Nanci Hellmich

Mason statistics researchers help plan and analyze a study on COVID-19 prevalence in children in Northern Virginia

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 19:00:11 +0000

Mason statistics researchers help plan and analyze a study on COVID-19 prevalence in children in Northern Virginia Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/24/2021 - 15:00

In This Story

Jiayang Sun

Brett Hunter

Scott Bruce

Inova Children’s Hospital, the Virginia Department of Health, and the College of Engineering and Computing joined forces last summer to conduct a COVID-19 antibody study to analyze the incidence of COVID-19 in Northern Virginia’s children.

The overall antibody positive rate in children was 8.5 percent.

Mason’s Department of Statistics experts collaborated in the design of the testing protocol. They also helped analyze the data to determine how many children have had COVID-19.

This was a public service project, says Jiayang Sun, chair of the Department of Statistics and the Bernard J. Dunn Eminent Scholar. “It is an excellent, comprehensive study that considered multiple factors to systematically assess the seroprevalence in the diverse population of the area’s children. I am pleased with the quality of data and that our statisticians were involved, early, starting in the design stage of a study versus those only after the data had been collected.”

Scott Bruce, an assistant professor of statistics, says, “The timely and valuable findings from this project are due to the outstanding partnership among the healthcare professionals, government agencies, and statistics researchers involved in this project. More efforts like this are needed to produce high-quality data and analysis that will continue to build our understanding of this disease and inform strategies for mitigating the risk of infection among children and between children and adults.”

“We considered multiple factors, including age, living conditions, types of antibody tests, the CDC’s recommendation on orthogonal testing, and the data collection sites, which are correlated with population characteristics,” says Brett Hunter, Mason’s principal investigator for this project and associate chair of the Department of Statistics.

The analysis of blood samples from more than 1,000 children, ages 0 to 19, found:

COVID-19 antibodies were found in 8.2 percent of white children, 5.2 percent of black children, 5.7 percent of Asian children, and 16.2 percent of children with multiple racial origins.
Children identified as Hispanic ethnicity had a 26.6 percent rate of antibody positivity.
The rate was 13.7 percent in young children (0-5 years), 7.5 percent in school-age (6-10 years), 5.1 percent in early adolescents (11-15 years), and 10.8 percent in older adolescents (16-19 years).
The majority (66 percent) of children who had antibodies had no history of symptoms of COVID-19 infection, which highlights the silent or asymptomatic infection in children, and the subsequent risk of transmission of infection to others.

When compared to an adult serology study in Virginia, which reported a COVID-19 antibody positivity rate of 4.4 percent, the pediatric positive rate is nearly double.

“The pediatric serology project unexpectedly found more children were seropositive than we had anticipated,” says Rebecca Levorson, division director for pediatric infectious diseases, Inova Children’s Hospital. “Most of these children did not have symptoms, which makes it difficult to know who may be infectious and who is not at a specific time.”

“Nearly a quarter of the U.S. population is children, and as they may represent a larger proportion of SARS-CoV-2 disease than we previously thought, we need to recognize that children will continue to be infected with and possibly asymptomatically spread this disease. As we continue to fight this pandemic, we need to consider ways to protect them and others by using the tools we have available to us, including masking, social distancing, and vaccination.”

The project is an example of new grants/projects that can be generated from a collaborative contract/award between the Department of Statistics and the Inova Health System. The contract is based on a parent UL1 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Transitional Sciences Award (CTSA) to develop new research to improve the health of individuals and the public.

Researchers in the statistics department also worked on several other COVID-related studies, Sun says. The researchers want to provide good data that can be used for the public good, as the theme of 2020 Joint Statistical Meetings advocated.

More information about this pediatric serology project can be found at https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.28.21250466v1

Topics

Statistics

Department of Statistics

Inova

coronavirus; covid-19

CEC faculty research

Mason offers new Data Analytics Credential to prepare students for careers in big data

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:47:33 +0000

Mason offers new Data Analytics Credential to prepare students for careers in big data Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/11/2021 - 11:47

In This Story

Liza Wilson Durant

Brett Hunter

George Mason University is offering a new Data Analytics Credential to help undergraduates hone their skills in handling big data.

