Finding Trends and Modern Solutions to Break Barriers in Previously Siloed Research Areas

Informatics applications have long been a part of the Bloustein School’s major areas of study—transportation, environmental management, urban design, mobility, social policy, public management and operations, public health, health administration, and community engagement and empowerment.

“The school’s curriculum has always required intensive study of data analysis and multivariate methods,” said Clinton Andrews, Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Associate Dean for Research. “As students mastered these skills, they began requesting more challenging data applications. About 10 years ago, we developed a concentration in public informatics in the urban planning and public policy programs, which was well received.”

The school went on to launch the Master of Public Informatics (MPI) in 2019 to provide a vehicle for students seeking higher-level competencies in the field of big data.

At that time, then-dean Piyushimita (Vonu) Thakuriah noted that, “Adding urban and public informatics to our portfolio of degree programs will help our students break the existing barriers between traditionally siloed research areas by using big data to understand complex urban and social policy issues in new ways.”

“There is so much going on with AI and data—from data science methods for problem solving to dealing with the advanced methods of using data for critical decision making to using AI for public good,” said Jim Samuel, a data science and artificial intelligence (AI) expert who joined the Bloustein School in 2021 as executive director of the MPI program.

“Public informatics takes artificial intelligence and the statistical methods of data science, and synthesizes it with domain expertise, such as healthcare, GIS, or public policy. It then transforms the data into insights and applies AI to develop modern solutions to existing civic challenges.”

He went on to say that the goal of the MPI is to create a multidisciplinary, interactive experience for students. “The program is more than just taking classes. We developed a series of workshops, projects and activities to provide MPI students with a rich learning experience. Our ‘Intelligent Informatics at Bloustein’ workshops bring in domain experts and industry professionals to demonstrate, in real-time, the concepts of AI and data sciences,” he said. external guests attended the all-day event at the Douglass Student Center.

“Students are not just watching but participating in hands-on workflows and visualizations using live data.” Innovative courses such as the informatics studios provide students with AI and natural language processing projects and client engagement experience.

Bloustein’s informatics program has seen continuous, steady growth over the last five years. From graduating the first five students from the program in 2021 to partnering with the New Jersey Big Data Alliance (NJBDA) in hosting their 2024 symposium, “Artificial Intelligence Impacts on Society & Higher Education,” the school has definitively put its mark on the informatics arena.

The well-attended symposium was a forum for the exchange of ideas on the impacts of AI and the latest trends. NJBDA president Matt Hale initiated the proceedings while Bloustein Dean Stuart Shapiro noted that regardless of the application of AI, “the decisions we make in the near future will have implications for a generation.”

The MPI program and its faculty and students are engaged in state-of-the-art research in AI and data science. In addition to the NJBDA, they are actively partnering with external agencies such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), Data Science International, and others. MPI students have published numerous papers under faculty guidance in the Journal of Big Data and Information Analytics and others. More recently, students presented research and were awarded honors at conferences such as the International Conference on Information and Communications Technology for Intelligent Systems (ICTIS), the Northeast Decision Sciences Institute (NEDSI), and the National Business Education Association AI Symposium.

Creating New Opportunities

Part of growing a program is creating opportunities for students. Alumni Jim (MCRP ‘75) and Nike (BA ’75, MCRP ’81) Bach know that one of the most important aspects of urban planning and public informatics is the ability to look toward the future, to not be caught off guard, and to incorporate varied perspectives and different needs into a logical strategy.

They established the Nike and Jim Bach Endowed Fellowship in Urban Planning and Public Informatics to help students in the graduate planning program bring context and perspective to the fast-growing informatics field so that decisions and plans can continue to be made in the public interest.

“Data-based decision-making is at the heart of good planning. And good data helps plans to be fair, thorough, and comprehensive. On the brink of an AI + big data revolution, the public informatics program will empower professionals with a deeper understanding of advanced data science and artificial intelligence methods,” said Nike, who is also chair of the Bloustein School Advisory Board.

In 2024, the program put another stamp on the higher education informatics realm by hosting a nationwide data science competition, with the Rethinking AI for Shared Empowerment (RAISE) initiative. It aimed to test skills in data analysis, AI, and problem-solving while highlighting the importance of data analysis in enabling improvements to decision-making, public policy, and social empowerment. Both undergraduate and graduate cohorts from across the U.S. participated in two separate competition tracks.

“RAISE-24 was a resounding success,” said Professor Samuel. “The timeliness of the theme and the uniqueness of the text data challenge, among other factors, played an important role in attracting teams.”

“For the first round of competition, we had over 100 teams from as far away as Washington and California register and submit their initial analyses. We worked with a judging panel comprised of faculty, data scientists, and data officers from governmental, non-profit, and for-profit agencies.”

“It was tough for the judges, as all the RAISE-24 finalists performed extremely well with their analyses, and they also did an excellent job with their final presentations,” said Poonam Soans, CPM, Chief Data Officer & Director of Application Development for the New Jersey Office of Information Technology. “Each submission was evaluated based on overall excellence, creativity, breadth of analysis, accuracy of models, clarity, ethical considerations, and recommendations.”

Based on the success of the 2024 competition, a second competition was held in 2025.

“The level of participation in both RAISE-24 and RAISE-25 was unprecedented. Encouragement from Bloustein School leadership and support from a dedicated cohort of Rutgers students were crucial to its success,” said Professor Samuel. “I believe RAISE has become one of the strongest AI-NLP-Informatics competitions for students.”

“The RAISE initiative definitely helps place the Rutgers MPI program at the forefront of using advanced data science and AI for addressing societal challenges, and I am especially encouraged by the excitement it has generated in the informatics realm.”

To make a gift to support student scholarships and opportunities in the Master of Public Informatics program, visit go.rutgers.edu/EJBexcellence.