Hello Data Enthusiast,
Welcome to the Spring 2026 semester! We hope you’re keeping warm during this cold weather and settling into the new semester. This is a reminder that we’re here to assist you in all your data needs. Explore the many ways we support researchers at NYU by visiting our website.
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J-Term 2026 Flash FORC Recap |
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Image Credit: NYU Libraries and Data Services
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The J-Term 2026 Flash FORC Winter Immersion, held as a one-day research computing program for graduate students at NYU, was a resounding success! The event received 176 registrations, with 78 participants attending and 60 placed on a waitlist across three instructional tracks, indicating demand beyond available capacity.
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The program focused on applied research computing topics, including Python fundamentals, quantitative workflows, Generative AI concepts, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines. Sessions were designed to combine short instructional segments with hands-on exercises. Participant evaluations averaged above 4.0 out of 5 across topic relevance, pacing, session length, instructional clarity, and overall quality.
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“The presentations were self explanatory and very detailed.” - Bhavesh Gupta, Master’s Student in Computer Science, Courant Institute.
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In addition to Flash FORC, the J-Term 2026 FORC Camp included customized training sessions for faculty and postdoctoral researchers. These sessions emphasized practical use of GenAI tools, including LLM-assisted coding, APIs, and workflows in R and Python. Participants reported that the training was useful for supporting current research and teaching needs and expressed interest in additional and more advanced offerings.
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“Great workshop! I am leaving the training with many ideas and inspiration.” - Nataliya Galifianakis, Clinical Professor of Biology & Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies, Arts & Science.
“I found it very helpful to reorient me with the fundamentals.” - Shama Patel, NYU Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow, NYU Stern School of Business.
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Image Credit: NYU Libraries and Data Services
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Love Data Week 2026 at NYU |
Every year, the week around Valentine’s Day is celebrated as the International Love Data Week and is hosted by ICPSR. Organizations involved in the stewardship, use, and reuse of data collectively spotlight the importance of caring for the data used in our research, policy planning, and scholarly pursuit.
The theme this year is “Where’s the data?”
The research data lifecycle starts and ends with this very important question - where's the data? Whether we're looking for proper resources or thinking of a way to preserve and store our data, there's many opportunities to explore this year's Love Data Week theme. Celebrate Love Data Week 2026 (Feb 9–13) with the NYU Division of Libraries, Data Services, and the Bern Dibner Library. This week-long series features kick-off events, hands-on workshops, panels, film screenings, and conversations exploring how data is found, used, governed, and shared across disciplines. Open to all NYU students, faculty, and staff. See the full schedule & registration information here.
Highlights include:
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Kickoff events at Dibner & Bobst (Mon, Feb 9): NYC Open Data, a data scavenger hunt, Python & APIs tutorial (Dibner Library), and the launch of the Urban Data Reuse Competition (Bobst Library).
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AI & data conversations (Tue, Feb 10): AI and qualitative data workshop (Bobst Library), LLM data pizza discussion (Dibner Library), and the “Where’s the Data?” panel (Hybrid)
- Careers & student showcases (Wed, Feb 11): Alumni careers-in-data panel (Bobst Library), and student show & tell on emerging technologies (Dibner Library).
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Hands-on & critical perspectives (Thu, Feb 12): Wikidata & SPARQL workshop (Bobst Library), Indigenous Data Sovereignty film screening (Bobst Library), and an intro to machine learning clinic (Dibner Library).
- Research & data in culture (Fri, Feb 13): Human subjects research with REDCap (Bobst Library), and a Johnny Mnemonic data-on-film screening (Bobst Library).
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Image Credit: NYU Libraries and Data Services
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RE/PRESENTING DATA: Urban Data Visualization Competition |
You’re probably familiar with open data sources like NYC Open Data, Kaggle, and data.gov, but did you know that researchers from all over NYU also create datasets that they make available for fellow scholars and researchers to use?
We’ll be celebrating the work of NYU urban data creators and re-users at a gathering on April 9, including hosting an urban data visualization competition, with prizes up to $500!
The catch? You must reuse an NYU dataset! We’ll announce the slate of datasets and provide an overview, tips, and answer questions at the Love Data Week kickoff event on February 9. In the meantime, check out the competition website for details and stay tuned for details on datasets and submission guidelines.
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CUSP Urban Observatory Expansion Launch |
The CUSP Urban Observatory Expansion Launch will take place on Friday, February 13, from 2:00 - 4:00 PM EST at 370 Jay St, Brooklyn. Hosted by the Center for Urban Science + Progress (CUSP) at NYU Tandon, the event marks the expansion of the CUSP Urban Observatory, a platform supporting research on urban infrastructure, environment, and human activity. Talks by Gregory Dobler and Debra Laefer will highlight current and future research applications.