The new credential is the second one offered in partnership with the Greater Washington Partnership’s Capital CoLAB. Mason launched the Digital Technology Credential in 2019 to support additional skills in data analysis, visualization, and cybersecurity for non-engineers. More than 150 students are currently enrolled in that program.

“The new Data Analytics Credential will enable hundreds of Mason students to offer their specialized data analytics skills to employers who are seeking to meet the talent shortfall in data science and analytics,” says Liza Wilson Durant, associate dean for strategic initiatives and community engagement for the Volgenau School of Engineering.

Liza Wilson Durant says the new credential is an exciting showcase of our industry partners engaging with students from multiple disciplines. Photo by Evan Cantwell.

The credential focuses on data storage and management and will make students more marketable, including for jobs as data analysts and data scientists, says Brett Hunter, associate chair of the Department of Statistics.

The credential is designed for undergraduates in statistics, computing, information technology, and data science who want to acquire the data analytics skills needed by high-profile employers in the metropolitan areas of Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Richmond.

Developed with the Greater Washington Partnership’s Capital CoLAB, the credential equips students across disciplines with the specialized data analytics skills that the Greater Washington Partnership employers have specified to be most important to their operations. The Capital CoLAB (Collaborative of Leaders in Academia and Business) is an action-oriented partnership of employers and academic institutions that executes initiatives to develop the talent needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

By enrolling in either the Digital Technology Credential or Data Analytics Credential programs, students will have direct access to opportunities and engagement with some of the largest employers in the region, including Amazon, Capital One, and Northrop Grumman.

“It is exciting to see our industry partners directly engaged with our students and reinforcing the demand for the skills they are acquiring by offering them internships and other experiential learning opportunities,” says Durant.

Many students in statistics, computational data science, computer science, and information science and technology will only need to take one to three additional undergraduate courses to earn the credential, Hunter says. They can use some of their elective courses to do that.

“The credential is not another degree, but essentially a badge you can put on your LinkedIn profile or electronic resume,” he says. “I think most statistics undergraduates will take advantage of the opportunity to communicate their skills in this new way.”

The badge associated with the Data Analytics Credential also represents an innovation for students and employers. “Micro-credentials like the Data Analytics badge reflect the ‘new currency’ in denoting skill achievement and helps our students move more easily from college to career,” says Marc Austin, Executive Director of Professional Development and Academic Ventures who leads Mason’s Continuing and Professional Development unit which administers the new digital badge.

More than 50 students have already enrolled in the new Data Analytics Credential program.

Students who are working towards earning the credential will receive several exclusive benefits from area companies, including:

Access to a student portal with paid internship and event opportunities.
Invitations to participate in annual internship fairs with employers looking to recruit students.
Access to professional development webinars and other ad-hoc opportunities.

Mason students can learn more and enroll in the new Data Analytics Credential here.

Topics

data analytics

Digital Technology Credential Program

Biostatistics

Big Data

Statistics seniors receive award at American Statistical Association national data challenge

4429684e-ae8d-405e-870a-3b7aefe68162 (Martha Bushong) — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 12:09:10 +0000

Statistics seniors receive award at American Statistical Association national data challenge 4429684e-ae8d-… Thu, 01/21/2021 - 07:09

Topics

Volgenau School of Engineering

Four seniors majoring in statistics––Emily Litzenberg, Kate Lang, Nate Mulugeta, and Shannon Connor––received an honorable mention for the best use of external data at the American Statistical Association’s (ASA) Fall Data Challenge 2020.

For the national competition, called Get Out the Vote, teams of high school and undergraduate students submitted their recommendations on how to increase voter turnout using voting behavior data from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. High school and undergraduate students were judged separately.

Mason’s team looked at the data from 2000 to 2016 to see if there was an increase in registered voters who didn’t vote because they didn’t like either candidate in the presidential race. “We found there was a rise in people who didn’t vote over the years because of dislike for the candidates,” Connor says.

The group was then tasked with coming up with a way to improve voter turnout, and they suggested ranked-choice voting in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots, she says.

Connor says the project gave the students a chance to work closely on a statistical analysis. “I learned a lot about how to go from start to finish with a statistical group project.”

