Associate Prof. Sameer Patil from the Kahlert School of Computing has been selected as a faculty co-director of the Data Science & Ethics of Technology (DATASET) Initiative at the University of Utah to serve alongside co-director Prof. Manish Parashar. Prof. Patil replaces past co-director Prof. Olivia Sheng who is leaving the University of Utah this summer to join the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
The DATASET Initiative is a part of the One Utah Data Science Hub, a university-wide effort designed to enhance research and infrastructure in data science and data-enabled science. DATASET was launched in the fall of 2022 to engage in foundational questions about the role of data in science and society. The initiative aims to bring together research and expertise in the theoretical, technical, ethical, historical, and policy/legal dimensions of data across the University of Utah. The goals of the DATASET initiative are well-aligned with Prof. Patil’s courses on Ethics in Data Science and Human Aspects of Security and Privacy. “I am honored to have been selected for the role of co-director and excited to leverage the position for promoting data sharing and open science to facilitate transparency, verifiability, and replication of data-driven research results,” Patil said.
In his role as co-director, Prof. Patil will help develop the vision and specific activities of the DATASET initiative and engage with the DATASET Advisory Board. Associate Director of the One Utah Data Science Hub Penny Atkins said, “We were impressed by Prof. Patil’s experiences, perspectives, and goals related to DATASET and believe that he will be an asset to our initiative going forward.”