“Welcome to a new semester at NC State! We love the energy on campus that comes with the start of the academic year. This fall, we’re excited to continue expanding DSA programs and events, supporting interdisciplinary data science and AI research, and creating opportunities that engage our community in effective and responsible use of data science and AI. “
Four years after its founding, the Data Science and AI Academy has received its first legacy endowment: a $100,000 planned gift from alumna and lecturer Barb Prillaman ’86. An active leader in the College of Sciences and a core member of the DSA instructor community, Prillaman developed and teaches a data communication course that reflects her student-centered, community-minded approach. Executive Director Rachel Levy called the gift “an honor and delight” from such an integral member of the DSA team.
“This gift will help us build a strong community of educators who feel prepared and supported to bring data science and modeling into their classrooms.”
The National Institutes of Health, through NC State’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, has awarded a $3.2 million grant to launch the Consortium for Longitudinal Behavioral and Social Science Data Integration and Coordination (CLASSIC). The project will create OpenDRaWeR, a publicly available meta-data catalog that connects aging studies across institutions, lowers barriers to data sharing, and enables rigorous cross-study analysis.
The team is led by Dr. Shevaun D. Neupert (NC State) and Dr. Stacey B. Scott (Stony Brook University), with collaborators from Northwestern University, UNC–Chapel Hill, Sage Bionetworks, and the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences. Dr. Emily Griffith, Professor of the Practice in Statistics and Director of Consulting at the Data Science and AI Academy, serves as co-investigator, contributing expertise in coordinated data analysis and data science consulting. By building shared infrastructure and training in advanced analytic methods, CLASSIC will strengthen research on aging, health, and disparities across time and populations.
DSA’s Taryn Shelton Named Co-PI on $1.1M NSF Data Science Corps Grant
DSA K-12 Data Science Coordinator, Taryn Shelton, was awarded an NSF Data Science Corps grant in September! She will serve as a Co-PI in collaboration with researchers from the William & Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation—Gemma Mojica, Kevin Winn, and Emily Thrasher. A key component of this $1,100,000 grant is to develop students’ ability to make data-driven decisions and understand the central role of ethics in making evidence-based decisions with and from data.
How do friendships, collaboration, and other social connections shape student success in data science and AI? Dr. Tom R. Leppard, a DSA postdoctoral researcher, is studying how peer connections and interdisciplinary learning influence confidence, identity and workforce readiness. His research highlights the power of social networks in preparing students for data-driven careers.
DSA Celebrates Innovation Early College High School as a Bronze Level School of Distinction
Innovation Early College High School — a partnership between Pitt County Schools and East Carolina University — has been recognized as a Bronze LevelData Science School of Distinction by NC State’s Data Science and AI Academy.
This statewide program honors K–12 educators and institutions that bring data science and AI into North Carolina classrooms. Bronze Level schools are taking important first steps by engaging in professional development and training in data science and AI instruction.
Led by DSA’s K-12 Programs Coordinator, Taryn Shelton, this initiative helps schools build data literacy and prepare students for a data-driven future.
Explore how North Carolina educators are enriching student learning with data and AI. The Data Stories in the Classroom page highlights lesson plans, activities, and resources submitted by teachers across the state—from analyzing weather patterns to visualizing environmental data. Educators are invited to share their own materials and be featured in this growing collection. Browse teaching resources, submit lessons, or subscribe to the K-12 newsletter to stay connected.
Need data help? The NC State University Libraries, in partnership with the Data Science and AI Academy, offers one-on-one data science consulting to all NC State affiliates at no cost to them. The Data Science Consulting Program supports research and learning across disciplines, including help with coding, data cleaning, statistical analysis, machine learning, visualization, and more. Appointments are available at Hill Library, Hunt Library, or virtually via Zoom.
Keenious is an AI-powered tool that analyzes your writing to recommend related research articles. It helps identify topics, gaps, and keywords, and connects users to literature from our library databases. It doesn’t hallucinate or permanently retain uploaded text for training, like other AI tools. Keenious works best as a supplement—not a replacement—for traditional search tools. A Microsoft Word plugin is available; Google Docs support is coming soon.
NC State’s Department of Chemistry is piloting a generative AI study tool in CH 221: Organic Chemistry. Led by Dr. Ryan Chiechi, Dr. Jeremiah Feducia, and Dr. Naish Lalloo with support from a DELTA Grant, the project integrates course-specific data into large language models (LLMs) to give students a conversational way to study. Early surveys show the tool helps students get timely answers and strengthens AI literacy.
AI in Hiring: Promoting Student Success
The NCSU Foundation is funding a new two-year program, AI in Hiring: Promoting Student Success in the AI Job Market. Led by Steve McDonald and Huiling Ding (DSA Faculty Director) in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, together with Kelly Laraway in the Career Development Center, the initiative will help students understand how AI is used in hiring and build skills to improve career readiness. For more information, contact steve_mcdonald@ncsu.edu.
Events
Explore cross-campus data science and AI events and follow DSA on the University Calendar so you’re always in the loop.
