NJIT to Establish New Institute for Data Science

July 9, 2019 — Continuing its mission to lead in computing technologies, NJIT announced today that it will establish a new Institute for Data Science, focusing on cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and development in all areas pertinent to digital data. The institute will bring existing research centers in big data, medical informatics and cybersecurity together with new research centers in data analytics and artificial intelligence, cutting across all NJIT colleges and schools, and conduct both basic and applied research.

The Institute for Data Science will be directed by Distinguished Professor David Bader. Bader recently joined NJIT’s Ying Wu College of Computing from Georgia Tech, where he was chair of the School of Computational Science and Engineering within the College of Computing.

Distinguished Professor and Director of the Institute for Data Science David Bader. Image courtesy of New Jersey Institue of Technology.

The institute will bring together scientists, engineers and users to develop data-driven technologies and apply them to solve fundamental and real-world problems. Beyond academic research, the institute will interact closely with the outside world to identify and solve important problems in the modern data-driven economy.

Bader is a leading expert in data science, working at the intersection of high-performance computing and real-world applications, including cybersecurity, massive-scale analytics and computational genomics, and has co-authored over 230 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. Bader is a fellow of the IEEE, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and served on the White House’s National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI) panel. He was the editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, is the current editor-in-chief of ACM Transactions on Parallel Computing and is a National Science Foundation CAREER Award recipient.

Bader has also served as director of the Sony-Toshiba-IBM Center of Competence for the Cell Broadband Engine Processor. He was recognized as a “RockStar” of High Performance Computing by InsideHPC and as one of HPCwire’s People to Watch in 2012 and 2014, respectively. He successfully launched his school’s Strategic Partnership Program at Georgia Tech, whose members include leading technology companies and government national laboratories.

Fadi P. Deek, provost and senior executive vice president of NJIT, said that the new Institute for Data Science represents a strategic move for NJIT. “Complementing our new facility in Jersey City, which will focus on data science training, NJIT is making significant investments in technological R&D to drive the new AI economy. The new institute is a key step in that direction. I cannot think of anyone more qualified than Dr. Bader to lead the new institute and we are fortunate to have him join us.”

Atam P. Dhawan, senior vice provost for research at NJIT, said: “The new institute and its distinguished director will be a giant leap forward for NJIT’s research enterprise. Beyond the increase in basic research that the new institute will generate, we will also collaborate closely in applied research with the thriving tech ecosystem in the greater New York metro area. These companies are hungry for data science expertise and solutions, and we will be in an excellent position to provide them.”

For more information on the new institute, please contact Craig Gotsman, dean of Ying Wu College of Computing, at [email protected].

Source: Brian Malina, New Jersey Institue of Technology