Student researchers from the University of North Florida (UNF) and other Florida universities have applied data science to address complex social challenges in Northeast Florida. These efforts were highlighted at the annual “Big Reveal” event organized by UNF’s Florida Data Science for Social Good (FL-DSSG) program, now in its eighth year.
The FL-DSSG initiative, led by Dr. Dan Richard, professor of psychology, and Dr. Karthikeyan Umapathy, professor of information systems, focuses on tackling “wicked problems,” which are social issues without clear solutions. According to Richard, the program is the third longest running DSSG initiative worldwide.
Dr. Umapathy emphasized the unique learning opportunities provided by FL-DSSG internships: “By participating in FL-DSSG projects, students learn the intricacies of handling sensitive data, the value of community partnerships and how to find actionable insights that lead to meaningful community impacts,” he said.
This year’s event took place at WJCT Studios in Downtown Jacksonville and featured presentations from three teams made up of eight graduate students—five from UNF—who spent 11 weeks working with local nonprofit organizations. Their research addressed:
– Generational wealth transfer issues among women homeowners for LISC Jacksonville.
– The impact of arts education programs in K-12 schools for The Cathedral Arts Project.
– Indicators of thriving and at-risk nonprofit organizations for the Nonprofit Center for Northeast Florida.
Asrafi Yesmin, a UNF graduate student majoring in mathematical sciences and team lead for the LISC Jacksonville project, described her experience: “In my role, I worked with census data to identify the demographic data of properties and property owners,” she said. “The data shows many women inherit homes, and their names are not on the property deed, so they are unable to legally transfer ownership to the next generation. Our research assists LISC Jacksonville in their efforts to help families protect generational wealth and secure homeownership.”
Yesmin also noted that her internship helped inspire her thesis on how changes in building materials could affect local temperatures in Jacksonville.
Bryce Bentley, another graduate student specializing in psychological and brain sciences who interned with The Cathedral Arts Project, reflected on his development during the program: “I learned a lot of great skills and one of them was collaboration,” he said. “Coming into the internship, I had a lot of assumptions and I was wrong many times. Becoming okay with being wrong and going back to the drawing board was something I found beneficial.” He added that it was rewarding to contribute research showing positive effects of art education on school success.
The event included remarks from UNF President Dr. Moez Limayem as well as Dr. Parvez Ahmed, chief of analytics in the Office of Mayor Donna Deegan.
FL-DSSG also organizes an annual AI for Good Hackathon each fall where students use data science and AI technologies for social benefit.
More information about FL-DSSG can be found on its website.
