Harvard Data Science Initiative (HDSI): 2024 Highlights
The Harvard Data Science Initiative (HDSI) is an interfaculty initiative at Harvard University that has united leading scientists, statisticians, and experts from across academic disciplines to leverage data science for education and impact. Since its launch in 2017, the HDSI has served as a catalyst for addressing global problems, discussing data-driven policy, and shaping the new science of data.
In 2024, the HDSI launched four projects with support from the AWS Impact Computing Project, which aims to reimagine data science and high performance computing to identify potential solutions for society’s most complex challenges. Supported projects will advance knowledge in the areas of social determinants of health, food security, and climate change.
The HDSI also hosted its first Agri Datathon, a 3-day challenge that invited participants to explore USDA/NASS data, including the newly released 2022 Agricultural Census, to develop statistical models, machine learning methods, and data-driven insights with an applied focus on agriculture, food security, and climate.
The Harvard Data Science Review (HDSR), a publication of the HDSI, also highlighted agriculture this year, hosting the first Vine to Mind symposium which explored the future of viticulture with data-driven insight, innovation, and collaboration. Additionally, the Review published two special issues: Democratizing Data, and Future Shock: Grappling with the Generative AI Revolution, as well as continuing its podcast series.
The HDSI continued its popular Causal Inference seminar series, which invites faculty from universities across the nation to present their current causal inference research in-person on the Harvard campus and co-hosting a three-day Causality Symposium in Florence, Italy. It continued its Industry Seminar series, hosting speakers from companies including Voya Investments, Instacart, Cropin, and Direct Relief, and in February, welcomed speakers and guests to two days of workshops and tutorials as part of its annual Winter Workshop.
Finally, the HDSI recruited a new cohort of postdoctoral fellows, hosted 15 undergraduates for a residential Summer Program in Undergraduate Data Science (SPUDS), and welcomed 26 new faculty affiliates.
