ROUNDTABLE ON
DATA SCIENCE
POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

A Compilation of Meeting Highlights

Linda Casola, Rapporteur

Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics

Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

Board on Science Education

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

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This activity was supported by Contract No. 5018 with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Contract No. HHSN263201200074I with the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Sciences W.K. Kellogg Foundation Fund, the Association for Computing Machinery, the American Statistical Association, and the Mathematical Association of America. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-67770-7
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-67770-X
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25804

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Roundtable on Data Science Postsecondary Education: A Compilation of Meeting Highlights. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25804.

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ROUNDTABLE ON DATA SCIENCE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

ERIC KOLACZYK, Boston University, Co-Chair

KATHLEEN R. MCKEOWN, Columbia University, Co-Chair

JOHN M. ABOWD, U.S. Census Bureau

DEB AGARWAL, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

RON BRACHMAN, Cornell University

JEFFREY BROCK, Yale University

BRIAN CAFFO, Johns Hopkins University (until December 2017)

ALOK CHOUDHARY, Northwestern University

RONALD COIFMAN, NAS,¹ Yale University (until December 2017)

MICHELLE DUNN, National Institutes of Health (until March 2017)

E. THOMAS EWING, Virginia Tech

EMILY FOX, University of Washington

JAMES FREW, University of California, Santa Barbara

CONSTANTINE GATSONIS, Brown University

JOHANNES GEHRKE, Cornell University (until December 2017)

LISE GETOOR, University of California, Santa Cruz

MARK L. GREEN, University of California, Los Angeles

ALFRED O. HERO III, University of Michigan

NICHOLAS J. HORTON, Amherst College

ERIC HORVITZ, NAE,² Microsoft Research

BILL HOWE, University of Washington

CHARLES ISBELL, Georgia Institute of Technology

MARK E. KRZYSKO, U.S. Department of Defense

DUNCAN TEMPLE LANG, University of California, Davis

RACHEL LEVY, Mathematical Association of America

BRANDEIS MARSHALL, Spelman College

CHRIS MENTZEL, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

NINA MISHRA, Amazon

DEBORAH NOLAN, University of California, Berkeley

PETER NORVIG, Google

ANTONIO ORTEGA, University of Southern California

ALEX PENTLAND, NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (until December 2017)

CLAUDIA PERLICH, Dstillery

PATRICK PERRY, New York University

MEHRAN SAHAMI, Stanford University

___________________

¹ Member, National Academy of Sciences.

² Member, National Academy of Engineering.

VICTORIA STODDEN, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

URI TREISMAN, University of Texas, Austin

MARK TYGERT, Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research

JEFFREY D. ULLMAN, NAE, Stanford University

JESSICA M. UTTS, University of California, Irvine

JANE YE, National Institutes of Health

Staff

TYLER KLOEFKORN, Program Officer, Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics

MICHELLE SCHWALBE, Director, Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics

BEN WENDER, Senior Program Officer, Board on Energy and Environmental Systems

SELAM ARAIA, Senior Program Assistant, Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics

LINDA CASOLA, Associate Program Officer, Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics

BETH DOLAN, Financial Manager (until May 2019)

CHRISTOPHER FU, Research Associate (until August 2019)

ADRIANNA HARGROVE, Financial Manager

RODNEY HOWARD, Administrative Assistant (until July 2018)

CATHERINE POLLACK, College Intern (until August 2018)

BOARD ON MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES AND ANALYTICS

MARK L. GREEN, University of California, Los Angeles, Chair

HÉLÈNE BARCELO, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute

JOHN R. BIRGE, NAE,¹ University of Chicago

W. PETER CHERRY, NAE, Independent Consultant

DAVID S.C. CHU, Institute for Defense Analyses

RONALD R. COIFMAN, NAS,² Yale University

JAMES (JIM) CURRY, University of Colorado, Boulder

SHAWNDRA HILL, Microsoft Research

LYDIA KAVRAKI, NAM,³ Rice University

TAMARA KOLDA, Sandia National Laboratories

JOSEPH A. LANGSAM, University of Maryland, College Park

DAVID MAIER, Portland State University

LOIS CURFMAN MCINNES, Argonne National Laboratory

JILL PIPHER, Brown University

ELIZABETH A. THOMPSON, NAS, University of Washington

CLAIRE TOMLIN, NAE, University of California, Berkeley

LANCE WALLER, Emory University

KAREN E. WILLCOX, University of Texas, Austin

Staff

MICHELLE SCHWALBE, Director

CARL-GUSTAV ANDERSON, Associate Program Officer

SELAM ARAIA, Senior Program Assistant

LINDA CASOLA, Associate Program Officer

ADRIANNA HARGROVE, Finance Business Partner

TYLER KLOEFKORN, Program Officer

___________________

¹ Member, National Academy of Engineering.

² Member, National Academy of Sciences.

³ Member, National Academy of Medicine.

COMMITTEE ON APPLIED AND THEORETICAL STATISTICS

ALFRED O. HERO III, University of Michigan, Chair

ALICIA CARRIQUIRY, NAM,¹ Iowa State University

RONG CHEN, Rutgers University, State University of New Jersey

MICHAEL J. DANIELS, University of Florida

KATHERINE BENNETT ENSOR, Rice University

AMY H. HERRING, Duke University

TIM HESTERBERG, Google, Inc.

