Big Data Developing technologies and methodologies necessary for data-driven decision-making.
M A r k e r S A n d M i l e S to n e S 1987 C3I Center established (precursor to C4I Center) 2004 Center for Air Transportation Systems Research founded 2013 MS in Data Analytics Engineering approved by SCHEV
Data Mining Advances Biology and Work of Clinicians Computer science associate professor Huzefa Rangwala says one of his projects related to bioinformatics works on the same principles as Netfix: Both make recommendations based on previous behaviors. Rangwala employs data mining to analyze the behavior of bacteria in the human body, and to look at the whole spectrum of data in disease processes, from infammatory bowel disease to obesity. The fun part, according to Rangwala, is that while he is advancing computer science, he’s also advancing biology and medicine, and the work of clinicians. Collaborating with chemists and others, Rangwala is working with "recommended molecules," taking data mining several steps forward, and inventing new computer software solutions to discover hidden patterns. "Data mining is not just looking for phone numbers," says Rangwala, “but exploring and discovering the unknown. It leads to many innovations in varied felds.”
Rangwala's work, like many of Mason's top researchers, is cross-disciplinary. He is collaborating with Siddhartha Sikdar, associate professor of bioengineering, on a National Science Foundation-funded project to develop a prototype for a prosthetic arm. The project focuses on amputees who have no forearms, and the team is striving to develop a device that duplicates complex movements of the arm and hand. "You have muscular signature remnants in your arm," explains Rangwala, "which can be found with ultrasound probes." The aim is to replicate the patterns in muscle movements using a combination of robotics, electrical engineering, and bioengineering. His interests are far-ranging, and he credits the graduate students and colleagues he works with, as well as his mentors, with helping him advance his work. His own mentoring, which he does with undergraduates, graduate students, and high school students, fuels his fascination with the learning process. It's a question that involves innate physical and intellectual abilities,
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