By james art 
The Data Science Conference will be held at the University of Nevada, Reno for the second time to learn about the latest trends around data science and connect leaders such as students and researchers.
“After the incredible success of last year’s conference with over 300 attendees, we’re back,” said Julie Petereit, director of the Nevada Bioinformatics Center. “We hope participants leave inspired, equipped with new knowledge and with expanded professional networks.” It’s a place to share ideas, discuss challenges and discover solutions that drive innovation in data science.”
This year’s conference begins on February 18th in the Joe Crowley Student Union, with sessions and workshops running until February 20th.
Three full days will allow participants to attend panel discussions, workshops, poster sessions, keynote and lightning talks, and network with others.
The conference will feature a variety of interactive sessions, including a crash course in Python, a hands-on workshop on mastering UNIX and command-line skills, and an introduction to version control with GitHub. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet Amazon Web Services, learn how to create automated and reproducible data pipelines with Nextflow, and participate in a panel discussion exploring different career paths in data science.
Reflecting on last year’s conference, Petereit noted, “The interactive sessions, such as hands-on workshops and question-and-answer panels, were the most engaging for participants. The poster sessions sparked meaningful conversations and attendees appreciated the practical takeaways they could take from the workshops.”
In addition to the many sessions, there will also be keynote speakers. On Tuesday, February 18, Martin Krivinski, Research Fellow at the Canadian Michael Smith Center for Genome Sciences, will present: “The data speak for themselves, but what do they say? Creating visual explanations of complex ideas,” in which he will share his expertise in bringing together science and visual art. In addition, he will conduct a seminar “Explain Visually, Explain Well”.
The other keynote speaker is Snehit Prabhu, chief data scientist at the Stanford Cancer Institute. On Wednesday, February 19, he will present “How Data and Artificial Intelligence are Transforming Cancer Detection, Prevention and Treatment,” in which he will discuss the path to cutting-edge cancer treatments and the role that enterprise data ecosystems play in helping progress.
Additionally, Ankita Shukla, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, will be the plenary speaker during Wednesday’s conference, focusing on AI for science and social good, specifically looking at human health and wildlife conservation nature.
All events are free to attend and are supported by the Data Science Initiative, supported by a Nevada INBRE Supplemental Data Science Capacity Building Award (GM103440), and the Department of Research and Innovation.
If you are interested in attending, the deadline to register is Monday, February 10, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.
If you would like to help with the University’s Data Science Initiative, conducting this climate survey helps assess the current understanding of data science at the institution to improve future data science developments.
Please email [email protected] with any questions.