MDS22 Will Showcase the Latest Advances in the Mathematics of Data Science in San Diego (and Online)

The 2022 SIAM Conference on Mathematics of Data Science (MDS22) will take place in a hybrid format and welcome a diverse set of attendees—representing SIAM’s breadth of leaders in industrial and applied mathematics—to San Diego, Calif., from September 26-30. Since MDS20 (the conference’s first iteration) was completely virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this second installment will be the first MDS meeting where attendees can gather in person, though the option to participate virtually still exists. Conference themes range from the mathematical foundations of data science to statistical inference, machine learning (ML), applied probability, scalable algorithms, and applications of data science across science, engineering, technology, and society. MDS22 provides a unique opportunity for individuals to aggregate data science advances, exchange ideas, and set the agenda for the new SIAM Activity Group on Data Science (SIAG/DATA) — while also recognizing that many other SIAGs share important overlaps with the broad field of data science. As co-chairs of the MDS22 Organizing Committee, we are particularly excited to see just how many SIAGs are reflected in the conference themes.

Organized by a diverse global committee of thought leaders from academia, national laboratories, and industry, the meeting will be packed with cutting-edge research. Academicians and practitioners alike will find many opportunities to learn new skills, network with friends and colleagues, and embark on novel research challenges. In addition to nine invited plenary talks and a SIAG/DATA Early Career Prize lecture by Weijie Su (University of Pennsylvania), the conference will include eight minitutorials that offer entry points into the mathematics of data science. MDS22 is also set to feature more than 100 posters, over 160 minisymposia sessions, and 20 contributed presentation sessions. We hope that early-career researchers will find the industry and funding panels, networking events, and co-located SIAM Career Fair—the latter of which will take place entirely on site—particularly valuable.

Central components of nearly any data science task are optimization, linear algebra, and inverse problems — all of which have a rich history within the SIAM community. These topics will thus be central to many minisymposia presentations, contributed posters, and invited talks. Plenary speaker Wotao Yin (Alibaba Group) and minitutorial speaker Stephen Wright (University of Wisconsin–Madison) will both address the role of optimization methods in data science. Numerical linear algebra, its use in network science, and multilinear extensions for the analysis and processing of tensors will be the focus of David Gleich’s (Purdue University) invited talk and a minitutorial on tensor decompositions by Tamara Kolda (MathSci.ai), Grey Ballard (Wake Forest University), and Daniel Dunlavy (Sandia National Laboratories). Another traditional SIAM area with strong ties to data science is inverse problems and data assimilation, which will feature in the presentations of plenary speaker Andrew Stuart (California Institute of Technology) and minitutorial speakers Noemi Petra and Tucker Hartland (both of the University of California, Merced).

MDS22 will also provide new links to several aspects of cutting-edge ML research. The invited talk by Joan Bruna (New York University) and minitutorial by Michael Bronstein (University of Oxford), Petar Veličković (DeepMind Technologies), and Francesco Di Giovanni (Twitter) will cover the emerging area of geometric deep learning. Caroline Uhler’s (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) plenary talk will underscore the important role of statistics and causal modeling, while Marco Cuturi’s (Google) minitutorial will introduce computational optimal transport. In a two-part minitutorial, Johannes Blaschke (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) will introduce attendees to the Julia programming language and its use in data science applications.

Additionally, MDS22 intends to expose challenges and advances in the ethics and fairness of data science. Invited speaker Talitha Washington (Clark Atlanta University) will deliver a mathematical perspective on how to address bias and ethics in data science; John Kleinberg’s (Cornell University) plenary talk will expand upon this important topic. The rising frontiers of MDS in complex societal and industrial applications will be evident in Dawn Woodard (LinkedIn) and Lester Mackey’s (Microsoft Research) invited plenary talks.

The Organizing Committee’s efforts to maximize the diversity of speakers and perspectives at MDS22 will be complemented by the Sustainable Horizons Institute’s Broader Engagement (BE) program. The BE track promotes inclusion within the MDS community through interdisciplinary technical sessions, dedicated minitutorials, and discussions that help advance knowledge and skillsets. The program also includes a comprehensive networking and mentoring component that seeks to foster a sense of belonging among all participants.

Beyond the many opportunities for technical growth at MDS22, students will find numerous occasions to extend their networks and develop their careers. For instance, a student career panel will offer attendees a chance to hear panelists’ perspectives in a question-and-answer-style discussion on topics such as career paths, work environments, success measures, value alignment, and work-life balance. In addition, we encourage students to participate in the in-person SIAM Career Fair, explore future job prospects, and interact with mentors from the BE program to evaluate their career goals.

MDS22 will be a fantastic setting for companies and organizations to meet and recruit top talent. For example, several talks will showcase mathematics applications in real-world data science situations. Companies can also engage with attendees via the Career Fair and several conference sponsorship opportunities. The industry panel will facilitate open conversation about the interplay between industry and academia as it relates to MDS.

There are many reasons to be excited about a trip to San Diego this fall, though participants can enjoy MDS22 remotely if they prefer. Early registration opens in July and will be available until September 1, after which standard registration rates apply. SIAM is also proud to continue its collaboration with the Gesellschaft für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik (GAMM) in Germany and provide reduced registration for GAMM members. We’re looking forward to seeing you online or in San Diego!