This project establishes the Illinois Institute for Data Science and Dynamical Systems (iDS2) at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) that combines research in data science with dynamical systems. iDS2 is composed of researchers in electrical engineering, computer science, statistics and mathematics. Data science already exerts considerable influence over daily life. As the age of autonomous vehicles, smart cities, personalized medicine, and artificial intelligence continues to emerge, both data-driven algorithms and dynamical feedback loops will permeate every aspect of human existence. It is becoming increasingly clear that the study of dynamical systems is at the heart of fundamental challenges arising in data science. Indeed, system dynamics occur in every facet of data science, from data generation, modeling, and inference, all the way to learning and automation. Since the study of dynamical systems cuts across the disciplines of engineering, mathematics, statistics, and computer science, a synthesis of data science and dynamical systems will be a powerful catalyst for further advances in all of these fields.
The aim of this project is to initiate this synthesis through iDS2, which will leverage the multidisciplinary expertise and strengths at UIUC in these two fields. The overall vision of iDS2 is to create and foster a transdisciplinary program that breaks the boundaries between the fields of data science and dynamical systems by developing new foundational principles for both fields and by broadening their applicability. The Phase I activities of the institute will focus on four interrelated research themes: (1) data modeling and dynamical systems; (2) sampling, inference, and dynamical systems; (3) algorithm design and dynamical systems; (4) decision-making and dynamical systems. The institute will foster synergies with existing research and education entities at UIUC in order to catalyze and scale up interactions between the TRIPODS communities of electrical engineering, mathematics, statistics, and theoretical computer science, both at UIUC and in the Midwest.
This project is part of the National Science Foundation's Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR) Big Idea activity.
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.
