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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Data science can be a useful tool and powerful ally in enhancing diversity. A group of data scientists are holding Harnessing the Data Revolution to Enhance Diversity, a symposium aimed at discussing the issues, identifying opportunities and initiating the next steps toward improving equity and diversity in academia at the undergraduate and faculty levels.

The online event, organized by the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences and co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity and the Center for Social Data Analytics, will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on March 16 and 17, and is scheduled to include 10 30-minute talks and a roundtable discussion. Organizers added that the event is designed to help form new collaborations and identify cutting-edge approaches that can enhance diversity at Penn State and in higher education across the country.

This symposium will bring together researchers from across the computational and social sciences to explore how we can build more diverse communities of researchers that are sensitive to how computational and data science can shape how diverse populations are impacted by change, said Jenni Evans, professor ofmeteorology and atmospheric scienceand ICDS director.

Speakers from across the U.S. will discuss issues ranging from quantifying and contextualizing diversity-related issues to examining approaches that have and havent worked in academia.

Ed O'Brien, associate professor of chemistry and ICDS co-hire, said data science offers several tools to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

This symposium is bringing together diverse academic communities to explore how data science can be utilized to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion, said OBrien. Leveraging advances in big data and artificial intelligence holds the promise of complementing and accelerating a range of initiatives in this area.

Some of the topics the speakers and participants will address include how to identify a diversity-related goal, how to quantify and contextualize the challenge of increasing diversity, and analyzing approaches that have and have not worked.

Find out more and register for the symposium at https://icds.psu.edu/diversity.

Last Updated February 17, 2021

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Symposium aimed at leveraging the power of data science for promoting diversity - Penn State News