WashU faculty Chien-Ju Ho and Wouter Kool are fascinated by the interplay between humans and the AI algorithms that our decisions help to train. As part of their TRIADS Seed Grant project, they've published their first study exploring how people modify their behavior when knowingly interacting with artificial intelligence. 

TRIADS Speaker Series: David Lazer
Northeastern University

In the wake of Twitterpocalypse, building new data paradigms for social media research

November 30, Noon
DUC 276

This talk examines the scale and nature of dependence of social science research on Twitter. While the collapse of access to Twitter data is disastrous for behavioral research on social media, it also offers a moment to construct new data access paradigms that will generate more diverse research. The talk will cover four data paradigms, none of which offer the full answer, but together may serve to push the field forward.

Landscape of Research Funding from Private Foundations

November 28, 1-3 p.m.
DUC 276

This workshop will provide a brief overview of the Foundation Relations office. Participants will learn from Foundation Relations staff members about the mission, current areas of focus, some recent funding opportunities, and a few sample awards from some of the foundations. The event will include a Q&A.

Joe Guinness
Cornell University

Gaussian Process Computing with Vecchia's Approximation and the GpGp R Package

November 9, 4 p.m.
Cupples II, L015

(No RSVP required)

Robert Kass
Carnegie Mellon University

Data Analytic Identification of Interacting Neural Populations: Ideas and Issues

December 11, 11 a.m.
Hillman Hall, Room 60

(No RSVP required)

Stay up to date on Statistics and Data Sciences events by visiting sds.wustl.edu.

Improving Data Techniques with Dr. Emanuel Ben-David of the U.S. Census Bureau
Presented by: Improving Data Integration Techniques, a programmatic grant of the Incubator for Transdisciplinary Futures

November 14
Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Virtual

In this talk, Dr. Emanuel Ben-David describes a methodology designed to adjust modern predictive modeling techniques for the presence of mismatch errors in linked data sets. Based on mixture modeling, the proposed approach is general enough to accommodate various predictive modeling techniques in a unified fashion. 

Workshop: Writing about AI for general audiences
Presented by: Program in Public Scholarship

November 16
9 – 11 a.m.
Eads 217

This workshop will be run by Ian Bogost, co-director of the Program in Public Scholarship and a contributing writer at The Atlantic, who frequently writes about technology and AI. Participants will be guided through the process of writing short pieces on how AI is transforming their field of study and the industries or practices they touch, with an eye toward submitting this work to public-facing outlets. 

Global Flourishing Conference
Presented by: Templeton World Charity Foundation

November 29-30
Virtual

The symposium will focus on work in progress and project outcomes in the areas of environmental research, social innovation, global health challenges, and digital transformation.

Digital Transformation Symposium
Presented by: Arts & Sciences Dean's Office

December 8
Umrath Lounge

The symposium will feature more than one dozen Washington University faculty sharing compelling stories from their recent research across a variety of disciplines. These narratives provide a glimpse into the sheer breadth of digital transformation efforts happening across the WashU ecosystem.

National Science Foundation Grants Conference
Presented by: Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy

February 23, 2024
8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Charles F. Knight Executive Education & Conference Center

The Weidenbaum Center is excited to host a full-day grants conference featuring National Science Foundation (NSF) Program Officers from the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) and the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (SBE/BCS).

University Advancement’s Foundation Relations office has created a searchable database of grants and fellowship opportunities, curated for Danforth Campus and accessible with a WUSTL key, that includes arts and design, community partnerships, data sciences, humanities and literary arts, sustainability and environment, global studies, social sciences, and more.

If you are interested in any of the grant opportunities below, please reach out to Dr. Bhavna Hirani, Senior Research Development Associate, for assistance.

Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education
LOI Due Date: November 14, 2023

The Center’s Spring 2024 Funding Opportunity supports individuals, institutions, and organizations that intend to engage or are already engaged in research on gun violence prevention. It will also support projects that educate and change narratives regarding gun violence, focused on the public health approach. Funding support will be prioritized for organizations led by or meaningfully serving communities disproportionately impacted by gun violence.

Energy and Environment program at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
LOI deadline: December 18, 2023

The program is soliciting Letters of Inquiry for interdisciplinary, collaborative, social and natural science research projects led by early- and mid-career scholars to examine under-explored questions related to critical minerals and metals for the low-carbon energy transition in the United States. The goal of this call is to be broadly relevant to a wide range of social science scholars, disciplines, and approaches, particularly those projects that involve researchers from engineering and natural science disciplines, as well as those that draw on a variety of conceptual frameworks and methodologies, ensuring that novel research is generated, students are trained, networks are strengthened, and information is disseminated to inform decision-making.

Data Fluencies Dissertation Grants
Proposal deadline: January 24, 2024

A dissertation research grant supporting PhD candidates working on projects that mobilize new knowledge and aim to foster more just and equitable futures in the realm of data. With generous support from the Mellon Foundation and in partnership with Simon Fraser University’s Digital Democracies Institute, the Data Fluencies Project works to counter the impacts of discriminatory technology and online mis- and disinformation and foster more just and equitable futures. Five dissertation grants of up to $15,000 each will be awarded.

NSF:  Ethical and Responsible Research (ER2)
Proposal target date: January 25, 2024

The program aims to support fundamental research about what constitutes or promotes responsible and ethical conduct of research. Research questions could address ethical issues involving diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, bias, culture, transparency and mentoring or other interpersonal behaviors in research environments. 

Just Tech Fellowship 
Application deadline: January 31, 2024

A two-year, full-time, remote fellowship supporting a diverse community of researchers and practitioners investigating the intersection of technology and social justice. Fellows have committed to identifying and challenging injustices emerging from new technologies and pursuing solutions that advance social, political, and economic rights. Fellows receive $100,000 per year, plus supplementary funding packages.

NEH: Humanities Research Centers on Artificial Intelligence
Proposal deadline: February 14, 2024

The program aims to support a more holistic understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) in the modern world through the creation of new humanities research centers on artificial intelligence. Centers must focus their scholarly activities on exploring the ethical, legal, or societal implications of AI. Centers must be led by scholars in the humanities or humanistic social sciences, but should include scholars from multiple disciplines.

Do you have feedback or want to submit an item for a future newsletter? Let us know at triads@wustl.edu.