On December 12, 2013, the Director for the new Berkeley Institute for Data Science, Nobel Laureate Saul Perlmutter, was joined by Vicki Chandler from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, UC Berkeley's Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, Tim O'Reilly, Founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, and Peter Norvig, Director of Research at Google, for the launch event celebrating the establishment of the new Institute.
The Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS) will help researchers harness the full potential of the data-rich world that today characterizes all fields of science and discovery. BIDS will build on existing campus strengths to facilitate and enhance the development and application of cutting-edge data science techniques in the biological, social, physical, and engineering sciences. BIDS will launch its initial programs in December 2013, and will move into its new location in Doe Library at the center of campus in spring 2014.
The Institute is part of a collaborative effort supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The new 5-year, $37.8 million initiative was announced in November 2013.