Speaker Dr. Mark Embree

Professor Dr. Mark Embree, Virginia Tech, will give a presentation at Seton Hall University on March 24, 2007.

Two Challenges in Data Analytics: Educating Undergraduates and Learning from a Building

In 2015 Virginia Tech launched a new undergraduate major in Computational Modeling and Data Analytics.  The program, based on ten new courses jointly taught by the Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics Departments, has quickly attracted over 300 majors.  In the first part of the talk, we will describe this curriculum and share some lessons we have learned en route to graduating our first class in May.

The second part of the talk will focus on a particular data science application.  Virginia Tech’s Goodwin Hall is instrumented with 212 accelerometers welded to the steel frame of the building.  Each of these sensors records vibrations at the rate of up to 25,600 samples per second.  From this massive data set, the Virginia Tech Smart Infrastructure Lab seeks to learn about many aspects of building occupancy, ranging from day-to-day operating conditions to the detection of an emergency.  We will briefly describe the basics of interpolatory matrix factorizations (e.g., CUR decompositions) and show how they can be applied to identify a minimal set of sensors, toward establishing low-cost sensor configurations for instrumenting other buildings.  (This talk describes joint work with Pablo Tarazaga, Serkan Gugercin, students in the Virginia Tech Smart Infrastructure Lab, and colleagues in GAiTE LLC.)

Do You Know How to Design an Effective Graph?

Design graphs that communicate clear and powerful messages

Seton Hall University is pleased to welcome Naomi B. Robbins, Ph.D., to campus on Monday, March 24 at 6pm.  Dr. Robbins will present “How to Convey Your Data Clearly with Graphs” in the McNulty Amphitheater.  The presentation will provide tips and expert advice that will be immediately useful for undergraduates, graduate students, faculty from a variety of disciplines, and the public.  The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, the Department of Psychology, and the Division of Continuing Education and Professional Studies. 

Dr. Robbins’ presentation will not be software-specific.  Her tips and techniques are designed to help users across all levels, regardless of method of graphical presentation.  According to Dr. Robbins, “It does not matter whether you’re calculating baseball statistics or conducting government data analysis.  I’ll show you how small changes can make big differences in your presentation of data.”  Further, “I’ll show graphs that do not communicate clearly and then redesign them to show how they can be more effective.  The changes may be very slight, but you’ll notice how they can make a big difference in the understanding.” 

Dr. Robbins is an experienced author, speaker, and consultant. She currently serves as the principal of NBR, an organization that provides consulting and training for effective graphical data presentation.  In 2013, she republished Creating More Effective Graphs, originally published by John Wiley and Sons. To learn more about Dr. Robbins and her work, visit http://www.nbr-graphs.com.  Join us on Monday, March 24, 2014 at 6 p.m. in the McNulty Amphitheater and learn “How to Convey Your Data Clearly with Graphs.”

Understanding Data: A Powerful Skill in the 21st Century

“People inside the super-elite think the rise of the data geeks is just beginning. Elliot Schrage is a member of the tech aristocracy–he was the communications director for Google when it was the hottest company in the Valley and jumped to the same role at Facebook just as it was becoming a behemoth. At a 2009 talk he gave to an internal company meeting of education and publishing executives, Schrage was asked what field we should encourage our children to study. His instant answer was statistics, because the ability to understand data would be the most powerful skill in the twenty-first century.”

– Chrystia Freeland, Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else