Rhodes Information Initiative Fall 2024 Newsletter

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Rhodes Information Initiative

Fall 2024 Newsletter

Students at the top of Duke Chapel with view

Director's Memo

This summer President Vincent Price helped us celebrate the 10^th running of the +Programs by welcoming students. He talked about interdisciplinary undergraduate research and how the combination of project focus and team membership can be a transformative experience. In highlighting the value and opportunity for the students to collaborate and learn from one another, he made everyone feel special.

The +Programs have grown from 15 students in 2014 to more than 200 students in 2024 - Duke undergraduate and MS students, undergraduates from around the US, and a cohort of 10 students from Saudi Arabia.

It is a big lift, and it would not be possible without leadership from Tracy Futhey (Code+), Robert Bryant (Math Chair), Jian Pei (CS Chair), Brian Murray (Nicholas Institute), and Nita Farahany (Science and Society). Also the faculty and staff that make everything happen - Paul Bendich (Data+ coordinator), Greg Herschlag (Data+), Ariel Dawn (Data+), Jen Vizas and Isabel Valls (Code+), Lenny Ng (Math+ coordinator), Heekyoung Hahn (Math+) Brandan Fain (CS+ coordinator), Thomas Sowers (Applied Ethics+ coordinator), Bill Crouse and Christen Dobson (AE+), Kyle Bradbury and Trey Gowdy (Climate+), Wil Weldon (videographer), Kathy Peterson, Tadja Evans, Jackie Okoh, Trina Rodriguez, Violette Walker, and payroll support from Shuntoya Lee and Brittany Scott in the Office of Provost Academic Support, Finance & Administration.

Our newsletter features stories from the +Programs that have made their way into Duke Today

As the new semester starts we are still catching our breath.

Colleen Robles, Associate Director, Nick Eubank, Associate Director, Robert Calderbank, Director

Duke Plus Programs 2024 Wrap Up

Data+, CS+, AE+, Climate+, and Code+ launched their summer programs on May 26th with a Kickoff event in the Energy Hub of Gross Hall, which included a personal welcome from President Price.

For the next 10 weeks, student teams learned new coding and software developments skills, made new friends and professional contacts, and helped to solve real-world problems with their research. They also enjoyed many social events such as a Welcome Cookout, a trip to Augmentality Labs VR Arcade, a visit to the Duke Lemur Center, and climbing the Duke Chapel Tower (see our photo at the top of the newsletter!).

The summer wrapped up on July 26th with a Finale and Poster session where students shared their findings and work over the summer. Pratt Dean of Engineering Jerry Lynch gave a special adddress to students at the Finale, commending their hard work. The Finale showcased many promising projects that will help researchers with real world solutions to real world issues. To learn more about each program and the work their teams did this summer please visit below:

Data+/Cimate+

Code+

CS+

AE+

Duke President Price addressing Plus Program students at 2024 Kickoff

Pratt Dean of Engineering Jerry Lynch addressing students at Plus Programs Finale addressing Plus Program students at 2024 Kickoff

Plus Programs Finale/Poster Session 2024

Data+ Team Transforms Basketball Game Analysis Over the Summer

During the summer of 2024 at Duke, the students and faculty of the Data+ Analyzing Basketball Plays Using Computer Vision project worked with the coaching staff of Duke women’s basketball to create a suite of tools that brings real-time analysis of gameplay from basketball video clips.

The team constructed a computer vision application capable of pinpointing players’ positions on the basketball court. These player coordinates are fed into a machine-learning model. By analyzing player movements, ball passes and court positioning, the tool can identify common offensive and defensive plays. The information should allow coaches to identify opponents’ play patterns, strengths and weaknesses.

Data+ Team Helps Durham Public Schools Decide Where to Allocate Resources

New maps of Durham released by students in Duke’s Data Science for Operations and Planning Data+ team show the Bull City as a patchwork of red, white and pink. But what looks like a haphazardly assembled quilt is actually a picture of the socioeconomic realities facing Durham’s 32,000-plus public school students.

“The traditional metrics really aren’t getting at the granular fabric of the Durham community,” said Mathew Palmer, the district’s senior executive director of school planning and operational services. "Research like this helps address questions like, “are we putting our resources where the kids need them the most? And are schools equitable?”

Climate+ Team Helps Rural NC Communities Assess Flood Risk

The coastal North Carolina town of Creswell and surrounding Washington County were among nearly 500 communities nationwide identified last year by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as America’s “most at risk" from hazards fueled by climate change.

The communities were chosen based on their vulnerability to a range of natural hazards including floods, extreme temperatures and storms. The FEMA designations also take into account the adverse impacts residents could expect, such as loss of life or livelihood, and how prepared they might be to deal with them and recover on their own.

Communities need information to understand climate risks, evaluate potential solutions and monitor progress. They also need staff time and expertise. But especially for small towns and rural areas, those things can be hard to come by, said Hector Monterroso, a Ph.D. student in the Pratt School of Engineering and the project manager for the Climate+ team Making Climate Hazard Risk Data Useful for North Carolina Communities.

iiD Welcomes Yu Tong, Assistant Professor in Mathematics

Rhodes iiD is happy to welcome new assistant professor of Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering Yu Tong to Duke and to iiD!

Yu Tong joins us from CalTech, where he was an IQIM Postdoctoral Scholar. Yu Tong is interested in quantum algorithms, quantum information theory, and classical algorithms for quantum simulation, such as tensor network methods and quantum embedding theories.

Please give Professor Tong a warm welcome to Duke!

Mathemalchemy and Navajo Nation Math Circles Project

Help us bring the Mathemalchemy to the Navajo Nation, Summer 2025.

The Navajo Nation Math Circles Project’s goal is to bring the highest quality mathematical outreach to students and teachers in the Navajo Nation. We are honored to be working together.

Your donations will help fund shipping the exhibit, travel for our installation techs, plus running community activities at the museum and during the Math Circles Summer Camp.

Mathemalchemy’s swirling sheet celebrating Navajo culture will be given extra life by its proximity to the beautiful and meaningful collections in the Museum.

We are offering an incentive of a Pi cookie-cutter as our gift for donations. More details are on our (adorable) donation page - https://mathemalchemy.org/donation/. For more information contact Kathy.peterson@duke.edu and to avoid shipping charges, pick up your cutter in her office, 315 Gross Hall.

Updates, including an upcoming (don)auction (donation auction) can be found on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mathemalchemy/

And in the Mathemalchemy newsletter, which you can subscribe to here https://mathemalchemy.org/ the link is at the bottom.

Mathemalchemy’s tour lineup is:

NYC – National Museum of Mathematics May 22 to October 27, 2024

University of Quebec in Montreal: November (more information coming soon!)

Navajo Nation Museum and Navajo Nation Math Circles Project, Arizona – Summer 2025

Ingrid Daubechies speaking about the Mathemalchemy exhibit at New York's National Museum of Mathematics