MSU’s data science student-researchers tackle national, global issues

Contact: Mary Pollitz

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Though the program is just under two years old, Mississippi State’s data science students are already making national and global impacts with high-tech research.

The data science department looks at these students, not as student workers, but as researchers using data, science, analytics and more to solve real-life problems, said Mimmo Parisi, executive director of the Data Science Academic Institute at MSU.

"These students embody our commitment to fulfilling the expectations of a new model for higher education," he said. "We aim to prepare our students to  be relevant to the needs of the growing digital economy and to ensure they are workforce-ready from day one upon graduating from our university."

Several MSU data science majors are working as undergraduate researchers and finding ways artificial intelligence can play a beneficial role in today’s society. The research projects span from using public data to measure financial effects on athletic performance and detecting deep-fake audio clips to streamlining reporting for the Mississippi Supreme Court, using weather data to predict viability of corn crops against mycotoxins, and increasing the accuracy of demography for federal and state funding.

Samata Luintel, a data science sophomore, enrolled with the university specifically for this program, its staff and undergraduate research program.   

“The data science faculty here have a lot to offer with practical labs where you can apply what you learn and a lot of research opportunities,” she said. “It’s what brought me here all the way from Nepal.”

Luintel researches deep-fake audio generations and is working to decipher reality from computer generated audio used to spread misinformation.

“This research matters because right now we don’t have any specific technologies we can go to and know whether something is authentic or not,” she said.

Levi Stevens, a freshman from Columbus, had an early interest in AI and data science. When applying to schools, he quickly learned MSU prioritized investing in this new wave of technology.

“Data science is what made me want to come to State. The major of data science is up and coming. It’s very common in jobs but colleges aren’t offering it very often,” he said. “Seeing this at MSU really drove me here and I was excited about the opportunity.”

When MSU’s program was launched in 2022 it became one of only two in the Southeastern Conference and among less than 75 nationwide offering students a rare pathway to the growing field.

“Mississippi State seems to be increasing its involvement in AI and data science,” senior data science researcher Joshua King of Atlanta, Georgia, said. “The program is growing in a very rapid pace. That’s why I love it here.”

More information on the Bachelor of Science in Data Science and its concentrations is available at https://dsci.msstate.edu/.

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.