Elizabeth Johnson, an associate professor of statistics and the group’s sponsor, says, “This national competition allows students to work in teams to investigate current issues using real data, They experience the whole research process of creating a research question before collecting, analyzing, and reporting on data. I am very proud of their accomplishment in a very competitive field."

Four senior students from the Department of Statistics received an honorable mention for the best use of external data at the American Statistical Association’s (ASA) Fall Data Challenge 2020. Pictured from the left are Shannon Connor, Nate Mulugeta, and Emily Litzenberg. Kate Lang is not pictured.

Photo credit:

Photos provided

Mason statistics researchers analyzing COVID-19 incidence in children in Northern Virginia

Nanci Hellmich — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 11:21:38 +0000

Mason statistics researchers analyzing COVID-19 incidence in children in Northern Virginia Nanci Hellmich Tue, 09/22/2020 - 07:21

Mason Engineering researchers are joining forces with Inova Children’s Hospital for a project that will provide valuable data about the incidence of COVID-19 in children in Northern Virginia to school administrators and other decision-makers in the area.

Inova researchers—including Rebecca Levorson, division director for Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Inova Children’s Hospital, and Christopher deFilippi, vice chair of academic affairs at Inova Heart and Vascular Institute—are recruiting 1,000 children to get an antibody blood test, also called a serology test, to see if the kids have had COVID-19 and understand better the etiology of COVID-19 in Northern Virginia. The project is supported by the Virginia Department of Health.

Mason’s Department of Statistics experts collaborated in the design of the testing protocol. They will also help analyze the data to determine how many children have had COVID-19 and identify risk factors that are correlated with a higher infection rate.

“It’s a public service project,” says Jiayang Sun, chair of the Department of Statistics and the Bernard J. Dunn Eminent Scholar. “This project will give us excellent information to assess the seroprevalence in our population, which will give administrators and policymakers useful information to decide how to open up schools.”

The volunteer participants are being recruited from Inova Children’s Hospital pediatric locations, emergency rooms, and other outreach means in Northern Virginia.

“It’s collecting essential data to better understand seroprevalence (COVID-19 antibodies in the blood) in kids from our local community,” says Scott Bruce, an assistant professor of statistics. “We are trying to balance the speed of the project with getting a good, diverse representative sample.”

“Early estimates suggest that positive test cases in kids are rare, but we want to make sure that’s true,” says statistics Assistant Professor Brett Hunter, Mason’s principal investigator for this project. “We don’t want to expose them more than necessary before we know what the risks are.”

The researchers have a tight deadline with about two months to complete the work.

The project is an example of new grants/projects that can be generated from a collaborative contract/award between the Department of Statistics and Inova Health System. The contract is based on a parent UL1 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Transitional Sciences Award (CTSA) to develop new research to improve the health of individuals and the public.

Researchers in the statistics department are working on several other COVID-related studies, Sun says. The researchers want to provide good data that can be used for the public good, as the theme of 2020 Joint Statistical Meetings advocates.

Engineering students step up to help others during coronavirus crisis

Nanci Hellmich — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 12:34:08 +0000

Engineering students step up to help others during coronavirus crisis Nanci Hellmich Sun, 03/29/2020 - 08:34

Statistics major Brody Receveur (right) and his parents invited computer science sophomore Nawaf Alshathri to live with them in Hampton, Virginia for the rest of the semester because Alshathri can't make it back to his home in Saudi Arabia.

Mason Engineering students are using their innovative skills to solve more than engineering problems.

They are coming up with creative ways to do random acts of kindness, both big and small, during the coronavirus outbreak.

For example, statistics major Brody Receveur and his family invited computer science sophomore Nawaf Alshathri to stay with them for the rest of the semester.

The students are friends who lived in the same residence hall at Mason. When classes became virtual after spring break, Receveur was at home with his parents in Hampton, Virginia, while Alshathri was on campus because he couldn’t get back to his home in Saudi Arabia.

Receveur asked his parents if Alshathri could come live with them for a while, and they agreed. Receveur returned to the Fairfax Campus to pick up Alsharthri.

Mason Engineering students Brody Receveur (left) and Nawaf Alshathri (center) are spending time with Receveur's parents April and Tim in Hampton, Virginia, while the students finish their courses remotely.

When they’re not taking their classes online or studying, the two have been working out together, walking on the beach, and playing board games with the family.

