Major Faculty Research Areas

6 Major focus Areas

The “Major Faculty Research Areas” page of UNC Charlotte’s School of Data Science highlights six key research domains: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Nanoscale Science and Materials, Online Misinformation Detection, Smart and Sustainable Cities, Leadership, and Urban Health. These areas reflect the diverse research efforts of faculty members aimed at addressing pressing global challenges through data-driven approaches.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING

Research interests: capitalize on our prior successes and invigorate collective efforts under the broad umbrella of Artificial Intelligence.

Some SDS faculty who work in this area: Minwoo Lee, Liyue Fan, Siddharth Krishnan, Xi Niu, Hamed Tabkhi, Benjamin Radford, Albert Park, Jason Windett, Wlodek Zadrozny, etc.

LEADERSHIP REIMAGINED: SCIENCE-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR INCLUSIVE ORGANIZATIONS

Research interests: capitalize on our prior successes and invigorate collective efforts under the broad umbrella of Artificial Intelligence.

Some SDS faculty who work in this area: Minwoo Lee, Liyue Fan, Siddharth Krishnan, Xi Niu, Hamed Tabkhi, Benjamin Radford, Albert Park, Jason Windett, Wlodek Zadrozny, etc.

NANOSCALE SCIENCE AND MATERIALS

Research interests:

  1. Developing mathematical models for the anomalous protein diffusion near folding/unfolding transition, and mathematical models for protein aggregation.
  2. Developing empirical models that fit calorimetry data, and quantify stability/flexibility relationships to inform protein design, and elucidate protein evolution.
  3. Applying molecular dynamics simulation and employ machine learning to glean mechanistic insights
  4. Developing new therapeutics based on manipulating protein-protein interactions

SDS faculty whose research is in this area: Donald Jacob, Harish Cherukuri, Shan Yan, etc.

ONLINE MISINFORMATION BEHAVIOR, IMPACT, DETECTION, AND MITIGATION

Research Interests:

  1. Understanding online misinformation strategies and misinformation dissemination or sharing behavior (e.g., through social network analysis, visualization, graph analysis)
  2. Building machine learning models for automated online misinformation detection (e.g., fake news detection, fake online consumer product review detection; phishing detection; online fraud detection)
  3. Developing effective methods for misinformation intervention
  4. Focusing on misinformation in a variety of application domains, including, but not limited to, business, healthcare, politics, and entertainment.

Some SDS faculty who work in this area: Dongsong Zhang , Frederico Batista Pereira, Lina Zhou, Shi Chen, Wenwen Dou, and Siddharth Krishnan, Shannon Reid, etc.

SMART AND SUSTAINABLE CITIES

Research Interests: Mitigate socio-economic gaps, enable upward mobility for underserved communities, and chart a path of sustainable, environmentally friendly growth.

  1. Harnessing the recent technology advances of big data cloud computing, AI, Internet-of-Things (IoT), 5G communication, and low-cost sensors, to allow for fine-grained information processing to enable optimal decision-making across a range of city services.
  2. Developing community-led solutions to meet local needs while addressing privacy and safety concerns of the above-listed technologies.
  3. Public safety, public transit Equity, sustainable energy, accessible health, and resilience of power distribution.
  4. Creating a “Smart City Research Ecosystem” to enable AI for social good.

SDS faculty: Hamed Tabkhivayghan, Shannon Reid

URBAN HEALTH

Research Interests: understanding and addressing the primary underlying causes of health inequities – the social determinants of health

  1. Using action research methods, community-based participatory research, and clinical research methods to improve health outcomes in high-risk clinical populations
  2. Implementing community-based chronic disease prevention and management programs
  3. Advancing health policy reform, and
  4. Promoting racial equity

SDS Faculty: Michael Dulin, Laura Gunn, Shi Chen, Yuqi Guo, Albert Park, Cheryl Brown, Paul Rajib, Monika Sawhney, Jean-Claude Thill, etc.