April 30th at 11:00am.
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April 17, 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m; Online. This code-along workshop teaches learners to use RStudio and Git to keep track of file versions, host version controlled files on the campus GitLab instance, and synchronize their files between different computers. Individuals with a UW NetID and a working knowledge of R and RStudio will get the most out of this workshop.
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May 6, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.; 1145 Discovery Building. Machine Learning (ML) + Coffee is a monthly meetup for the UW community to discuss ongoing ML or artificial intelligence projects, share ideas, and find new tools and approaches. ML + Coffee offers a supportive, casual environment across a broad variety of departments. Coffee is provided to keep the ideas flowing.
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May 26-29; Morgridge Hall. The Digital Investigations Bootcamp is the first intensive, hands-on OSINT training program in the Midwest designed specifically for data scientists, journalists, OSINT practitioners, and researchers. Hosted by the Public Tech Media Lab, participants will acquire immediately applicable skills in chronolocation and geolocation, advanced search techniques, social media analysis and verification, safety and security practices, and ethical protocols. All sessions will take place at the WARF Centennial Seminar Hub at Morgridge Hall in Madison. Register soon at the Digital Investigations Bootcamp website.
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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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April 20, 10:00 a.m.; Zoom. Join the Machine Learning for Medical Imaging (ML4MI) seminar in welcoming Dr. James Cole, a professor of neuro-image computing in the Department of Computer Science at University College London. He will give a talk over Zoom titled Machine learning, Artificial intelligence, Neuro Imaging Focusing On Longevity and Dementia (MANIFOLD).
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April 22, 12:30 p.m.; Researcher's Link, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, and Zoom. This seminar welcomes Dr. Bobby Gramacy, Professor of Statistics at Virginia Tech, for his talk titled Monotonic warpings for additive and deep Gaussian processes. Join the SILO email list to RSVP for the in-person seminar or get the Zoom link.
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May 7, 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.; 1111 Genetics Biotechnology Center. Join the Center for Genomic Science Innovation (CGSI) in welcoming Anna Selmecki from the University of Minnesota for their seminar talk titled The Candida albicans Pangenome: Insights into Evolution and Pathogenicity.
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DATA VISUALIZATION OF THE WEEK
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Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is a pathogen that is one of the leading causes of cervical cancer worldwide. First uncovered in the 1980s, there has been immense research into the connection between HPV and cancer, with the first HPV vaccine implemented in the early 2000s. Countries who implemented the HPV vaccine into their regular vaccine schedule led to greatly decreased HPV rates, indicating vaccine success. However, this vaccine is limited or not routinely administered in many countries globally. As visualized below, millions of annual HPV cases are averted with vaccination, even with the lesser 4-valent vaccine.
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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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