UC Berkeley School of Information

Congratulations to Ph.D. student Lucy Li who was awarded Best Paper by the American Educational Research Association for the paper: Content Analysis of Textbooks via Natural Language Processing: Findings on Gender, Race and Ethnicity in Texas U.S. History Textbooks The researchers chose Texas as their focus because its data was readily available online, and because the state has the second-largest student population in the U.S, with 5.4 million students enrolled in its pu...blic schools in 2017. Because of Texas’ size and subsequent purchasing power, the state’s content preferences have a significant impact on textbook content across the country. The team’s research sought to use NLP to examine depictions of historically marginalized groups such as women, Black and Latinx people. Read more https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu//pioneering-nlp-research-

The Graduate Diversity Pilot Program established in July 2020 along with other initiatives directed toward combating racism and fostering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) provides funding to improve departmental climates for graduate and undergraduate students, staff, faculty (including lecturers), and postdocs; enhance faculty graduate student mentorship; and advance diversity in graduate outreach and admissions. We are so proud that the I School is amongst the nine... units chosen to receive four-year grants of up to $175,000 for these efforts. We will be using the funds to leverage existing internal DEI efforts and add new ones based on internal climate surveys and audits, best practices from other programs, and recommendations proposed by the Graduate Diversity Task Force. https://bit.ly/3k1w9oR

Meet recent 5th Year MIDS graduate Rudy Venguswamy. "I was a humanities and social sciences person during my time as an undergraduate. All around me, though, I saw the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning. "I couldn't help but feel that I’d be missing out on something that had the potential to shape our world by not being a part of this wave. I chose MIDS because it has the right balance of technical and soft skills. You learn how to do the coding, for sure, ...but more importantly, you get a sense for the boundaries and challenges of data science practically." Rudy currently works as a Data Science Intern at Microsoft. Prior to the I School, Rudy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy from UC Berkeley. https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/a/profiles/rudy-venguswamy

1st year MIMS student Kailin Koch joined us at the Grace Hopper Celebration this year. "I found two sessions at the Grace Hopper Celebration particularly inspiring for where I am now as a MIMS student: 'You Too! Becoming an Influential Female CIO,' a panel that featured three women in lead information roles in various fields, and 'Lessons in Building Responsible ML,' a presentation featuring two Google Product Managers." She shares her takeaways ... #vGHC #TogetherWeBuild https://bit.ly/3jikJMc

Getting to and through a master's or doctoral program is a long road, whether you’re the first in your family to go to college or the thirtieth. But because first-generation students don’t have family who are familiar with ins and outs of academia the application and financial aid process, the norms and procedures this puts many of them at a distinct disadvantage, if only because there’s nobody to tell them how things work. I School professors David Bamman and Michael Ri...vera, both first-generation college students themselves, shared how their experience informs their relationships with I School students and their advice for those who might be trying to go it alone. "Reach out. Build a support system. Trust that you belong, and that others have been where you are." UC Berkeley Graduate Division https://www.ischool.berkeley.edu//they-can-relate-first-ge

Meet Beverlee French (M.L.S. '73), one of many admirable women in the I School community. At the California Digital Library, French utilized emerging technologies that ultimately changed the way digital information was published and accessed. More: https://bit.ly/2zCr8ku #BerkeleyWomen150

Are you or someone you know interested in our 5th Year MIDS degree? 5th Year MIDS is the Master of Information and Data Science program, tailored for newly-minted UC Berkeley grads to complete in one year following graduation. The early application deadline (app fees waived) is right around the corner: Nov 4, 2020. We welcome students from a diverse set of backgrounds; some will be technically educated, some educated in the humanities and social sciences. Our goal each year ...is to bring in a talented class of students with a broad range of academic and professional backgrounds. No GRE required! https://bit.ly/3nrja1F

Tune in next Monday, October 26, 2:00 - 3:00 pm PDT for a special edition of 'Berkeley Conversations: Election Integrity and Security,' featuring I School Dean Jennifer Chayes, and panelists Prof. Steven Weber, Head of School, as well as Henry Brady, Philip Stark, and David Wagner. The integrity and security of the upcoming November 3rd elections are under unprecedented threats for reasons that include the pandemic, the increasing reliance on electronic (software and hardware...) voting equipment, the current Administration’s handling of the contest, and foreign interference. This panel brings together experts on various aspects of election integrity and security to reflect on these challenges and make concrete proposals to address them. https://bit.ly/3jdnKNF

Meet Silvia Miramontes who graduated from the 5th Year Master of Information & Data Science program in 2020! She currently works as a Computer Systems Engineer at Berkeley Lab Computing Sciences. Prior to the I School, Silvia graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Mathematics from UC Berkeley. She is a first-generation college graduate and plans to eventually pursue a doctorate. I’ve come to realize the power we hold as data scientists If we can leverage our technical... preparation to the most pressing issues in society, I believe we have a chance to ethically improve the lives of many individuals. Read more about why Silvia chose 5th Year MIDS, and what she plans to do next. #5thYearMIDS #LatinxHeritageMonth #FirstGen

Love to see how our students are adapting and continuing to learn and create new things!

In an interview with NPR, Prof. Hany Farid explains why there have not been as many deep fake this election season as anticipated. "You can think of the deepfake as the bazooka and the video splicing as a slingshot. And it turns out the slingshot works," said Prof. Hany Farid. In other words, the fact that they are not appearing does not mean "they aren't a threat. It's because simple deceptions like selective editing or outright lies have worked just fine" sources tell NPR.... https://n.pr/33UTHG9 See more

Check out this dashboard, created in part by Anna Jacobson (MIDS '20)