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‘The greater social good’: Preparations underway for the Year of Data and Society
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Grace Stringer For The Pitt News
From art to biology, calculus to cooking, Eleanor Mattern said everyone at Pitt utilizes and benefits from responsible data science, making it subconsciously interdisciplinary.
“We’re all producing data whether we know it or not,” Mattern, the director of the School of Computing and Information’s Sara Fine Institute, said. “There’s data being collected about us, we’re using data in some ways … there’s a recognition that this is a universal theme that unites all of us.”
Mattern leads the committee for the Year of Data and Society — the upcoming 2021-22 installment in the annual “Year Of” series run by the Office of the Provost. The committee with faculty, students and staff will be established soon to help plan a year of events focused on responsible data practices. This follows last year’s Year of Engagement, which hosted virtual events — such as social media challenges, virtual reading series and online civic advising quizzes — due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Provost Ann Cudd announced the Year of Data and Society on April 28. She said in the announcement that this year’s theme will be greatly beneficial to Pitt’s research community, and that data science is a part of almost every aspect of the University.
“Data science now permeates education, government, medicine, engineering, entertainment, science, the arts, humanities and business, touching nearly every facet of life,” Cudd said. “All parts of our University collect and use data and each offers unique perspectives on how data can contribute to student and See Year of on page 57 Eleanor Mattern leads the committee for the Year of Data and Society — the upcoming 2021-22 installment in the annual “Year Of” series hosted by the
Image via Tom Altany, University of Pittsburgh
