Session 2

Data Science

Into the World of Data

Data is everywhere in the modern world—almost as ubiquitous as air. It is generated in almost everything we do and we use it to make better decisions, to have deeper insight and to uncover patterns about our behavior and the world around us. Because of this vast amount of data, we are now able to build computer systems that can do things we once thought only humans could do, like recognize friends in pictures, drive our cars and speak to us in our natural spoken languages.

Curriculum

This program will explore the artificial intelligence revolution and teach students the basics of this incredible technology. Students will learn basic programming skills in Python and learn how to read, process and transform data. They will then build systems to find patterns in different types of data and make predictions based on these patterns. Finally they will learn to tell the stories they find by creating insightful data visualizations.

    robotic hand reaching for human hand, parody of famous painting
    Planned Topics

    Students will be able to:

    • Learn basic programming methods in Python
    • Write programs to read data in different formats
    • Understand basics of machine learning and predictive models
    • Create insightful data visualizations

    Planned topics include:

    • Python
    • Machine learning
    • Predictive modeling
    • Data visualization
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    James "Jim" Hetrick
    Faculty Lead
    James Hetrick

    Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of Data Science

    PhD in Theoretical Particle Physics, 1990, University of Minnesota

    After finishing his bachelor’s degree in Physics from Case Western Reserve University, Prof. Hetrick spent 13 months at the South Pole Station in Antarctica studying cosmic rays, solar wind, auroras and the earth’s magnetosphere. He received his PhD from the University of Minnesota in theoretical particle physics and went on to hold postdoctoral research positions at ETH in Zürich, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Arizona and Washington University in St. Louis, before coming to the University of the Pacific. 

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