Data Science: Zero-to-Sixty | Carolina Data Science Now

The event will feature three lightning talks by professors and researchers in UNC-Chapel Hill’s academic community, centered around how data science is used to provide education and training resources that allow practitioners to accelerate research in cyberinfrastructure and computing, data sharing and storage, team science, and more. These talks will be followed by a guided panel, an opportunity for questions and answers with the speakers, and a discussion with the data science community at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Speakers:

Our speakers for this month are as follows:

• Todd BenDor

  Director, Odum Institute; Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Community Design, Department of City and Regional Planning and the UNC Institute for the Environment

  Dr. Todd BenDor is the Director of the Odum Institute. He is also the Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Community Design in the Department of City and Regional Planning and the UNC Institute for the Environment. Dr. BenDor’s research and teaching focus on improving our understanding of the impacts that human activities and development can have on sensitive ecological and environmental systems.

  His research uses qualitative, statistical, and simulation modeling methods to improve:

  1) implementation of environmental markets, such as those used domestically to improve water quality and protect and restore wetlands
  2) our understanding of the environmental impacts of urban growth and change
  3) policies aimed at urban resilience, including floodplain buyouts and flood insurance
  4) how we approach and engage in environmental conflict resolution.

• Kira Bradford

  Senior Technical and Research Scientist, Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC-CH

  Dr. Kira Bradford is a Senior Technical and Research Scientist at the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) working at the intersection between cloud-based cyberinfrastructure development and scientific research. Dr. Bradford is co-PI for the NIH HEAL Data Stewardship Group and recently co-PI for the RENCI team on the NHLBI BioData Catalyst project. Her team science background combined with her professional and research experiences provide a foundation for her work as a leader in multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional projects that accelerate research by enabling access to computational cloud-based resources.

• Isma Gilani

  Software Engineering & Solutions Manager & Interim Director of the Software Architecture Group, Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC-CH

  Isma Gilani’s career in Computer Science, spanning multiple industries, has enabled her to build solid skills in key areas of software development ranging from requirements gathering and analysis, user centered design, solution development, and implementation.

  She has become a key contributor in the development of the HeLx framework, which was motivated by the need for collaboration among scientists and researchers in light of the challenges faced by exponential growth in generation of scientific data. Her in-depth comprehension of HeLx’s architecture, its foundational technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, and Python/Django, as well as the ability to interface with users enables her to bridge the gap between humans and technology and come up with an effective plan to design, develop, and deploy the right system.

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