NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins joined Phil Bourne, director of UVA’s Data Science Institute and professor of biomedical engineering, in a wide-ranging discussion of data science and life science before an audience that filled most of the Old Cabell Hall Auditorium.

After the violent rallies in Charlottesville, Phil Bourne learned during a meeting that fellow University of Virginia officials had shared feelings of regret, dissatisfaction and frustration about the disturbing turn of events. “We started to wonder if there were ways to use social media and big data to handle these things in the future.”

For Philip Bourne, a leading data science researcher and the new director of the University of Virginia’s Data Science Institute, mining today’s massive data sets for truth and wisdom – and then sharing that insight with others – is an abiding passion.

“Data science is touching everything we do,” said Philip E. Bourne, director of the Data Science Institute and Stephenson Chair of Data Science. “The projects we support have the potential to impact people’s lives in real and precise ways.”

As Big Data plays a growing role in business decisions around the world, graduates who combine solid business strategy with an in-depth knowledge of computer science, statistics and analytics will be uniquely positioned to make an impact.