James McCune Smith was the first professionally trained Black physician to practice in the United States. Smith’s work pioneered the use of statistical evidence to evaluate the efficacy of medical treatments and dismantle racist claims of Black biological inferiority.
Special Features
Brittney Bailey
Brittney Bailey pursued graduate study at The Ohio State University, ultimately transitioning to a PhD program in biostatistics. Today, at Amherst College, Bailey advances research in mental health and aging.
Charles Bernard Bell Jr.
Charles Bernard Bell Jr. was a pioneering statistician elected as an ASA Fellow and an Institute of Mathematical Statistics Honored Fellow. Bell earned his doctorate in mathematical statistics from the University of Notre Dame in 1953.
William Edward Burghardt (W. E. B.) Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard and one of the founders of the NAACP. He pioneered the development of sociology as a scientific discipline, using sophisticated statistical methods and infographics.
Shared Goals and Contrasting Objectives: Understanding DataFest Through Dual Perspectives
An NSF-funded research project allowed the authors to examine six DataFest sites over two years, surveying and interviewing both organizers and participants to understand their motivations, goals, and challenges.
Who Is DataFest For?
Surveys and interviews at six DataFest sites revealed what drives students to participate in the event–it was whether the students felt the event was “for me.”
Spending the Weekend with Data: The Appeal of DataFest for Students
What draws students to DataFest, where they tackle messy, real-world data sets during an intense, collaborative weekend?
DATA: The Engine That Drives DataFest
Rob Gould and Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel share their decade-plus journey of sourcing, cleaning, and crafting the real-world data challenges that make DataFest such a unique experience.
Mutual Benefits of Data Sharing: Insights from CourseKata and Savills
Who provides the data that fuels student projects—and what do they gain in return? Here, representatives from CourseKata and Savills Workplace Studio share why they chose to donate their data and how the experience shaped both their work and their perspective.
DataFest for Two-Year Colleges
In 2022, Rebecca Wong and Rachel Saidi created a virtual DataFest exclusively for two-year colleges so students from across the country can participate in a collaborative, weekend-long data challenge.