Marquette University welcomed a new cohort of faculty members this summer whose research and teaching will strengthen the university’s expertise in applied data science and artificial intelligence. Supported by the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute’s (NMDSI) Horizon Awards, these faculty bring fresh perspectives and cutting-edge scholarship to departments across the university.
This year’s Horizon Award recipients include:
- Dr. Langqing Du, Dr. Mengyun Zhang, and Dr. Yasamin Hadavi, Department of Management in the College of Business Administration, whose work spans productivity modeling, AI for supply chain sustainability, and emancipatory information systems for social inclusion.
- Dr. Daniel Cirkovic, Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, who focuses on advanced modeling and statistical methods.
- Dr. Matthew Mieczko, Department of Political Science, specializing in quantitative approaches to public policy.
- Dr. Kanchan Chowdhury, Department of Computer Science, with expertise in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
- Dr. Ted Lentz, Department of Criminology and Law Studies, researching justice systems and data-driven approaches to public safety.
“These outstanding faculty demonstrate the breadth of ways data science is transforming disciplines across campus,” said Andrew DeGuire, Keyes Dean of the College of Business Administration. “From business to political science to criminology, our students will benefit from learning cutting-edge, ethical applications of artificial intelligence and data analytics. We are grateful to the NMDSI for helping Marquette expand its leadership in this important area.”
Faculty supported by this year’s Horizon Awards are conducting research under review at top scholarly journals, including those on the prestigious Financial Times Top 50 list. Their work contributes to NMDSI’s mission of preparing the next generation of ethical data science leaders while also fueling applied, interdisciplinary research.
Since its inception, the Horizon Award program has funded nine Marquette faculty across multiple colleges, providing more than $220,000 in support for new hires and emerging research in data science and AI.
About NMDSI
The Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute (NMDSI), a partnership between Northwestern Mutual, Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is creating a technology ecosystem and advancing southeastern Wisconsin as a national center for technology, research, business and talent development. Since its inception in 2018, the NMDSI has championed academic data science and technology learning while propelling innovation in key areas. NMDSI-affiliated research projects use data science to address challenging societal issues that have a local and national impact.
