BOURNE: A school of data science at U.Va. — the right place at the right time
As Clive Humby once said, “Data is the new oil. It’s valuable, but if unrefined it cannot really be used.” It is a well worn, but meaningful phrase. Data, when analyzed appropriately, may change the world as much as oil has done in ways both positive — the ability to travel, see and understand our world — and negative — global warming. To push the metaphor to its limits, the proposed School of Data Science at the University is a green refinery for the digital age, responsibly harnessing the power of data to make a positive difference in the world. The University’s Data Science Institute , now in its sixth year, has as its mantra data science for the public good. We are educating students to be leaders in this new economy, training them to be vigilant about how data can be misused and teaching them to ask questions about how to use it responsibly. This is a great start, but a new school puts it all on steroids. The School provides the necessary infrastructure for a large scale effort and expresses the importance that the University places on this emerging field and from which students will graduate to be leaders in the new economy.