“I taught him how to make Yankee cornbread and steaks,” says Receveur, an Honors College student. “He’s gardening with my mom (April), and my dad (Tim) is talking to him about the history of our area. My dad wrote a book about it. They talk all the time.”

Alshathri says he’s enjoying his time with the Receveur family. “Tough times make the best qualities of people shine,” he says. “The Receveurs have been caring and kind. They took me in during this period of uncertainty, and they are teaching me valuable life skills. I will have some vegetables that should be grown by the end of the semester, thanks to them.”

He’s also enjoying the family dog, Puzzles, and he enjoys playing with their dog when he is done with his work for the day.

Alshathri says the family living near the beach is a bonus. “You expect to be locked up during quarantine, but the beach is pretty empty, so we can go out and take walks.”

Other members of the Mason Engineering community are finding ways to show kindness to faculty, family, and others while still maintaining social distancing:

Angelica Watson, a senior in mechanical engineering, has been doing random acts of kindness daily, including calling to check on her grandmother.

Reaching out virtually

Angelica Watson, a mechanical engineering senior, has been calling her grandmother every day to check on her. When her grandmother asked why she was calling so often, Watson said to remind her to stay home and be safe.

Watson also has been going to the grocery store to get supplies for her family. “Today when I went looking for some cleaning supplies, there was an older lady in the store who couldn’t reach the bleach on a higher shelf, so I passed her two bottles of it,” she says.

“I also saw a lady looking for toilet paper, and I gave her a pack of wipes that I had picked up. ... It’s the little things that warm people’s hearts.”

Arash Touhidi, a senior in electrical engineering, gave his entire paycheck to a Mason alumna who is struggling financially.

Paying it forward

When Arash Touhidi, a senior in electrical engineering, heard about a Mason alumna/friend who was struggling financially in part due to the coronavirus outbreak, he knew he wanted to help.

“Although it wasn’t much, I gave her the money from my recent paycheck from my work at the Bioinspired Robotics and Intelligent Control Lab so that she can get by,” he says.

“I live with my mom so I don’t have many bills, except for a car payment and insurance” he says.

“I’m still texting with my friend, and we’re offering each other moral support.”

Mechanical engineering major Vineet Nair sent emails to faculty thanking them for preparing for remote classes over the extended spring break.

Sending a word of thanks

Vineet Nair, a senior in mechanical engineering, sent emails to several faculty members and staff thanking them for going the extra mile to make online learning work.

“I can’t imagine how hard it was for them to prepare to do this in a week or so,” he says. “They are trying to give us our money’s worth and give us the tools we need when we graduate.

“I’ve had two or three classes, and there have been some challenges, but overall, it’s going very smoothly. I think what they are doing right now is tremendous.”

Ivory Sarceno, a mechanical engineering major, is sending funny stories to her family in the United States and Guatemala.

Lifting up others with humor

Ivory Sarceno, a senior in mechanical engineering, has been doing her best to stay in touch with her family in Guatemala and the United States while practicing social distancing.

Everyone is stressed out, and during this time laughter is still the best medicine, she says.

“I’ve started a family group chat with 11 members through WhatsApp where my family can share memes and uplifting stories, and most importantly our love and support for each other.”

Systems Engineering senior Jason Nembhard shared safety tips for preventing the coronavirus with a friend who might have been exposed.

Sharing safety insights

Jason Nembhard, a senior in systems engineering, says a friend of his became alarmed when someone in his building in Arlington was diagnosed with COVID-19.

“Naturally, he was stressed about catching the virus,” Nembhard says.

“I reached out to him to talk about what he's going through and suggested ways he can keep himself safe. I was able to pass along the personal safety information I had learned from my mom, who is a nurse at INOVA Fairfax Hospital.”

“He told me thank you, and then he went to work cleaning and disinfecting his apartment,” Nembhard says.

Elizabeth Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics, said it made her day when her students wished her "Happy Birthday" in their Blackboard chat.

Brightening a professor's day

When the statistics students in one of assistant professor Elizabeth Johnson’s classes found out that it was her birthday one day recently, they all started writing "Happy Birthday" in the Blackboard chat.

“It was unexpected, and it made my day,” she says.

