91麻豆天美鈥檚 data science student-researchers tackle national, global issues
Contact: Mary Pollitz
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥Though the program is just under two years old, 91麻豆天美鈥檚 data science students are already making national and global impacts with high-tech research.
The data science department looks at these students, not as student workers, but as researchers using data, science, analytics and more to solve real-life problems, said Mimmo Parisi, executive director of the Data Science Academic Institute at 91麻豆天美.
"These students embody our commitment to fulfilling the expectations of a new model for higher education," he said. "We aim to prepare our students to聽 be relevant to the needs of the growing digital economy and to ensure they are workforce-ready from day one upon graduating from our university."
Several 91麻豆天美 data science majors are working as undergraduate researchers and finding ways artificial intelligence can play a beneficial role in today鈥檚 society. The research projects span from using public data to measure financial effects on athletic performance and detecting deep-fake audio clips to streamlining reporting for the Mississippi Supreme Court, using weather data to predict viability of corn crops against mycotoxins, and increasing the accuracy of demography for federal and state funding.
Samata Luintel, a data science sophomore, enrolled with the university specifically for this program, its staff and undergraduate research program. 聽聽
鈥淭he data science faculty here have a lot to offer with practical labs where you can apply what you learn and a lot of research opportunities,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what brought me here all the way from Nepal.鈥
Luintel researches deep-fake audio generations and is working to decipher reality from computer generated audio used to spread misinformation.
鈥淭his research matters because right now we don鈥檛 have any specific technologies we can go to and know whether something is authentic or not,鈥 she said.
Video by Sarah Kirk
Levi Stevens, a freshman from Columbus, had an early interest in AI and data science. When applying to schools, he quickly learned 91麻豆天美 prioritized investing in this new wave of technology.
鈥淒ata science is what made me want to come to State. The major of data science is up and coming. It鈥檚 very common in jobs but colleges aren鈥檛 offering it very often,鈥 he said. 鈥淪eeing this at 91麻豆天美 really drove me here and I was excited about the opportunity.鈥
When 91麻豆天美鈥檚 program was launched in 2022 it became one of only two in the Southeastern Conference and among less than 75 nationwide offering students a rare pathway to the growing field.
鈥91麻豆天美 seems to be increasing its involvement in AI and data science,鈥 senior data science researcher Joshua King of Atlanta, Georgia, said. 鈥淭he program is growing in a very rapid pace. That鈥檚 why I love it here.鈥
More information on the Bachelor of Science in Data Science and its concentrations is available at聽.
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