Apply Now for the Data+ Summer Research Program

December 18, 2017

Data+

Student applications are now open for this summer’s Data+ research program, which runs from May 29 through August 3.

Undergraduates and master’s students interested in exploring new data-driven approaches to interdisciplinary challenges can apply to join small teams and learn how to marshal, analyze and visualize data, while gaining broad exposure to the field of data science.

Data+ is offered through the Information Initiative at Duke and is part of the Bass Connections Information, Society & Culture theme.

How It Works

Each student receives a $5,000 stipend for this full-time research experience. Participants are not allowed to enroll in classes or accept employment during Data+. The program is open to students at all levels and from all majors.

Each team has two to three undergraduates (and occasionally one master’s student) and one to two doctoral student mentors, in addition to a client or sponsor. Teams work alongside each other in a communal environment, learning from each other.

As an example, a past Data+ team investigated how the downtown revitalization is affecting residents. Anna Vivian, an undergraduate majoring in Physics and Art History, worked with Vinai Oddiraju, a Statistical Science major, and their mentor Olga Kozlova, a doctoral student in Economics. Together they spent ten weeks collaborating with the director of the Durham Neighborhood Compass, which is a city-sponsored tool for sharing public data on economic, demographic and quality-of-life factors. The team analyzed numerous sources of data, developed new metrics for ambient stress and neighborhood change and created visualizations of these metrics. They presented their findings in community meetings and to Durham officials, and developed an app incorporating their metrics into the Neighborhood Compass user interface.

Explore the 2018 Data+ Projects

Duke Wireless Data

Data-driven Improvement of Datacenter Performance

Smartphones and the Sixth Vital Sign

Data and Technology for Fact-checking

Gerrymandering and the Extent of Democracy in America

Energy Infrastructure Map of the World

Social Determinants of Health

Vaccine Hesitancy and Uptake

Improving the Machine Learning Pipeline at Duke

Rare Metabolic Diseases

Complex Decisions, Real Numbers: Medical Decision-making

Women’s Spaces

Visualizing the Lives of Orphaned and Separated Children

How Do We Build and Grow a PTA?

Pirating Texts

Big Data for Reproductive Health

Deep Learning for Single Cell Analysis

Poverty in Writing and Images

Analytical Exploration for Duke Development

Mental Health Interventions by the Durham Police

Get Answers to Your Questions at the Data+ Project Fair

Mark your calendar for the Data+ Project Fair on Tuesday, January 16, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., in the Ahmadieh Atrium on the third floor of Gross Hall.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis through February 24.

Learn More