Bloustein School faculty member Piyushimita (Vonu) Thakuriah has been appointed to the National Academy of Sciences’ Standing Committee on data science, the Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is an honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to “the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare.”
CATS works closely with the NAS Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics (BMSA) and leading federal and industry/nonprofit stakeholders to identify and respond to emerging challenges and opportunities of national and global importance. The committee connects the frontiers of data science research, education and practice to such issues. In addition to exercising leadership within the data science and applications communities, the committee’s work provides actionable advice to policy makers and increases public awareness of the expanding role of data science through workshops, consensus studies, studies requested by federal agencies, and other activities.
Thakuriah was appointed for her recognized international leadership in the areas of data science for urban planning, transportation analytics, smart cities, policy informatics, and data and technology justice, and will bring her interdisciplinary expertise in those areas to her role in the committee.