Louis Gross, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and mathematics, has been invited to join a National Academies of Sciences committee to set a vision for the emerging discipline of data science in undergraduate education in the United States.
The committee is charged with developing a vision for the core principles, intellectual content, and pedagogical issues for data science. It also will examine related issues in middle and high schools, and community colleges. Additionally the committee will explore ways to engage underrepresented student populations and maintain student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through data science.
Ultimately, the goal is to inform new undergraduate data science programs at colleges and universities, help foster the development of those programs, and build data science expertise in the workforce.
The committee is comprised of a group of scientists and engineers from around the country, and leaders in data science, computer science, and statistics from academia and industry. It also includes educators who teach students and those who hire and employ those students.
Gross is director emeritus of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), which is based at UT. He founded NIMBioS in 2008. He currently is director of the Institute for Environmental Modeling.
Read the full story on the NIMBioS website.