Upcoming DSA Events
AI Hot Topics @ NC State
The AI Hot Topics Series brings together experts and industry leaders monthly to discuss emerging issues, opportunities and challenges in AI.
September 22, 2025 | 8:45-9:45 AM: Ethical and Responsible AI in the Wild
As AI moves into everyday applications, this session will explore how to ensure AI operates transparently, ethically and responsibly. The session will unpack how AI is challenging ethical norms and reshaping social expectations, from algorithms to accountability.
October 21, 2025| 8:45-9:45 AM: Images in Science: A New Scientific Method Initiated by AI
This discussion will cover how new AI technologies are transforming the nature and amount of information that microscopes can produce. It will also explore how the capacity to create, augment, reconstruct and generate microscopy images will impact how scientific investigations are conducted on a technical, philosophical, and ethical level.
November 12, 2025 | 8:45-9:45 AM: AI in Policy and Governance
Many people are unaware of the ways that policy impacts our daily life, through guidelines, regulations and laws. Underneath it all is the rapidly increasing use of AI to make sense of—and, in some cases, make changes to—this complex set of rules. This topic will explore how AI is being used in the science and practice of policy ideation, planning, implementation, evaluation and engagement.
December 3, 2025 | 8:45-9:45 AM: Smart Stats, Fair Play: The Technical Power of Analytics and The Moral Imperative of Fairness
Sports analytics is transforming how we understand games, going far beyond the scoreboard. This session will reveal how a stream of data behind every play uncovers hidden patterns, predicts outcomes and reshapes how athletes train and coaches strategize.
The Data Science and AI Academy (DSA) is thrilled to celebrate Data Science & AI Week, October 6-10, 2025! This is your chance to dive into the exciting world of data science and AI and engage in NC State’s leadership and innovation in these fields.
Share Your Events!
We would like to feature your events as part of our initiative to highlight the exciting data science and AI activities across campus on and around October 6-10, 2025. The easiest way to get your event included and gain wider visibility is to tag it in the University Calendar. This simple step helps us automatically boost your event’s exposure and showcase events happening on campus.
How To Tag Your Event:
It’s easy to ensure your data science and/or AI-related events are included in Data Science and AI Week:
Under Topics, select Artificial Intelligence and/or Data Science.
Add keywords like AI, artificial intelligence or data science in your event description for greater reach.
Data Science and AI Week Speaker Series
This series is hosted by the NC State Data Science and AI Academy as part of Data Science and AI Week. The Series brings leading experts from academia, industry and government to campus for in-depth talks on the latest challenges and innovations in data science and artificial intelligence. Each session highlights real-world applications, research breakthroughs, and professional pathways, giving students, faculty and partners the opportunity to learn directly from distinguished practitioners.
Gemini x NC State: Google Campus Visit
Google’s national campus tour is stopping at NC State for one day only! In collaboration with the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the Data Science and AI Academy (DSA), Google product experts will showcase how Gemini and NotebookLM—already available with your NC State email—can boost creativity, productivity, and teaching.
Event details
Monday, October 6, 2025
Talley Student Union
Faculty Lunch & Learn (Room 4280) Hands-on guidance for teaching with Gemini and NotebookLM, plus discussion of responsible AI use.
Join us Friday, October 24, 2025 (9:00 am–4:00 pm) at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation for the 2025 K-12 Data Science Education Summit — a collaborative gathering focused on classroom practice, teacher support and student opportunity. This year, we’re celebrating the many Faces of Data Science in a School.
2026 Data Science and AI Academy Share Fair: Student Showcase
Mark your calendar for the 2026 Data Science and AI Education Share Fair, a student-centered conference celebrating the All Campus Data Science and AI Teaching and Learning (ADAPT) model through final projects from Data Science and AI Academy courses. Students will present their work in sessions highlighting project-based learning, common learning elements, and workforce preparedness.
Friday, January 30, 2026 | 11:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Teaching and Visualization Lab, Hunt Library
This event is an opportunity to hear directly from students, explore an innovative approach to teaching and learning data science and engage with the ADAPT model in action. Registration details will be shared soon.
Community Events
Campus-Wide Data Science and AI Events
Check out the DSA events page for a full list of data science and AI events happening across NC State’s campus.
SEAN 2025 – Networks that Work: Supporting Resilience through Collaboration and Connection through the Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub
On September 17, join the Societal Experts Action Network’s (SEAN) 2025 Fall Symposium, hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). This event will explore how sustained networks deliver public value and improve resilience, particularly in times of crisis and constrained resources. The symposium will examine how both emerging and long-standing collaborations can advance community leadership, foster cross-sector collaboration, build trust in government, and bridge evidence and policy.
Register for the 2025 International Day of Women in Statistics and Data Science (IDWSDS), a free 24-hour virtual conference on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. Hosted by the Caucus for Women in Statistics and Data Science, this year’s theme is “Thriving in Your Environment.” The event celebrates women’s contributions to statistics and data science, fosters global connections and explores how to create supportive professional communities.
