Dear Bucknellians,

Welcome to the inaugural newsletter of the Dominguez Center for Data Science! I am excited to share an update on what we've been up to so far. The Dominguez Center supports data science for all of Bucknell. To that end, we prepare students to be data leaders in any field, while also helping faculty and staff to integrate data science and artificial intelligence (AI) into their teaching, work, and research. By fostering interdisciplinary partnerships, we are able to tackle complex, real-world problems with data and give students high-impact experiences. I hope you enjoy reading about the exciting things we have accomplished with data this past year! 

Warmest regards,

Kelly McConville, Director

Based on acaedemic year 2024 - 2025 

Launched in fall 2024 and open to all students, this program matches student fellows with project stakeholders and data science mentors who guide the students through solving data-centric problems. Fellows are charged with using their diverse perspectives to inform practical solutions. Emphasis is placed on developing their data communication skills.

Back row (left to right): Sophie Yang, Dulguun Soyol-Erdene, and Sofi Jeffrey.

Front row (left to right): Celine Chang, Ellyn Ngo, Alec Sanders, and Prof. Keegan Kang. 

In addition to our internal data challenge, DCDS joined with all three colleges at Bucknell to sponsor student participation in DataFest 2025 in Philadelphia. Team Bucknell 1 (Alec Sanders, Sofi Jeffrey, and Sophie Yang) was one of the Finalists and won Honorable Mention for the Participant’s Choice Award.

“DataFest Philadelphia is part of the national American Statistical Association DataFest—a 48-hour case competition where teams of two to five students receive a rich, complex dataset from a large company and analyze it for insights.”

We are starting up the DCDS Industry Partners Program, which connects external collaborators with Bucknell's deep pool of data-oriented students and faculty. Through this program, your organization can engage and recruit student talent in data science, accelerate your data science & AI initiatives, collaborate with Bucknell faculty, and leverage student innovation through data science projects. Please reach out to ericher@bucknell.edu if you want to learn more!

The Dominguez Center for Data Science offers a wide range of workshops throughout the summer and academic year. This summer, we are partnered with the Emerging Scholars/Undergraduate Research Program, Library Services, and IT to provide 19 different workshops that help students, faculty, and staff build their data skills. The summer workshop series covered a range of topics, including data analysis, mapping, AI prompt engineering, visualization, and storytelling with data.

In May, Bucknell hosted the 2025 AI Symposium, bringing together faculty, staff and industry leaders to discuss the latest developments in generative AI. The symposium also featured discussions on the ethics and responsible use of AI.

In April, DCDS and the Bucknell Humanities Center co-hosted “Ethics and AI: Critical Perspectives”, an interdisciplinary discussion of some often overlooked ethical challenges posed by the widespread adoption and dissemination of AI. 

Last Fall, Professors Brian King and Diane Jakacki held two AI learning sessions on "What every college student needs to know" and "Serious play." In this interactive series they explained how large language models work and helped students unpack the AI tools that are reshaping how they study, socialize and navigate the world.

♥️ In honor of International Love Data Week, the Dominguez Center hosted the "Create a Valentine (with Code)" event. Participants used the statistical software R to design Valentine’s Day cards. No prior experience was required and twenty-four lucky Valentines received a card generated from code. ♥️

The Centers Summit, spotlighting the Dominguez Center for Data Science and the Perricelli-Gegnas Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, featured insightful discussions with thought leaders and industry experts in data and AI, software and app development, innovations in medical technology and much more. Data Science Student Fellows had the opportunity to present their data projects and to make meaningful connections with alumni. 

 Photos from the Centers Summit:

The inaugural DCDS advisory board members are:

Photos of the DCDS Advisory Board at the Centers Summit in April:

Your support makes this work possible. Please consider making a gift, which will allow us to provide more students with high-impact data science experiences. These opportunities are essential to preparing our students to be data leaders.

Kelly McConville
Director, Dominguez Center for Data Science

k.mcconville@bucknell.edu

data-science@bucknell.edu

bucknell.edu/dcds

Julie Guinn-Bailey
Administrative Coordinator, Dominguez Center for Data Science

julie.guinn-bailey@bucknell.edu

570-577-2222