Data science student develops predictive model to count elephant and harbor seals using satellite images of Point Reyes National Seashore
Data science major Silas Gifford developed a predictive model to count elephant and harbor seals using satellite images of Point Reyes National Seashore. Last week, Gifford presented their Data Science Honors thesis at UC Berkeley, exploring how machine learning could assist with obtaining accurate seal counts.
UC Berkeley leaders urge California to reject harmful math education proposal
California’s Board of Education should reject a “fundamentally flawed” proposal that would encourage state public schools to replace advanced mathematics courses with data science classes, two UC Berkeley academic leaders wrote in a Los Angeles Times editorial published today.
The battle against online disinformation is urgent. Here’s what it looks like in Europe.
Disinformation has existed for centuries. But in recent years false information has proliferated faster because of social media and the wider web, harming public health, public institutions and more.
I School Ph.D. students honored with NSF graduate research fellowship
Two University of California, Berkeley, School of Information Ph.D. students, Liza Gak and Seyi Olojo, have been offered the highly-prestigious and competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award. Ph.D. student Tonya Nguyen received an honorable mention. Gak, Olojo, and Nguyen are all second-year Ph.D. students.
Data science benefits from diverse perspectives. In this Q&A, we learn from a previously incarcerated student about his journey.
Conan Minihan, a formerly incarcerated individual and current UC Berkeley data science major, spoke in a Q&A about his journey from prison to Berkeley, why he chose to study data science and what he hopes the field and he as a data scientist can do for society.
I School expert wins grant to develop language translation technology for high-stakes settings
When Niloufar Salehi was six years old, her brother swallowed a coin. Her mom didn’t speak English. So, when the ambulance got there, she translated between the doctors and her mom, a stressful task. Today, Salehi is researching how to improve machine translation in high-stakes settings, especially hospitals.
EECS PhD student named 2022 Soros fellow
Dave Epstein, a doctoral student in UC Berkeley’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, has been named to the class of 2022 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows. The fellows are immigrants and children of immigrants chosen for “their potential to make significant contributions to the United States."
DAIR: Creating a new incentive structure for AI research
Timnit Gebru's exit from Google showed why it’s dangerous for so much of AI research to be funded by big technology companies, some said. But, at a UC Berkeley discussion group, Gebru said the problem is much larger.
Berkeley robot learning pioneer Pieter Abbeel wins ACM Prize in Computing
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the world’s largest scientific and educational computing society, has awarded UC Berkeley professor Pieter Abbeel the 2021 ACM Prize in Computing for his foundational work in robot learning.
For Women’s History Month, CDSS female leaders share their own journeys in STEM
At UC Berkeley's Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society, women aren’t just participating in STEM. They’re leading. And they’re among many women at Berkeley working to change practices in STEM to make it easier for young women to find a sense of belonging, representation and success.