On Friday, October 17, 2025, from 9:30–10:30 a.m. in the Teaching and Visualization Lab at Hunt Library, English teacher and DSA postdoctoral researcher Kelsey Dufresne and AI artist Alin Yalcinkaya will present their course Storytelling with Data and AI and their collaborative memoir project If I Were. Their work highlights how personal data can be used to craft generative AI prompts, exploring both the opportunities and challenges of visual storytelling with AI. Free and open to the public.
Interdisciplinary Events
The Data Science and AI Academy is one of many units within NC State’s Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs (OUIP). Collaboration across disciplines is at the heart of our mission. Explore a wide range of events hosted by OUIP units and discover new ways to get involved.
Data and AI at Work Course: Hands-on Training for AI/LLM Applications in Research
Join us for an intensive, two-day training designed for NC State students, faculty, staff, researchers, data scientists, and developers.
What you’ll gain: Practical, hands-on experience with Large Language Models (LLMs) — from API integration and fine-tuning to building agents and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems. By the end, you’ll be equipped to customize and deploy LLMs for real-world research and applications.
Instructor: Paul Liu, PhD, Professor of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences Dates: Monday–Tuesday, October 13–14, 2025 | 9:00 AM–5:00 PM Location: East Learning Lab A (Room 2112), D.H. Hill Jr. Library Cost: $300 / participant
For bulk registrations or IDT payment, contact Hannah Carpenter at hmcarpen@ncsu.edu.
Help spread the word to colleagues who may benefit!
Data and AI at Work Course: Curriculum Innovation and Strategy through Workforce Analytics
About the Course Led by Dr. Huiling Ding (DSA Faculty Director, Provost Faculty Fellow, and Fellow of Innovation for Business and Higher Education Forum), this applied course equips academic units to use workforce analytics in shaping curriculum and credential strategy.
Analyze in-demand and emerging skills (hot/cold skills, employer needs)
Outcomes Teams will leave with actionable, data-driven insights to inform curriculum design, new courses or credentials, and strategies that prepare students for evolving careers.
Details
Audience: Faculty, staff, administrators, students
Format: Four virtual workshops (2 hours each)
Dates: Oct 3, Nov 7, Jan 9, Feb 27 (2025–26)
Teams: 3–5 teams (2–4 members each)
Registration Deadline: Friday, Sept. 26, 2025
Cost
$750 per team (team provides research analyst)
$1,500 per team (DSA-provided graduate research analyst)
For questions and more information about registration, contact hanaclong@ncsu.edu.
Introduction to Creating Publication-Quality Visualizations
Intro to Creating Publication-Quality Visualizations
September 25, 11am-noon
Discover ways to use essential design elements of color, typography, and annotations to transform your data into clear, compelling, and publication-quality visualizations.
Thriving In Interdisciplinary Teams Workshop Series
Interested in learning how to collaborate more effectively on teams? The Thriving in Interdisciplinary Teams Workshop Series, produced by the Shelton Leadership Center, is accepting applications from undergraduate and graduate students of any field of study. Applications are due Sept. 15, 2025.Learn more about the program and apply.
Student Opportunities
Student Research Opportunity: NSDC Data Science Projects
Looking for real-world data science project experience? Sign up for the newest National Student Data Corps (NSDC) Data Science Project – Developing a Medical Chatbot Using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and Large Language Models (LLMs). This project will guide you in building a medical chatbot step-by-step using a Kaggle dataset of diseases and symptoms. Gain a virtual certificate of completion when you submit!
The Data Science Club offers a jumping-off point for students from any background to learn how to make use of data in their particular fields. Regular meetings will feature domain-focused presentations on relevant data science concepts and skills; other common programming includes outreach events and data science competitions. Students can join as full members or just drop in to relevant activities as they please; any student with an interest in data is encouraged to participate!
For more information, contact Data Science Club President, Kenzo Hubert, at kthubert@ncsu.edu
The Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub (NEBDHub) and National Student Data Corps (NSDC) are excited to invite you to join the newly launched NSDC Quantum Initiative (NSDC – QI)! Quantum computing is reshaping how we solve complex problems, opening new frontiers
in science, industry, and technology. Explore upcoming events, curated resources, and collaboration opportunities for learners, researchers, educators, and professionals who want to dive deeper into the world of quantum science and technology.
Introducing the Trust, Identity, Privacy, Protection, Safety, and Security (TIPPSS) Framework
In September 2024, the new IEEE/UL 2933-2024 standard was published to establish a framework for Clinical Internet of things (CloT) data and device interoperability with TIPPSS, focused on improving trust,
identity, privacy, protection, safety, and security in connected healthcare. Now, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) TIPPSS Roadmap Task Group is developing new standards efforts to bring TIPPSS to other cyberphysical systems including clinical trials, the energy grid and research infrastructure. Visit the TIPPSS webpage to learn more about the standard and to join the IEEE TIPPSS Roadmap Task Group.
On September 19th, the PNB Group will host a Professional Communications Session for students and early career professionals. Join this free workshop to participate in cover letter reviews, adopt a “growth mindset” about your leadership and communication style, and practice drafting effective communications, including written and oral presentations.