More info and registration: https://luma.com/08tkxk2a
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The return of the spring semester at Data Services is always buzzing with excitement, as our calendar is now populated with workshops and tutorials. Starting on Monday February 2nd, we’ll have instruction available for a variety of topics such as Introduction to Python, Principles of Finding Data, and more. Some new and featured workshops this semester include:
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| Image Credit: NYU Data Services
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If you see a workshop in our list of offerings that you’d like to request for a group or for your class, you can do so by submitting a request via our consultation form. Happy learning!
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Come visit Data Services at Bagels and Bytes resource fair, hosted by STEM Instruction and Engagement Librarian Amanda He at Dibner to enjoy bagels and other assorted refreshments as you learn more about various research support at NYU, such as:
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Image Credit: NYU Libraries
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Research consultations with a subject specialist from NYU Dibner Library,
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Workshops on research data management and how to use a range quantitative, qualitative, survey, and geographic information systems (GIS) software taught by NYU Data Services,
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Access cutting-edge 3D printing, 3D scanning, and design consultations for your research at LaGuardia Studio,
- Publishing consultations on copyright, open access, and creative scholarship with NYU Open Knowledge,
- Workshops on using Manifold, a platform for creative multimedia and open access scholarly publishing, taught by NYU Manifold,
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Long-term open access preservation of scholarly works from publications to datasets with UltraViolet,
- Instruction design consultations with the SPARK Lab,
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And many more!
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ICPSR Summer Program offers $150,000 in student scholarships |
Since 1963, the ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods has provided rigorous, comprehensible training in statistics, quantitative and qualitative methods, and data analysis. Part of their program is hosted online and a good portion is on-site at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. They offer more than $150,000 in student scholarships every year (many are open to international students). Last summer, NYU researcher, Lucas De Lellis, received an ICPSR Opportunity scholarship:
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"The program offers a wide range of courses in quantitative methods, including Bayesian statistical inference, machine learning, time-series analysis, causal inference, among others. In addition to these three-week courses, students can also take one-week classes in Mathematics, Python, R, and LaTeX. I chose to take a class on quantitative methods for the study of race and ethnicity, which prepared me to conduct intergroup analyses and has become an invaluable tool in my own research. I was able to stay on campus throughout the program, which meant having close access to the university’s facilities and events.
My favorite part of the program, however, was the connections made with other students, faculty, and researchers in my field. I remain in touch with many of the colleagues and mentors I met there, all of whom were incredibly knowledgeable and supportive. Spending the summer in Ann Arbor with people who shared similar academic interests—while enjoying the city’s slower pace of life and beautiful natural surroundings—was an experience I would never pass up.
I highly recommend the program and encourage others to explore the scholarships available. It is an incredible opportunity to connect with brilliant peers and gain invaluable training in quantitative methods."
Lucas De Lellis, Ph.D. Student
Applied Statistics, Social Science, and Humanities, NYU Steinhardt
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Applications for Summer 2026 (including letters of recommendation) are accepted between Monday, January 26, 2026 and 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Sunday, March 1, 2026. See their website for more information.
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Data Services Team Spotlight |
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Q. What's your name, program, and year?
My name is Danning Tian, and I am a second-year PhD student in Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Q. What's your service area at Data Services and how long have you worked here?
I am a Quantitative Specialist, primarily providing support with R, Stata, SPSS, and SAS. I started working at Data Services in May 2025.
Q. What do you like most about working at Data Services?
I really enjoy helping people troubleshoot their data problems—it gives me a strong sense of accomplishment. I also love learning about the wide range of projects patrons are working on; their ideas and research are always exciting to hear about.
Q. Describe your favorite data-related project that you've worked on.
The most interesting project I’m working on uses Fitbit data to analyze people’s light-intensity physical activity. The dataset is quite complex, but it is very rewarding to uncover patterns from such large and messy data.
Q. What's your favorite place to get a meal or a snack near Bobst Library?
I love Spicy Moon! It’s an Asian vegetarian restaurant just a one-minute walk from Bobst. Their Tantan noodles are my all-time favorite. If you like spicy food and want a vegetarian meal that doesn’t feel vegetarian, you have to try it!
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Thanks for reading! We hope to see you soon either on the 5th floor at Bobst or online.
- Your friends at Data Services
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70 Washington Square South, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10012
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