People are overwhelmed. By too many choices when shopping. By too much information at work. By too many parenting websites. And even too many passwords.
The task of helping us sort out what information we really need to make good decisions is the job of a data scientist — an increasingly important specialty of computer science.
“In a world saturated with information, data science is not just valuable — it is indispensable,” Rong Pan says.
Pan is a professor of industrial engineering and data science in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. He has played a pivotal role in shaping the school’s graduate-level data science programs, which are designed to train advanced students for challenging roles.
At the Fulton School’s graduate convocation in May, the first cohort of data science master’s degree students will be awarded their degrees. The program is a collaboration between multiple engineering schools, including the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy as well as the ASU School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences.
The goal is to combine the mathematical modeling, computing and engineering expertise of globally recognized faculty members with critical research opportunities.
Pan notes that the inaugural cohort is exceptionally well-equipped for data-driven careers and leadership positions.
“We designed this master’s program with a focused mission: to train advanced data scientists capable of navigating complexity and uncovering insights from noisy, high-dimensional and multi-modal data,” Pan says.
Read more and meet a few members of the cohort.