David Uminsky joined the University of Chicago in September 2020 as a senior research associate and Executive Director of Data Science. He was previously an associate professor of Mathematics and Executive Director of the Data Institute at University of San Francisco (USF). His research interests are in machine learning, signal processing, pattern formation, and dynamical systems.  David is an associate editor of the Harvard Data Science Review.  He was selected in 2015 by the National Academy of Sciences as a Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow. He is also the founding Director of the BS in Data Science at USF and served as Director of the MS in Data Science program from 2014-2019. During the summer of 2018, David served as the Director of Research for the Mathematical Science Research Institute Undergrad Program on the topic of Mathematical Data Science.

Before joining USF he was a combined NSF and UC President’s Fellow at UCLA, where he was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for outstanding postdoctoral research. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Boston University and a BS in Mathematics from Harvey Mudd College.

Mindi has experience managing, sourcing and scoping a portfolio of data science experiential learning partnerships across social impact organizations, corporate, civic and government entities. Mindi managed earlier iterations of our work with the 11th Hour Project at the University of San Francisco where she served as the Senior Director of Strategy and Operations of the Data Institute. Mindi is a member (inactive) of the California and Illinois bars and received her JD from University of California College of the Law, San Francisco and her BS, Political Science from Santa Clara University.

Susan Paykin is the Senior Associate Director, Community-Centered Data Science, at the DSI, where she oversees social impact and strategic partnership initiatives across the organization’s research, education, and engagement. She is also the Program Lead of the Open Spatial Lab where she leads geospatial data science projects and partner engagement. Susan was previously the Research Manager at the Center for Spatial Data Science at UChicago and has served in leadership roles for environmental and social impact organizations. She holds a Master in Public Policy (M.P.P) from the Harris School of Public Policy at University of Chicago and a B.A. from Brandeis University.

David Jacobson is the Data & Engineering Manager for the Data Science Institute Core Facility team. David specializes in leading machine learning and data science teams to develop practical solutions to complex real-world problems. His work is focused on data science projects for social good, especially related to climate, agriculture, human rights, and global health.

Prior to joining DSI, David has led data science teams in biotech, academia, and software technology, most recently at Meliora Therapeutics, an AI startup for small-molecule cancer drug development, and for the Colorado School of Public Health COVID-19 Modeling Group, where his team developed novel approaches to modeling the spread of COVID-19 and the impact of government policy. He holds a BA in Mathematics from Amherst College.

Launa is a software engineer II responsible for executing Data Clinic projects with student teams in conjunction with the 11th Hour Project, as well as internal projects for the DSI. She received her bachelor’s degree in the humanities at Princeton University and her master’s degree in Computational Analysis and Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Prior to joining the University, she worked as an adult education instructor and then as a software consultant at a Microsoft partner company.

Trevor is a Software Engineer II at the DSI. He helps social impact organizations to enhance their operations, research, and communication by utilizing software engineering and data science tools. His work focuses on agriculture, human rights, energy, and marine technology. Trevor also mentors student teams in the Data Science Clinic. Before DSI, Trevor worked as a research assistant at Argonne National Laboratory. Trevor has a BS in Computer Science from MIT.

Jim Pivarski is a data scientist/engineer who has worked in and out of academia. He was trained as a particle physicist with a Ph.D. from Cornell and helped to commission and analyze first data from the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva. He then worked as a data science consultant at Open Data Group, analyzing data from commercial clients, and then at Princeton, developing analysis software for physicists and promoting better integration with the world beyond academia. Jim is the original author of Awkward Array, a NumFOCUS affiliated project with thousands of users. Now he is analyzing data at U. Chicago’s Data Science Institute for the 11th Hour Project and its philanthropic goals.

Alice Duan is a software engineer/data scientist working with grantees of the 11th Hour Project, where she collaborates with community organizations across different sectors to implement projects and build capacity to increase their impact. Before joining the DSI, she worked as a software engineer at the civic tech nonprofit Democracy Works, where her work focused on voter engagement and election administration data. She has a BS in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.