If you’ve done some random acts of kindness for others and would like to share them, please email your story to Nanci Hellmich.

Stories from throughout the Mason community can be submitted here.

Stats student crunches numbers to pave path to success in class and in life

Nanci Hellmich — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 17:41:01 +0000

Stats student crunches numbers to pave path to success in class and in life Nanci Hellmich Thu, 03/12/2020 - 13:41

“I am so happy I’m here. The Stats Department faculty is amazing. There are so many opportunities and contacts at Mason, and there are so many internship opportunities being close to D.C.”

— Brody Receveur, statistics major

Brody Receveur, a statistics major at Mason, is doing a statistical analysis of the needs of refugees in South Sudan for an Honors College research class.

Brody Receveur knew the odds were good he’d major in statistics at Mason, and his first statistics class confirmed it.

“I had Professor (Elizabeth) Johnson for Stat 260. Some of the first words she said were, ‘In statistics, we play in everybody’s sandbox.’

“I was like, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I knew I had found my place,” says Receveur, who’ll graduate in the spring of 2021 with a BS in statistics.

“I am someone who loves to work in everything, and I have a general interest in helping in all ways I can. The statistics degree provides me a platform to do that on an advanced level.”

He’s going full-steam ahead, inside and outside the classroom.

An Honors College student, Receveur works as a peer mentor for Mason Engineering, serves as co-president of Mason chapter of the American Statistical Association, and in April, he’ll participate in the DC DataFest, a weekend-long data competition in which teams of undergraduates work around the clock to find and share meaning in a large, rich, and complex data set.

He’s also doing a statistical analysis of the needs of refugees in South Sudan for an Honors College research class. His data analysis includes a breakdown of non-food needs, such as emergency shelters and mosquito nets.

To make the data easier to understand, he taught himself geographic information systems, a graphic framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data.

He says the project is still in its infancy as he works on determining what information will be the most useful for peacemaking in South Sudan. “The whole point of the project is to help as many people as possible,” he says.

Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics, says, “Brody is an exceptional student scholar. He loves the research process. He will be attending a highly selective statistical genetics and biostatistics summer research program at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, and also hopes to complete a fall semester abroad at Oxford.”

Receveur’s life is so tightly packed, he has a schedule in his smartphone for every hour of his day. “I’m not someone who is a fan of being bored.”

To balance his number-crunching life, he decompresses by lifting weights, doing Muay Thai kickboxing, cooking, playing guitar, praying, meditating, and playing board games with friends.

Receveur from Fredricksburg, Virginia, says the university has been a great fit for him. When trying to decide between Mason, the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech—he was accepted by all three—he set up a mathematical model to predict which would work best for him.

“I did a weighting system where I weighted different variables in different contexts. After I did the math and Mason won, I breathed a sigh of relief and said to myself, ‘If I knew I wanted to go to Mason, why did I do that?’ ”

No matter how he arrived at his decision, he says, “I am so happy I’m here. The Stats Department faculty is amazing. There are so many opportunities and contacts at Mason, and there are so many internship opportunities being close to D.C.”

Mason is giving him the chance to do what he likes best. “I’m always thinking about numbers, ideas, and big concepts, as well. My brain doesn’t stop.”

Workshop offers opportunity to learn about jobs and research for the Navy

Nanci Hellmich — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 15:25:18 +0000

Workshop offers opportunity to learn about jobs and research for the Navy Nanci Hellmich Tue, 02/18/2020 - 10:25

Leigh McCue, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, says Mason students are invited to attend a workshop that gives students insights into jobs with the Navy, as well as research opportunities.

George Mason faculty and students who are interested in naval research and civilian careers with the Navy are invited to attend a workshop on March 6 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division in Bethesda, Maryland.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is organizing the Workshop to Enhance Opportunities for Naval Workforce Development, as part of a related Office of Naval Research grant. Registration is free.

Students will be able to engage in dialogue with Carderock department heads, local university deans and department chairs, and rising stars in the Navy and academia as they share their thoughts on how to build the naval workforce of the future, says Leigh McCue, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

The day’s events include a keynote lecture, panel discussions, and a poster session in which faculty and students will showcase their Navy-relevant research.

