Interest in computer and data science at the University of Oregon continues to build, and the School of Computer and Data Sciences is expanding to accommodate the growing number of students who want to enter the field. This year, the school added seven new faculty members—five in computer science and two in data science—to help meet the demand for courses in key subject areas.

COMPUTER SCIENCE, DATA SCIENCE - Professor Hank Childs has been named interim executive director of the School of Computer and Data Sciences, succeeding Joe Sventek, who is retiring. Childs is a Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science in the College of Arts and Sciences.

COMPUTER SCIENCE, DATA SCIENCE - With the largest tech market in the world, the U.S. is projected to have approximately 377,500 competitive job openings each year for the next decade. Keeping students who will graduate from the School of Computer and Data Sciences connected with the industry and its key players opens a door to this expansive job market.

COMPUTER SCIENCE, DATA SCIENCE - Artificial intelligence can predict disasters and detect fine art forgeries. But can it help students learn what they need to succeed in a rapidly changing workplace—and at what cost?

COMPUTER SCIENCE, DATA SCIENCE - Whether to help conservation managers set hunting limits for mule deer, aid rangers in poaching prevention on African wildlife reserves, or inform public health officers about reducing the prevalence of diabetes in rural India—the tools of data science are increasingly being applied to fields where their utility has historically been less obvious.

EARTH SCIENCES, DATA SCIENCE - Clark Honors College senior and data science major Lynette Wotruba took up data science three years into her college career. Today, she’s working with the Department of Earth Sciences to make information about the dangers of tsunamis accessible to communities along the Oregon coast.

COMPUTER SCIENCE, DATA SCIENCE - Last year, Liza Richards was a member of the first cohort of University of Oregon students to graduate with a degree in data science. Not only that, but she was also the first person to graduate with a double major in data science and computer science.  

COMPUTER SCIENCE, DATA SCIENCE - From Bing to Google Bard, artificial intelligence chatbots are suddenly emerging as a powerful communication tool with impacts across society, but how they work is not broadly understood. Nor are the ways in which AI can be misused.

DATA SCIENCE - From ChatGPT to risk assessment algorithms, the use of machine-learning tools is increasing. Philosopher and data ethicist Ramón Alvarado grapples with questions of trust, bias, and implementation of AI.

DATA SCIENCE - Four female data science majors in the Clark Honors College demonstrate how the CHC community has an impact on the male-dominated field of data science.

COMPUTER SCIENCE, DATA SCIENCE - The University of Oregon will open a new School of Computer and Data Sciences in fall 2023, combining the university’s growing strength in computer science with its five-year investment in data science.

A $4.2 million National Science Foundation grant will boost the UO’s efforts to build a support community for STEM teachers across 14 Western states through the agency’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program.

DATA SCIENCE, BIOLOGY, ECONOMICS - The Data Science Initiative graduated their first group of undergraduates. Seven undergraduate data science students walked the stage this spring to collect their diplomas, an exciting moment for the university’s new data science degree program.

PHILOSOPHY, DATA SCIENCE - Pigeons can quickly be trained to detect cancerous masses on x-ray scans. So can computer algorithms. But despite the potential efficiencies of outsourcing the task to birds or computers, it’s no excuse for getting rid of human radiologists, argues UO philosopher and data ethicist Ramón Alvarado.

PHILOSOPHY, DATA SCIENCE - A member of the University of Oregon Presidential Initiative in Data Science, Alvarado studies computers and how people use them. He recalls, in graduate school, how the emerging field of complexity science led him to observe that breakthroughs in various areas were made possible only through computer programming. He’s been grappling with technology’s role in knowledge creation ever since.