E LopezHometown: Hawthorne, CA

Domain Emphasis: Cognition

Data Science in Six Words: Potential for good, potential for harm

Why did you choose Cognition for your Domain Emphasis?
Taking a Connector course on Cognitive Neuroscience solidified my interest in understanding Cognition.  Although Data 8 had introduced us to various data sets (hence real world applications to data science), it was in the connector course where I was able to go deeper in a specific use. A huge part of understanding and bettering Artificial Intelligence is dependent on understanding human cognition. We will never be able to create artificial consciousness if we have not understood the human consciousness.

What was most memorable about your experience studying data science at Berkeley?
In conversation with the Chief Diversity Officer at Facebook this past summer, I heard (this is how i loosely remember it) "When a company waits too long to focus on diversity, it becomes a lot harder to implement." I began wondering, what does it look like to do something 'right' from the beginning? And shouldn't the start be rocky, isn't that okay?

Since the data science program is new, everyone involved was truly investing in the DNA of the program.

Since the data science program is new, everyone involved was truly investing in the DNA of the program. I believe that students, faculty, and professors took that responsibility seriously. The data science major is the newest major on campus but also one of the most robust and dynamic, because from the beginning the Division of Data Sciences has worked towards getting it right. For example, the data science program has:

  • Shared material and best practices with other institutions
  • Committed to include underrepresented students
  • Brought in other departments in the form of Connector courses before the major was even announced 
  • Created student committees
  • Made a commitment to ethical practices in the field (HCE requirement) and
  • Developed data science courses that are informed by best teaching practices.

Although this is not a single 'memorable' instance, it has definitely left a mark and I hope to embody 'getting it right the first time' and 'all things/people considered' in all the work that I do.

What do you plan to do after graduation?
I will begin working at Microsoft in Seattle this August as a Software Engineer. At Microsoft, I will be under Azure. Azure is the home to all cloud services from Microsoft: storage, computing, and networking. Although team placement is still to come, I hope to work on a team that is data oriented.

In the near future, I hope to take my technical knowledge to inform policy. After taking Info 188, Behind the Data: Humans and Values(link is external)(link is external), I became very encouraged to use my knowledge as a data scientist to inform policy. The course really empowered me to take action, especially seeing that there is a huge gap between the technical knowledge of politicians and how tech (particularly data) are affecting people. We worked towards understanding ethical use of data and technology, and it was also my first time diving into legal work and reviewing policy.