The ONR grant supports efforts for students to become part of the Navy career talent pipeline and provides an opportunity for faculty to engage in cutting-edge research that supports the mission of the Navy and Marine Corps, says Mechanical Engineering Department Chair Oscar Barton, Jr, the grant’s principal investigator.

More information and the agenda are online.

If you are interested in showcasing your classroom or research projects in the poster session, please reach out to McCue.

New statistics chair wants department to be a national leader

Nanci Hellmich — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 17:19:56 +0000

New statistics chair wants department to be a national leader Nanci Hellmich Mon, 08/26/2019 - 13:19

Jiayang Sun, the new chair of Mason Engineering’s Department of Statistics, wants to develop more research collaborations, create joint faculty positions with other organizations, recruit top faculty and students, and expand the department's curriculum.

Jiayang Sun brings the sharp focus she uses when rock climbing and ballroom dancing to her role as chair of Mason Engineering’s Department of Statistics.

“Rock climbing and dance are activities where you have to be focused,” she says. “With rock climbing, if your mind drifts, you can hurt yourself. With dance, you have to focus, or you step on your partner’s toes.”

Just as a strategy is a must with both activities, her new position requires a similar mindset. Her vision: “Put the department in the national spotlight for statistical research and data science.”

She thinks the odds are good that she can do that. “This is Mason’s prime time to grow and raise its profile. It’s a great opportunity with the support of Mason leadership and unique opportunities surrounding the university,” says Sun, who is also a statistics professor and Bernard J. Dunn Eminent Scholar.

She recently worked as a statistical and biostatistical professor and the director of the Center for Statistical Research and Computing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

To boost Mason’s statistics department’s chances of getting national attention, she plans to:

Develop more research collaborations with Inova, government agencies, and private industry.
Create joint faculty positions with other organizations.
Recruit top faculty, undergraduate and graduate students through increased publicity and faculty connections.
Expand the curriculum to fit the needs of students.

So far, she has used her connections to bring experts from Harvard and Stanford to the department’s advisory board.

During her 20-year career, Sun has collaborated with experts in the fields of medicine, biomedical engineering, computer science, engineering, astronomy, and law.

Her research expertise includes simultaneous inference and multiple testing; big and complex data; statistical computing and graphical methods; bioinformatics, machine learning and mixture modeling for heterogeneous data; selection bias and measurement errors.

“There are data everywhere. If there are biases in the data that are not accounted for in research, then the conclusion can be completely wrong,” Sun says.

For instance, one study may show that drinking coffee is bad for your health, while another says it’s good for you. When the data is examined, researchers may be talking about different populations, she says. “Selection bias is a challenging obstacle in research, but it’s also an exciting area where we can make a contribution.”

Sun became chair in early August and will start running the department full-time next fall, as she is currently a Science and Technology Fellow, working as the big data strategic lead with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for one year.

“I had committed to the prestigious fellowship before I took the job at Mason. It’s going to open a door to an area that few statisticians have access to, and I hope to bring opportunities back to the department.”

In the meantime, she’ll be at Mason one day every two weeks to work with the interim chair on her vision for the department. “D.C. is a place with good feng shui—it’s the perfect environment for growth,” Sun says. “We need a strategy and a team to do something that will last.”

Data Analytics Engineering degree requires steering students through a changing field

Nanci Hellmich — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Data Analytics Engineering degree requires steering students through a changing field Nanci Hellmich Tue, 07/16/2019 - 08:00

“The wealth of courses offered in the program speaks to the multi-disciplinary nature of data analytics and the strength of the curriculum offered by departments in the Volgenau School of Engineering."

— Hugh Miller, academic program coordinator for Data Analytics Engineering

“I have been involved in big data for more than a decade. What I like about it is seeing how a large amount of data can be applied to solving problems. What’s hidden in the data is what fascinates me.”

— James Baldo, director of the Data Analytics Engineering Program

James Baldo, director of the Data Analytics Engineering Graduate Program, says many companies can't fill their data analytics positions fast enough.

James Baldo sees similarities in the challenges of kayaking and the challenges of directing Mason Engineering’s Data Analytics Engineering Graduate Program.

“On the boat, I make a plan and watch the currents. With our master's degree program, we have to make sure our courses meet students’ needs, and that changes all the time, just like the current,” says Baldo, PhD Information Technology ’98.

