Columbia University's Data Science Institute

DSI Scholar Spotlight ⭐ Dorothy Janick, Columbia Climate School graduate student

🌎 Global population data is essential for researchers across a range of disciplines, from climate science to urban planning to public health. During her spring 2026 term as a DSI Scholar, Dorothy used her data science skills to support the Center for Integrated Earth System Information (CIESIN)'s fifth version of the Gridded Population of the World data product (GPWv5), which integrates 2020 census data from countries worldwide into crucial resource for public health, emergency response and other projects.

Using fuzzy matching and other tools, Janick also developed a new software tool to streamline the reconciliation of census data features with boundary shapefile information, which has historically been one of the most labor-intensive steps in updating the GPWv5. By supporting faster, more accurate integration of new data into the GPWv5 framework, Janick's innovations are helping ensure that on-the-ground organizations are getting the vital, up-to-date information they need.

Support for Janick's work on this project, which was carried out under the supervision of faculty mentors Greg Yetman and Linda Pistolesi, was provided by the DSI Scholars Program.

Learn more about the program: https://datascience.columbia.edu/research/programs/dsi-scholars/

Meet Columbia University's Data Science Institute Student Council! 🙌

The Student Council is a student-led community focused on improving the DSI student experience at Columbia University. They serve as representatives of DSI students, organize social mixers and technical events, provide resources to support the technical advancement of students, and build a stronger and better connected alumni network.

Learn more about the DSI Student Council: https://datascience.columbia.edu/education/dsi-student-council/

The 2026 council is looking forward to an exciting fall semester:
Vishal Menon (President)
Haasita Pinnepu (Vice President)
Riya Mhatre (Communications Committee Chairperson)
Khushi Advani (Social Committee Chairperson)
Suvethika Mohana (Professional Resources Committee Chairperson)
Ankita Janakiraman
Aditya Pendyala
Athena Rapinan
Diya Bedi
David Sun
Ishmeen Garewal
Ji Won Bae
Rishika Mamidibathula
Raghav Sampath
Vara Tummala
Yegan Dhaivakumar
Radhya Aggarwal
Ritika Chatterjee

DSI Core Member Chris Wiggins has been named Adviser to the Dean for AI Strategy, Columbia College.

His role will support the College in taking an informed approach to AI that speaks to the concerns of instructors, current and future students, staff and alumni.

Wiggins is associate professor of applied mathematics and systems biology at Columbia Engineering and an affiliated faculty member of the statistics department in Arts & Sciences.

Read more: https://www.college.columbia.edu/news/2026-06-02/chris-wiggins-cc93-lends-his-expertise-ai-adviser

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Chris Wiggins CC’93 Lends His Expertise as AI Adviser The new role will support the College in taking an informed approach to the evolving technology.

We always love welcoming back our Data Science Institute alums 🤖 💙

DSI alumni from the Classes of 2017-2026 joined us last week for our annual DSI Alumni Night. They are now working in a variety of industries - tech, finance, healthcare, startups, public service, and more - but have a shared sense of community, curiosity, and using data for good.

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Congratulations to DSI member, Dr. Elham Azizi, for being selected as a recipient of the 40 Under 40 in Cancer Award. This recognizes her as one of the nation's most promising young leaders in oncology and cancer research who is making significant contributions to improving the lives of people affected by cancer.

Dr. Azizi and her lab group develop machine learning, AI, and statistical frameworks to uncover how tumors evolve, resist therapies, and evade the immune system. She is the Herbert and Florence Irving Associate Professor of Cancer Data Research (IICD, HICCC) and Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University.

Read more from the Herbert and Florence Institute for Cancer Dynamics: https://cancerdynamics.columbia.edu/news/elham-azizi-receives-40-under-40-cancer-award

Graduate spotlight 🎓 Arvind Nagabhirava graduated with a Master of Science in Data Science! He reflects on his experience at DSI:

🎓 Favorite DSI memory:
"My most memorable moment—or rather, collection of moments—is definitely the time I spent with Dr. Galen McKinley's lab as part of the DSI Scholars program. With the MSDS being a course-based master's degree, I didn't expect to have the chance to do research during my time at Columbia University, but I'm so glad I did. The project I worked on aims to attribute value to different observations used to train a model predicting CO2 levels in the ocean. I had a wonderful time collaborating with the team across the year.

Spending spring break with Columbia's Ultimate Frisbee teams comes in a close second for my most memorable time at Columbia, though!"

🎓 Favorite class:
"Causal Inference, taught by Professor Adam Kelleher. He does a wonderful job breaking down the course content into manageable pieces. I especially appreciated the many code snippets he included with the lecture notes to help deepen our understanding of various causal inference techniques."

🎓 What's next?
"I'm currently working full-time at Barclays as a Portfolio Insights Analyst after interning with them last year through their partnership with Columbia Engineering."