NICHOLAS J. HORTON, Amherst College

DAVID MADIGAN, Columbia University

XIAO-LI MENG, Harvard University

JOSÉ M.F. MOURA, NAE,² Carnegie Mellon University

RAQUEL PRADO, University of California, Santa Cruz

NANCY M. REID, NAS,³ University of Toronto

CYNTHIA RUDIN, Duke University

AARTI SINGH, Carnegie Mellon University

ALYSON G. WILSON, North Carolina State University

Staff

TYLER KLOEFKORN, Director

CARL-GUSTAV ANDERSON, Associate Program Officer

SELAM ARAIA, Senior Program Assistant

LINDA CASOLA, Associate Program Officer

ADRIANNA HARGROVE, Financial Manager

___________________

¹ Member, National Academy of Medicine.

² Member, National Academy of Engineering.

³ Member, National Academy of Sciences.

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD

FARNAM JAHANIAN, Carnegie Mellon University, Chair

STEVEN M. BELLOVIN, NAE,¹ Columbia University

DAVID CULLER, NAE, University of California, Berkeley

EDWARD FRANK, NAE, Cloud Parity, Inc.

LAURA HAAS, NAE, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

ERIC HORVITZ, NAE, Microsoft Corporation

BETH MYNATT, Georgia Institute of Technology

CRAIG PARTRIDGE, Colorado State University

DANIELA RUS, NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

FRED B. SCHNEIDER, NAE, Cornell University

MARGO SELTZER, University of British Columbia

MOSHE VARDI, NAS²/NAE, Rice University

Staff

JON EISENBERG, Senior Board Director

SHENAE BRADLEY, Administrative Assistant

RENEE HAWKINS, Financial and Administrative Manager

LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Associate Director

KATIRIA ORTIZ, Associate Program Officer

___________________

¹ Member, National Academy of Engineering.

² Member, National Academy of Sciences.

BOARD ON SCIENCE EDUCATION

DAM GAMORAN, William T. Grant Foundation, Chair

MEGAN BANG, Northwestern University

VICKI L. CHANDLER, NAS,¹ Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute

SUNITA V. COOKE, MiraCosta College

RUSH D. HOLT, American Association for the Advancement of Science

MATTHEW KREHBIEL, Achieve, Inc.

CATHRYN (CATHY) MANDUCA, Science Education Resource Center, Carleton College

JOHN MATHER, NAS, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

TONYA M. MATTHEWS, Wayne State University

WILLIAM PENUEL, University of Colorado, Boulder

STEPHEN L. PRUITT, Southern Regional Education Board

K. RENAE PULLEN, Caddo Parish Schools

K. ANN RENNINGER, Swarthmore College

MARSHALL (MIKE) SMITH, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

MARCY H. TOWNS, Purdue University

Staff

HEIDI SCHWEINGRUBER, Director

KERRY BRENNER, Senior Program Officer

JESSICA COVINGTON, Senior Program Assistant

KENNE DIBNER, Senior Program Officer

LETICIA GARCILAZO GREEN, Senior Program Assistant

MATTHEW LAMMERS, Program Coordinator

AMY STEPHENS, Senior Program Officer

TIFFANY E. TAYLOR, Associate Program Officer

___________________

¹ Member, National Academy of Sciences.

Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This compilation was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each publication as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this document: Nicholas Horton, Amherst College, and Brian Kotz, Montgomery College. We also thank staff member Scott Weidman for reading and providing helpful comments on the manuscript.

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the compilation nor did they see the final draft before its release. Neither did the members of the Roundtable on Data Science Postsecondary Education, nor the members of the Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics, Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, or Board on Science Education, whose role was limited to organizing and overseeing the roundtable. This compilation chronicles the presentations and discussions at roundtable meetings, and the statements and opinions contained herein are those of individual participants and are not necessarily endorsed by other participants or the National Academies. The review of this compilation

was overseen by Alicia Carriquiry, NAM,¹ Iowa State University. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this compilation was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academies.

___________________

¹ Member, National Academy of Medicine.

Contents

1 INTRODUCTION

2 MEETING #1: THE FOUNDATIONS OF DATA SCIENCE FROM STATISTICS, COMPUTER SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND ENGINEERING

3 MEETING #2: EXAMINING THE INTERSECTION OF DOMAIN EXPERTISE AND DATA SCIENCE

4 MEETING #3: DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION IN THE WORKPLACE

5 MEETING #4: ALTERNATIVE MECHANISMS FOR DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION

6 MEETING #5: INTEGRATING ETHICAL AND PRIVACY CONCERNS INTO DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION

7 MEETING #6: IMPROVING REPRODUCIBILITY BY TEACHING DATA SCIENCE AS A SCIENTIFIC PROCESS

8 MEETING #7: PROGRAMS AND APPROACHES FOR DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION AT THE PH.D. LEVEL

9 MEETING #8: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO BETTER ENGAGE WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION

10 MEETING #9: MOTIVATING DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION THROUGH SOCIAL GOOD

11 MEETING #10: IMPROVING COORDINATION BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY

12 MEETING #11: DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION AT TWO-YEAR COLLEGES

REFERENCES

APPENDIXES

A Biographical Sketches of Roundtable Members

B Meeting Participants