He’s at the helm of the most popular master’s degree program in the Volgenau School of Engineering with 447 students enrolled in it during the spring 2019 semester. Another 30 students are in the online version of the degree, and 15 are studying for a graduate certificate in data analytics.

In 2014, Mason became one of only five universities in the nation to offer a Data Analytics Engineering master's degree program in response to the high demand for data scientists and analysts who understand the technologies and methodologies involved in data-driven decision-making.

“Many companies can’t fill their data analytics positions fast enough, so they are sending their employees back to school,” Baldo says. Graduates often command six-figure salaries.

Mason has become a driving force in data analytics, says Robert Osgood, the first director of the program and an associate professor in electrical and computer engineering. “Students from around the world come to Mason to further enhance their careers.”

Baldo took over in September of 2018 after working as a practicing engineer for 36 years and an adjunct professor at Mason for 18 years. He still works one day a week as a senior associate at Armatus Solutions, providing data analytics, cloud migration, and solution architecture support to government agencies.

“I have been involved in big data for more than a decade,” he says. “What I like about it is seeing how a large amount of data can be applied to solving problems. What’s hidden in the data is what fascinates me.”

Osgood says Baldo “has taken a good program and has made it better through his years of experience in data analytics and his understanding of where the industry is going.”

Students in the data analytics engineering master’s program must take four foundational courses that cover big data, modeling, computer science, and statistical analysis, classes that are offered through the departments of Information Sciences and Technology, Systems Engineering and Operations Research, Computer Science, and Statistics.

Prospective students, who should have some background in programming, calculus, and statistics, can specialize in one area or create a customized concentration in another field, such as healthcare, predictive analytics, internet of things, business analytics, financial engineering, and data mining. “We want to keep the program flexible,” Baldo says.

Hugh Miller, academic program coordinator for Data Analytics Engineering, says flexibility has been crucial to the program’s success. “The wealth of courses offered in the program speaks to the multi-disciplinary nature of data analytics and the strength of the curriculum offered by departments in the Volgenau School of Engineering,” he says.

Those who are the most successful are often highly motivated problem solvers, Baldo says. “They view data analytics as a new dimension, a new way of solving problems and answering questions.”

He plans to steer the program to focus more on natural language processing and imaging analysis. Eventually, he’d like to offer free workshops to help alumni stay on top of this evolving field.

“One important lesson that I learned from kayaking is that navigating and maneuvering is constantly changing and this provides both new experiences and challenges, he says. “I believe that our alumni will experience a similar situation as they practice providing solutions based on their skills and acquire new skills to meet the new challenges.”

"Mason has become a driving force in data analytics. Students from around the world come to Mason to further enhance their careers.”

— Robert Osgood, the first director of the program and an associate professor in electrical and computer engineering.

High school students improve their odds of doing well on the AP statistics exam

Nanci Hellmich — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 16:49:04 +0000

High school students improve their odds of doing well on the AP statistics exam Nanci Hellmich Mon, 04/22/2019 - 12:49

“This program also allows us to show prospective students that we have great academic programs at Mason."

— Elizabeth Johnson, assistant professor of statistics

Statistics Assistant Professor Elizabeth Johnson is coordinating a mock AP statistics exam for 700 high school students in the area.

Mason’s Engineering’s Department of Statistics is offering more than 700 high school students a chance to take a mock Advanced Placement (AP) practice exam in statistics on April 27.

It’s the fifth year Mason has hosted the event for students in the Washington, D.C. area. It’s partially funded by the Washington Statistical Society.

The mock exam provides students the opportunity to take a practice AP statistics exam under time constraints, preparing them for the actual AP exam which they will take about two weeks later.

“The students get so excited to go to college for a day, and it helps high school teachers get their students ready for the test,” says Elizabeth Johnson, an assistant professor of statistics and coordinator of the event.

“This program also allows us to show prospective students that we have great academic programs at Mason,” she says. “Several of our statistics majors and data analysis minors took the exam when they were in high school.”

The practice exam is developed in cooperation with five other universities, including Clemson University, University of Georgia, University of Delaware, North Carolina State, and the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. These universities offer the same exam to students in their areas.