🎓How has DSI prepared you for your future career?
"In addition to my coursework spanning stochastic models, causal inference, forecasting, and more, my time at has given me countless opportunities to do things I didn't expect would be part of my master's degree. I've learned so much from doing research, investigating the "knowledge of crowds" through my capstone project with the Zuckerman Institute, having the opportunity to design and lead a recitation as a Course Assistant for the Algorithms course, and all the events I've been able to be a part of through the DSI Student Council.

More than anything, DSI opened doors for me to test-run all the skills I've developed across my two degrees in Data Science."

Congratulations to this year's DSI Commencement Student Awards recipients. Their dedication, leadership, and impact have helped to shape the MSDS program at Columbia University in meaningful ways:

🏆 Arvind Nagabhirava won the DSI Community Catalyst Award for exceptional leadership and lasting impact on the MSDS community and contributions as the Course Assistant Award for Algorithms for Data Science

🏆 Andrea Gomez Lloret won the Course Assistant Award for Data Science Applications in Insurance and Banking

🏆 Max Sebrechts (not pictured) won the Patricia J. Culligan Award for Academic Achievement for exceptional academic excellence, the highest academic distinction within the program

DSI Avanessians Director Garud Iyengar and MSDS Program Director Nakul Verma presented the awards during our graduate reception on Sunday.

Graduate spotlight 🎓 Naman Bareja graduated with a Master of Science in Data Science! He reflects on his experience at DSI, including his tenure as President of the Columbia Data Science Institute Student Council.

🎓 Favorite DSI memory:
"I have had two moments in the program that I think snowballed into making it very enjoyable and a highly rewarding experience for me. First was when I became the President of the Data Science Institute Student Council. That position helped me make many more friends, get different perspectives on things and sometimes served as a very welcome distraction from the program. Planning events for everybody with other members of the DSISC and the Student Affairs team was always very enjoyable.

The second moment was the first week of the last semester when I had the realization that I had made some truly lifelong bonds here that I will always carry with me. I have met and bonded with amazing peers, the forever helpful and lovely staff and the entire DSI community."

🎓 Favorite class:
"My favorite class was Machine Learning for Functional Genomics. It is an elective course that has merged two worlds that I have been passionate about - Data Science and Biology."

🎓 What's next?
"I am now working as a Data Research Aide at the Cheng Lab at Columbia Stem Cell Initiative where I am involved in studying stem cells during the development of the gut. This opportunity has been giving me exposure to both, the wet lab world and the data it produces for the dry lab work that ultimately gets translated into groundbreaking research."

🎓How has DSI prepared you for your future career?
"DSI has been monumental in helping me gain confidence to dive into academia and research. In terms of technical expertise, exposure to the field and opportunities, DSI has shaped me every step of the way. DSI has made me technically sound and prepared me for the scientific environment."

Columbia University

Graduate spotlight 🎓 Neha Arun Angadi graduated this week with a Master of Science in Data Science!

🎓 Favorite DSI memory:
"It wasn’t just one specific moment for me, but rather the entire journey of my master’s program and the sense of community that came with it. Beyond classes and academics, I really valued the friendships, conversations, and events that brought people together from so many different backgrounds and interests. Since I was both a student and later worked as an Events Assistant with DSI, I got to experience the community from two perspectives, which made my journey even more meaningful. Some of my favorite memories are honestly the small moments in between events, classes, and late evenings on campus with friends that made Columbia feel like home."

🎓 Favourite class:
"Two of my favorite classes at DSI were Applied Machine Learning and Statistical Inference and Modeling.

Applied Machine Learning sparked my interest in how machine learning concepts can be applied to real-world problems. I enjoyed how hands-on and practical the course felt while still pushing us to think critically about model design and performance.

Statistical Inference and Modeling was probably one of the most challenging courses I took, but it was also one of the most rewarding. It pushed me to think beyond simply applying algorithms and really understand the reasoning, assumptions, and decision-making process behind data science. It changed the way I approached problems and helped me better understand how a data scientist thinks. Looking back, the difficulty of the course is exactly what made it such a valuable learning experience for me."

🎓 What's next?
"I will be joining McKinsey & Company in June as a Data Scientist. I’m looking forward to continuing to grow as a data scientist, work on impactful projects, and learn from the people around me."

🎓 How has DSI prepared you for your future career?
"DSI helped me grow not only technically, but also personally and professionally. It gave me opportunities to collaborate with people from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, communicate ideas more effectively, and approach problems from different perspectives. My experience at DSI also strengthened my confidence in working on complex, real-world challenges and reinforced the importance of continuous learning."

Columbia University

Congratulations to this year's Columbia Data Science Institute graduates! 🎓 We can’t wait to see all that you'll accomplish in your future careers 👏

"As data scientists, you have a responsibility not just to innovate, but to ensure that the systems you build and deploy serve society in meaningful ways," DSI Avanessians Director Garud Iyengar told our graduates during DSI's celebratory reception. "Wherever your careers take you, I am confident that you will be thoughtful, collaborative, and principled in your work—and that you will help address some of the most important challenges we face."

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Pictured here: some of the December '25 and May '26 graduates during Columbia Engineering Class Day!