“How do we give members an opportunity to learn and grow and still get that professional experience they need?” Eshan Velidandla, a sophomore in Information Science + Data Science, asked himself when laying the groundwork for a new data science-focused club. Now president of the Data Science Development Group or DSDG, Velidandla is not only […]
Category: Students
2026 Datathon Winners Predict Call Center Activity Using No AI
Understanding the data completely— a skill becoming more and more important with AI— along with storytelling and simplicity differentiated the winners of this year’s Statistics Datathon. By Michael Sweeney The 10th anniversary of the Illinois Statistics Datathon is in the books. Nearly 600 students across more than 200 teams hailing from the Department of Statistics, the […]
Illini to the Final Four… of Brackets
*UPDATE*: After a crushing Illini loss and the end to the men’s college basketball season UIUC BracketOdds’ top bracket in this set, #15,458,212 outscored all ESPN brackets, correctly predicting 57 of the 63 games and scoring 1,840 points! This year, users submitted a record 26,567,887 men’s basketball brackets on ESPN. While the initially they generated […]
iDSC Data Dive Showcases a Semester of Learning, Professionalism
By Michael Sweeney The Illinois Data Science Club’s Fall 2025 Data Dive competition came to a close on December 7 after a week of preliminary rounds and final presentations in an already busy time of the year. “This is definitely the highest quality set of projects I’ve ever seen,” said Illinois senior and Data Dive […]
Building Community in Data Science: WiDS at Illinois
By Sasha Zvenigorodsky Only in its second year of operations on campus, the Women in Data Science (WiDS) chapter at Illinois is thriving. Founded in spring 2024, the organization has grown quickly into a 200-plus member student organization that is helping students across disciplines build community and confidence in their careers. “We really do welcome […]
When Robots Meet Horseradish: A Ph.D. Student’s Mission Toward Sustainable Solutions for Small-Scale Farming
By Sasha Zvenigorodsky Key Takeaways Illinois may be famous for being the land of Lincoln and home of “Da Bears,” but few are familiar with one of its lesser known claims to fame, which lies underground. The commercial cultivation of horseradish in Southern Illinois took root in the 1850s, when German immigrant farmers discovered that the […]
2025 Ashby Prize in Computational Science Hackathon Winners streamline CRISPR Screening with AI
By Michael Sweeney *Results listed at the bottom CRISPR-Cas systems have revolutionized biology by allowing researchers to investigate how genes function. However, running CRISPR screens can exceed $10,000 per experiment and take months. Following a weekend of intense computation, the winners of this year’s Ashby Prize Hackathon made a step toward a smoother, less expensive […]
Inside the Illinois Data Science Club
By Michael Sweeney We sat down with a first-of-its-kind club at the University of Illinois, the Illinois Data Science Club. The organization tackles the fast-growing field with data competitions and learning experiences for everyone. From 2016 to 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a 27.9% increase in data science-related occupations, and the University […]
Synchrony’s Unique Model at Illinois: Data Science Mentoring and Talent Retention
By Francie Fink Key Takeaways At Synchrony, a leading consumer financial services company, data science involves more than coding, data analysis, and machine learning—it also encompasses mentorship and a long-term commitment to student success. At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Synchrony is not only recruiting talent but also actively cultivating it. Through its unique location […]
Embracing Your Non-Linear Data Science Career Path: A Conversation with Jordari Rene
By Francie Fink I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jordari JD Rene, Assistant Director of Employer Relations and Professional Connections at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. With years of experience working closely with both college students and industry professionals, Jordari is deeply passionate about helping students showcase their talents and connect with meaningful […]
Illinois Students Are Finalists in COVID-19 Student Paper Challenge
Two University of Illinois undergraduate students were finalists in the 2024 COVID Information Commons Student Paper Challenge. Arnav Aggarwal (Statistics & Mathematics) and Sangjun Ko (Statistics) received third place for their project “Identifying and Addressing the Socioeconomic and Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19 in Mexico: A Data-Driven Approach Using ENCOVID-19.” The COVID Information Commons (CIC) is an NSF-funded resource developed […]