The BD Hubs foster regional networks of stakeholders and cooperate nationally on US priorities of importance to a region and to the nation. The activities of the BD Hubs contribute to a vibrant national data innovation ecosystem. The South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub nucleates community across organizations. It does this through stimulating new activities and provides continuity and a neutral place for activities to advance. It works in the context of regional and national data science priorities. The South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub will serve the critical national need to educate new, and retrain current, work-force in data science, and increase data literacy. It will achieve this by tapping into the collective expertise of its member universities, create a clearinghouse for resources, materials, and collaborations, engage with industry for training and placement of individuals, assist non-research intensive universities and community colleges develop data science curriculum, and promote collaborative team science approaches to research and project execution.
The initial priority areas of the South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub are in data science cyberinfrastructure; health analytics for mitigating health disparities that largely impact the South; geospatial mapping for assessment of environmental hazards such as flooding along the Gulf coasts; data science for advanced materials and manufacturing to integrate and enhance the materials-manufacturing value chain; digital modeling as well as data-driven policies for smart cities; and education and workforce training in data science.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
