Academic_Data_Science-From_individuals_to_institutions.pdf (6.21 MB)
Download fileAcademic Data Science: from individuals to institutions
presentation
posted on 2020-03-11, 21:28 authored by Micaela ParkerAlthough data-driven research is already accelerating scientific discovery, substantial
systemic challenges still exist in academia that impact both individual researchers and
institutional decision-making. These challenges need to be overcome for academia to fully
realize the promise of the new data era. Toward that end, working in partnership with one
another and with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation, three universities (the University of California Berkeley, New York University,
and the University of Washington) have been attempting to create supportive environments
for researchers using and developing data-intensive practices. Established in 2013, and
known as the Moore-Sloan Data Science Environments (MSDSE), this collaboration was
structured through a set of working groups on cross-cutting topics viewed as critical to
advancing data science in academia: career paths and incentives, software development,
education, reproducibility and open science, reflexive and reflective ethnography, and the
role of physical space in collaboration. As the MSDSE grants approach sunset in 2020, the
Academic Data Science Alliance (ADSA) has formed to expand the community and build a
network across the U.S. and beyond to share lessons from the MSDSEs and from other
higher education institutes experimenting with the integration of data science in academia.
This talk will cover some of the efforts and activities of the MSDSEs and ADSA, emphasizing
best practices and lessons learned that have emerged from six years of collaborative
institutional experimentation, from cross-domain workshops and project incubators to the
challenges of creating (and filling) new staff data scientist positions outside of any one
particular lab or discipline.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Micaela Parker is Executive Director of the Academic Data Science Alliance (ADSA). ADSA is a
domain-agnostic organization that supports university researchers in their efforts to
collaborate around data-intensive tools, methods, and responsible applications. By building
networks of data science practitioners and thought leaders, ADSA enables better sharing of
knowledge, ideas, and lessons learned.
Before launching ADSA, Dr. Parker served as Program Coordinator for the Moore-Sloan Data
Science Environments and Executive Director for the University of Washington’s eScience
Institute. In this role, she handled operations, developed research and training programs, participated in strategic planning and fiscal oversight, and worked directly with university
and industry partners and funders.
Prior to 2014, Dr. Parker was a senior research scientist in UW’s School of Oceanography,
where she also earned her PhD. She has been involved in many large, interdisciplinary
projects bridging oceanography and genomics. Coming from a data-rich domain, she
appreciates the new data-driven world for all its benefits and challenges. She now enjoys
facilitating collaborations to help researchers navigate this fourth scientific paradigm.