News

BIDS Community Celebrates Saul Perlmutter's Tenure as the Founding Faculty Director

December 12, 2023
Lilli Wessling Hart

On December 4, 2023, the BIDS community gathered at the Alumni House to celebrate the winter holidays and Saul Perlmutter's tenure as BIDS Founding Faculty Director. Professor Perlmutter spearheaded the effort to found the Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS) in 2013 and developed a vision for its future, creating a vital, new community where data science at UC Berkeley could flourish.

The appreciation and respect for him and his work were palpable, with tributes by BIDS Faculty Council...

Tristan Chambers presents his work on solving information extraction challenges using Large Language Models

December 11, 2023
Lilli Wessling Hart

During a recent BIDS seminar featuring Tristan Chambers -- CLEAN Data Architect -- the topic "Unpacking police violence and misconduct records: Solving information extraction challenges using Large Language Models (LLMs)" was addressed. Tristan gave attendees an introduction to LLMs, described some of the problems they can solve, and showed examples of how he uses them for his work on large documents.

He stressed that...

George Obaido welcomes Collins Udanor to his "Data Science Toolbox" series

December 1, 2023
Lilli Wessling Hart

Discussion about innovative research within the realm of data science is the focus of BIDS-CHAI Data Science Research Scholar George Obaido's new "Data Science Toolbox" series. Guest Collins Udanor PhD -- an Associate Professor of Intelligence & High Performance Computing at the University of Nigeria -- presented his research and findings on IoT sensors data for a smart aquaponics system yield prediction. He worked with catfish farmers in Nigeria to employ sensors that...

Professor Rita Lucarelli organizes workshop centered around digitization of ancient Egyptian coffins

November 28, 2023
Lilli Wessling Hart

On November 28, 2023, BIDS sponsored a special event at Sutardja Dai Hall. Professor Rita Lucarelli, a Center for Cultural Analytics faculty leader, brought together subject matter experts to present on the digitization of ancient Egyptian coffins and their shareability in museum and academic environments. Following are the presenters and their topics:

Rita Lucarelli (UCB): Tridimensional rendering of ancient Egyptian...

George Obaido welcomes Lily Xu to his "Data Science Toolbox" series

October 30, 2023
Lilli Wessling Hart

Discussion about innovative research within the realm of data science is the focus of BIDS-CHAI Data Science Research Scholar George Obaido's new "Data Science Toolbox" series. Guest Lily Xu, a PhD student at Harvard University in Computer Science, discussed her work which included an eye-opening description of the snares poachers use in Uganda and how her work is being applied to reduce the number of snares.

High-stakes decisions from...

George Obaido, PhD, presents his work on the "Development of an Open Data Platform for the Global South"

October 27, 2023
Lilli Wessling Hart

In the second BIDS seminar of the 2023 Fall semester, George Obaido, PhD -- BIDS-CHAI Data Science Research Scholar -- presented his work on creating an accessible, open data platform tailored to the specific needs and challenges of countries in the Global South. The platform seeks to promote transparency, facilitate data sharing, and empower local communities and governments by providing a centralized repository of relevant data. By addressing the unique requirements of the Global South, this project aims to bridge data gaps, promote open data sharing, and foster sustainable development...

BIDS and Accenture co-host Responsible AI and Generative AI Leaders Circle

October 4, 2023
Cody Markelz

October 4, 2023 - The Berkeley Institute for Data Science (BIDS) and global consulting leader Accenture recently commemorated their remarkable partnership with a collaborative event that brought together leading thinkers on Responsible AI and Generative AI from academia and industry.

The event kicked off with a welcoming lunch, providing attendees an opportunity to network and share initial thoughts. This was followed by an inspiring opening ceremony led by BIDS and...

This Month at BIDS - October 2023

October 10, 2023
Cody Markelz

Read our October newsletter now! To stay up to date on upcoming news and events at BIDS, check out our events calendar, sign up for our newsletter, and follow us on Twitter (X).

Professor David Blei presents "Beyond Roll Call: Inferring Politics from Text"

September 28, 2023
Lilli Wessling Hart

On September 27, 2023, BIDS’ Center for Cultural Analytics hosted its inaugural event with special guest Professor David Blei. His topic exemplifies the Center's focus on data-driven analysis of cultural phenomena.

Beyond Roll Call: Inferring Politics from Text

"The ideal point model is a staple of quantitative political science. It is a...

Dr. Tim Thomas presents his research "Developing a National Eviction, Displacement, and Housing Precarity Risk Model in a Post-Pandemic World"

September 21, 2023
Lilli Wessling Hart

In the first BIDS seminar of the 2023 Fall semester, Dr. Tim Thomas -- Director of Berkeley’s Eviction Research Network, Research Director for the Urban Displacement Project, and BIDS Data Scientist -- presented his team's research on using data and social science tools to mine court record text, link evictions to consumer and administrative data, and develop machine learning models to identify where the highest levels of housing precarity are located....