A University-Wide Initiative
NYU emphasizes data science across schools and research centers. What's this about?

Center for Data Science
A new research center dedicated to advancing the field of data science. Learn More

Statistics and the Humanities
Center for the Promotion of Research Involving Innovative Statistical Methodology (PRIISM) Learn More

Big Data. Big Cities.
Center for Urban Science and Progess Learn More

What is data science Turning data into insight.
Applications From healthcare to business to government.
Process Exploring the data journey.
The Future Where will the data revolution take us?

  • Turning data into insight.

    Our networked world is generating a deluge of data that no human, or group of humans, can process fast enough. This data deluge has the potential to transform the way business, government, science and healthcare are carried out. The emerging discipline of data science holds the key to unlocking that potential. It uses automated methods to analyze massive amounts of data and extract knowledge from them. Data science combines aspects of computer science, applied mathematics and statistics.


    What-is-Data-Science

    Big data monitors 12 terabytes of tweets each day to improve product sentiment analysis.

    “Data science will also revolutionize medicine, education, and other areas that are slated to become ‘evidence-based.’” —NYU’s Data Science and Statistics Working Group

  • From healthcare to business to government.

    Data science is already being put to use in nearly every sphere of modern life. The transportation industry is using it to better predict flight arrival times. Online retailers are using it to better understand consumer habits. Managers are using it to make decisions based on facts rather than instincts. But data science is in its infancy. As it matures, data science holds the promise of creating drugs customized for individual patients, making government run more efficiently and helping our cities be healthier places to live.

    Applications

    By 2010, 28% of the digital universe required some level of data network security.

    “Robust, unbiased data are the first step toward addressing our long-term economic needs and key policy priorities.”—Peter Orszag, Former Director, White House Office of Management and Budget


  • Process_AcquireParse_Color

    Acquire & Parse

    Sensors, medical devices, the Web and smartphones — to name just a few sources — capture structured and unstructured data in massive amounts in real-time, all the time.


    Process_FilterMine_Color

    Filter & Mine

    Data scientists use mathematics, statistics, data mining and other automated methods to “clean” data. They also advance the field by developing new automated tools and methodologies.


    Process_AnalyzeRefine_Color

    Analyze & Refine

    With an explorer’s desire to uncover what others might not see, data scientists analyze data. Their insights are used in sectors ranging from biology to finance to government.


    Process_Interaction_Color

    Interaction

    Data scientists excel in presenting complicated findings for experts and non-experts alike. Information visualization, graphic design and human computer interaction all come into play.

  • Where will the data revolution take us?

    Data science has already started to revolutionize most areas of intellectual endeavor found at NYU and in the world. We believe this revolution is just beginning. Data science can help us answer not only the great questions and challenges of our time, but also centuries-old questions. Through data science we may improve our understanding of how the brain works, for example. With that understanding we can build intelligent machines capable of advancing life-saving medical research. Data science can help us realize the promises of the digital age.


    The-Future

    33% of all data will be stored, or will have passed through the cloud by 2015.

    “…Now we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the complimentary scarce factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it.” —Hal Varian, Chief Economist for Google

Unlocking Big Data’s Potential

From government, social networks and ecommerce sites to sensors, smart meters and mobile networks, data is being collected at an unprecedented speed and scale. Data science can put big data to use.

Factoid_Likes

Average number of “likes” and “comments” posted on facebook daily.

Factoid_Percent

Percentage of the world’s data that has been produced in the last two years.

Factoid_eComm

Projected volume of
e-commerce transactions in 2016.

 

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