UD Professor Kyle Davis has studied crops, crop rotation and national farming policies as the world struggles to feed its burgeoning population and use resources smartly amid climate change. Photo courtesy of Kyle Davis.

DE DataQuest 2026

DE DataQuest is an annual data analysis competition where multi-discipline undergraduate students work in teams to analyze a large, complex dataset provided by Delaware Data Science Community and hosted by Delaware EPSCoR and The UD Data Science Institute (DSI). The competition challenges participants to extract insights, create compelling narratives, and develop innovative data-driven solutions.

Event Details & Registration

For the Record

DSI Faculty Council member Jennifer Horney, professor and founding chair of the Epidemiology Department in the College of Health Sciences, published an editorial in the American Journal of Public Health, “How Damage to Our Public Health Emergency Preparedness System Impacts Public Health Students”.

For the Record

The latest issue of the Delaware Journal of Public Health, guest edited by UD computer scientists Weisong Shi and DSI Resident Faculty member Yixiang Deng, brings together 16 articles from researchers, clinicians, policymakers and industry leaders examining how artificial intelligence and big data are reshaping health care.

For the Record

DSI Resident Faculty member Sanford Student, assistant professor in CEHD’s School of Education, published “Causal parameter moderation: Applying moderated nonlinear factor analysis to causal inference with latent outcomes” in the Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics.

For the Record

DSI affiliated faculty member Anjana Bhat published “Differences in Executive Functioning Performance and Cortical Activation Between Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth During an fNIRS Flanker Task: A Pilot Study” in Volume 16, Issue 1 of Brain Sciences in December 2025.

Shaping the Future of Responsible AI

DSI Faculty Council member Xiao Fang’s decades-long research helps organizations design transparent, accountable AI systems as new global regulations take shape.

For the Record

DSI Infrastructure Working Group member Annie Johnson, associate University librarian for research, teaching and technology, coauthored the article “Anticipating Tomorrow: How the University of Delaware is Preparing for an AI-Driven World,” in College and Research Libraries News.

Saleem Ali, the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Energy and the Environment at UD and chair of the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences, is the lead author of a new study that suggests the need for an international minerals agreement to ensure countries can produce the green technologies necessary to battle climate change. In this photo, Ali is pictured in the Bayan Obo mining region within the Inner Mongolia region of China in 2017 in front of a massive ore nugget of rare earth minerals which is being celebrated here with the following words: "Welcome to the Rare Earths Community.” Photo courtesy of Saleem Ali

Exposing a Hidden Anchor for HIV Replication

In a major advance, UD professor and DSI Affiliated Faculty member Juan Perilla (right) and doctoral student Juan S. Rey and their collaborators have revealed a known player’s hidden role in helping HIV mature into an infectious force.

For the Record

College of Engineering professor and DSI Faculty Council member Arthi Jayaraman has been named a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a designation that recognizes significant experience, expertise and commitment to promoting the value of chemical science.

Serving as a nucleating effort to catalyze and coordinate data science initiatives at UD

Coalesce researchers around Data Science research themes
Develop competitive Data Science research programs
Support Data Science and Computing Core Facility
Engage students in Data Science research
Collaborate with government and industry partners

Institutional Strengths

As the vast resource of new and diverse datasets are rapidly becoming available in nearly every aspect of life, data science has the potential to advance human understanding in all branches of science and humanities, and, address grand challenges facing society. The Institute plans to combine disparate, dynamic, and distributed datasets and enable everything from predicting the future behavior of complex systems to precise medical treatments, smart energy usage, and focused educational curricula.

Activities

Resources and Funding Support

Seed funding to support team-based research center grants, infrastructure grants and training grants
Support researchers to identify cross-disciplinary collaborators and access to Data Science & Computing Core Facility
Provide an inventory of data resources, computational tools, and data science-related courses/degree programs

Team Building and Networking

Networking Events: Connecting faculty, students, industry
Annual Research Symposium
Seminars / Distinguished Lecture Series
Research Workshops
Short Courses and Training: Collaborating with academic programs
Industry Engagement: Collaborating with OEIP and Horn Program

Our Mission

The Institute aims to accelerate research in data science, serving as a nucleating effort to catalyze interdisciplinary research collaborations across fields impacting our society.

dsi-info@udel.edu

https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/ud-data-science/

Ammon Pinizzotto Biopharmaceutical Innovation Center, Suite 147, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE 19713