UCI’s 56th annual commencement, though not unique in marking the university’s now second ever virtual ceremony, nevertheless represented something extraordinary. “The class of 2021 will have a unique place in our institutional memory as the most resilient and responsive class we have ever had the privilege of teaching,” said Chancellor Howard Gillman during his opening remarks. “Under the most extraordinary circumstances, you rose to the occasion, supported each other, adapted and persisted.”

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The first incarnation of the capstone course in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) was in 2009, with 19 students from the Department of Informatics working on five project teams. Now, more than a decade later, the Informatics capstone course is offered three times a year, and ICS has added undergraduate capstone courses for its computer science and data science majors. It also offers capstone courses through its Master of Human-Computer Interaction and Design (MHCID), Master of Computer Science (MCS) and Master of Software Engineering (MSWE) professional programs. Even with the global pandemic moving people out of classrooms and offices and into online spaces this past year, more than 130 ICS capstone projects were successfully completed.

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On May 20, 2021, Assistant Professor of Teaching Mine Dogucu was named one of 15 Teach Access Curriculum Development Awardees for 2021-2022. Teach Access is a collaboration among educators, industry leaders, and disability advocacy organizations that aims to support faculty across the country teaching accessible technology design and development to undergraduates. The Curriculum Development Award comes with $5,000 in funding for creating modules, presentations, exercises or curriculum enhancements that introduce the fundamentals of accessible design in classroom-based courses.

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Were you intrigued by the movie “Moneyball,” portraying the Oakland Athletics’ rise to fame in 2002 through the novel use of baseball statistics? Did you question how basketball teams were favored during this year’s March Madness? Have you ever wondered if there’s really a career path in sports related to UCI’s data science major? If so, the webinar series being offered by the Sport Statistics Group @UCI through the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) should be of interest to you. The next webinar, to be held on May 21, 2021, will feature Brendan Kent, a senior business data analyst at DraftKings and creator and host of the Measurables podcast.

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Three students from UCI’s Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) were recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship: Elizabeth Ankrah, Adam Birnbaum and Emani Dotch.

The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in STEM disciplines across the U.S. Recipients receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000, as well as $12,000 paid directly to the university to cover tuition and fees. The GRFP has a history of selecting recipients who go on to achieve high levels of success, and the promising work of these ICS recipients shows great potential in positively impacting society.

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The fields of computer science, informatics and statistics have been influencing healthcare for decades, and 2020 served as an important reminder of the critical role both healthcare and technology play in people’s daily lives. The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on healthcare, while stay-at-home orders significantly boosted technology use in general and telehealth practices in particular. Looking to the new year ahead, how might the connections between technology and health become further entwined, and how will this impact the future of healthcare? Here to address these questions are three professors from the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS):

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If you’re a campus researcher who hasn’t yet taken advantage of UCI’s statistical consulting services, you’re missing out on a valuable resource. UCI’s Center for Statistical Consulting (CSC), which works in collaboration with the more medical- and clinical-focused Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) unit within the Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS), can help address any of your data analysis needs. With services such as grant proposal development, sample size calculation, data interpretation, biostatistical education and research database design, CSC/BERD is your one-stop shop for everything from study design to final presentation.

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A months-long collaboration between the University of California, Irvine, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Orange County Health Care Agency has resulted in a new Orange County COVID-19 website that tracks the spread of the disease and forecasts future trends.

By feeding county data into a coronavirus transmission model, the site estimates “current and future numbers of infectious individuals in Orange County, which is important for understanding risks of getting infected,” said Vladimir Minin, UCI professor of statistics and associate director of the UCI Infectious Disease Science Initiative.

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