Women in Data Science Blacksburg conference to inspire, support education

The annual Women in Data Science Blacksburg event will take place on April 20-21 at the New Classroom Building at Virginia Tech, as well as virtually via Zoom.

The free event is designed to encourage and support women pursuing education and careers in data science – and is open to all.

The event is organized as part of the annual WiDS Worldwide conference.

The event will feature outstanding women doing outstanding work.

“With this event, we want to show women that they can build successful careers in data science,” said Angie Patterson, a WiDS ambassador and professor of practice in the Department of Statistics. “By highlighting the amazing work that is being done by women here at Virginia Tech and beyond, hopefully we can build a community of data scientists – of all genders – that understand how data science can be used to tackle the world’s problems across all domains.”

This year’s two-day event will kick off with a pair of tutorial options on Thursday evening. The main event of WiDS Blacksburg 2023 is a half-day conference on Friday.

Headlining this year’s conference is current American Statistical Association President Dionne Price, who works for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the deputy director of the Office of Biostatistics, Office of Translational Sciences at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

The first African American to serve as American Statistical Association president, Price will present the opening keynote address titled “Our Impact in the Evolving Data Landscape.” Her talk will explore not only challenges and opportunities for data scientists and statisticians as the data landscape continues to grow and change but their contributions and impact as well.

Providing the closing keynote address is Ruoxi Jia, an assistant professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Jia, who was recently honored with a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award, will focus her discussion on trustworthy machine learning.

There will also be a panel discussion focusing on the varied careers available in the realm of data science. Titled “Data Science is a Multidisciplinary Sport,” the discussion will feature a slate of women who have forged successful careers in data science across a variety of domains.

Other activities on Friday include a session for student poster presentations, as well as roundtable discussions over dinner.

“The beauty of this event is the chance it gives to students to meet and interact with women who have careers to which they aspire,” said Monica Ahrens, a research scientist at the Center for Biostatistics and Health Data Science and co-chair of WiDS Blacksburg 2023. “I’m looking forward to two nights of networking, learning about the vast work done by women in data science, and having some fun along the way.”

For more details on WiDS Blacksburg, visit the event website.