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Ashtekar Frontiers of Science 2023

Exploring Open Science
and Big Data

This year’s lecture series will focus on how researchers are using and sharing “big data” to address longstanding scientific questions and make important societal contributions.

Each of the 2023 lectures showcased a different aspect of the topic. The lecture series was held in 100 Thomas Building, Penn State University Park, and live on a Zoom Video Webinar, on five consecutive Saturday mornings, January 21 through February 18, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Using AI in Mobile Phone Applications to Identify Plant Disease, Track Insect Infestations, and Improve Food Security

January 21, 2023

Presented by Nicole Lazar
Professor of Statistics, Penn State

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Nicole Lazar for the 2023 Frontiers of Science.

In the past 30 years, functional neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have revolutionized the study of the human brain. At the same time, problems with reproducibility and replicability have plagued the field, owing in part to historically small sample sizes, a plethora of choices at the data preprocessing and analysis stages, and a lack of transparency in reporting. In this talk, Lazar will give a general introduction to fMRI, its strengths, and its weaknesses. She will then survey some of the issues surrounding reproducibility and replicability of neuroimaging studies. Some remedy may come in the form of open science practices, which she will also discuss.

Learn more about Nicole Lazar's lecture

Watch a video of Nicole Lazar's lecture

 

"Scientific Discovery and Education with the Legacy Survey of Space and Time: Professional and Citizen Science Opportunities"

January 28, 2023

Presented by Niel Brandt
Verne M. Willaman Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Professor of Physics, Penn State

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Niel Brandt for the 2023 Frontiers of Science.

The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), to be conducted by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory starting in late 2024, will be a 10-year color movie of about half the sky to high sensitivity in the optical and near-infrared wavelengths. Its data will have enormous scientific scope, allowing breakthrough studies of the nature of dark matter and dark energy, cosmic explosions and other transient events, supermassive black holes, the structure of our galaxy, and the contents of our solar system. In this talk, Brandt will describe the scientific potential of the LSST as well as its opportunities for citizen science and education.

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"Combining Satellite Imagery with Machine Learning to Address Global Challenges"

February 4, 2023

Presented by Tamma Carleton
Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara

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Tamma Carleton for the 2023 Ashtekar Frontiers of Science.

The combination of satellite imagery and machine learning has begun to transform our ability to map, monitor, and influence many global challenges, ranging from deforestation to poverty eradication to illicit activity. However, this emerging research area is data intensive and computationally demanding, making participation impossible for many researchers, governments, and nongovernmental organizations. In this talk, Carleton will describe how satellite imagery and machine learning are being used to fill traditional data gaps. She will then focus on new algorithmic innovations that make this field more accessible to a wider array of users, highlighting specific use cases and publicly available tools that aim to democratize access to a powerful new source of global information.

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"Big Data Analytics in Tourism and National Park Research"

February 11, 2023

Presented by Bing Pan
Professor of Commercial Recreation and Tourism, Penn State

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Bing Pan photo for the 2023 Frontiers of Science.

Visitors to a destination or a national park interact with information technologies throughout their journeys and leave various online digital traces. Researchers can tap into these traces for forecasting and monitoring visitors in tourism and national park settings. Search engine queries, website logs, mobile phone data, reservation data, social media, GPS traces, and simulations can help us monitor, predict, and manage visitors to a place or a national park, understand their demographics and visitation experience, or find the best evaluation strategy in a national park in an emergency scenario.

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"The Role of Statistical Data Privacy in Support of Open Science and Public Policy"

February 18, 2023

Presented by Aleksandra “Seša” Slavkovic
Professor of Statistics and Public Health Sciences, Penn State; Associate Dean for Graduate Education, Penn State Eberly College of Science

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Aleksandra Slavkovic

A vast amount of sensitive data (e.g., health, financial, genomic, survey data) is collected and archived by corporations, government agencies, health networks, and social networking websites. The social benefits of analyzing these data are significant and include support for open data access and reproducibility. However, the release of these data and/or analyses can be devastating to the privacy of individuals and organizations. In this talk, Slavkovic will give an overview of challenges associated with protecting confidential data. She will also discuss how integrating tools from statistics and computer science can provide formal privacy protection and thus address some of these challenges.

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