ENVIRONMENT and SOCIETY: DATA SCIENCES for the 21st CENTURY (DS421)

A new NSF Research Traineeship program at University of California, Berkeley

“Environment and Society: Data Science for the 21st Century (DS421)” is a new National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) interdisciplinary graduate training program at UC Berkeley at the interface of data, social and natural sciences. Environmental change is accelerating, driven by growth in population and consumption, and the inexorable impact of CO2 emissions on global climate. At the same time, advances in technology are generating an explosive flood of data, fueling the emerging field of data science and the need for all researchers and educators to become fluent with new concepts and tools that are driving discovery. The DS421 program will train a new generation of scientists to tackle grand challenges at the intersection of natural, social and data sciences, translating data into evidence-based analysis of impacts and solutions in the face of rapid environmental change. More information at ds421.berkeley.edu.

The DS421 program was designed by a core group of nine faculty representing nine departments and five colleges and schools at Berkeley:

• David Ackerly (PI and Director), Integrative Biology (L&S) [web site]
• Max Auffhammer (Co-PI), Agricultural and Resource Economics (CNR) [web site]
• Maggi Kelly (Co-PI), Environmental Science, Policy and Management (CNR) [web site]
• Philip Stark (Co-PI), Statistics (L&S) [web site]
• David Culler, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (CE) [web site]
• Kristina Hill, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (CED) [web site]
• Solomon Hsiang, Goldman School of Public Policy [web site]
• Laurel Larsen, Geography (L&S) [web site]
• Charles Marshall, Integrative Biology and Earth and Planetary Science (L&S) [web site]