FSU’s data science program celebrates successful first year

Florida State University’s Interdisciplinary Data Science Master’s Degree Program, or IDS, combines FSU’s strengths in computational science, computer science, mathematics, and statistics to prepare students for careers in the dynamic field of data science, one of the fastest growing fields in the U.S. Since its launch in Fall 2021, the IDS program has experienced rapid growth, with over 600 students applying for the program for Fall 2022.

Learn more about recent graduates and FSU alumni already working in the data science field in these web features. Visit datascience.fsu.edu for full details, more data science news, and a link to apply.

Veera Ganesh Ponugoti

Ponugoti completed a master’s degree in data science from the Interdisciplinary Data Science Master’s Degree Program, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Impressed by the way data science is evolving in the fields of health care and cyber security, he intends to accept an opportunity that will allow him to implement the skills he developed during the IDS program.

Samuel Mirtil

Mirtil completed a master’s degree in data science with a focus on statistics from the Interdisciplinary Data Science Master’s Degree Program, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Mirtil is interested in utilizing his skills in a variety of positions within the data science world, including software engineer, data analyst, data scientist, statistician and software developer. He is also open to broadening his credentials after graduation by taking additional courses as a non-degree-seeking student.

Oran O’Connor

O’Connor completed a master’s degree in data science with a focus on statistics from the Interdisciplinary Data Science Master’s Degree Program, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Prior to his time at FSU, he earned an undergraduate degree from University College Cork in Cork, Ireland. During his time with IDS, he worked part-time as a data science intern with Fusion Sport, a human performance optimization software company located in Colorado. O’Connor plans to apply the skills he developed during the IDS program to a career in the sports industry as a data scientist.

Luke Van Popering

Van Popering graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Department of Scientific Computing in 2021 and from the Interdisciplinary Data Science Master’s Degree Program in 2022. During his time in the IDS program, he completed an internship at NewSci Labs, a Tallahassee-based artificial intelligence software development company directed by FSU scientific computing alumnus Nathan Crock. After graduation, Van Popering joined the NewSci team full-time as a machine learning engineer.

Chen Mu

Mu graduated in 2019 with a master’s degree in statistical data science from FSU’s Department of Statistics, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, and with a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in 2021. Mu is a data scientist with expertise in machine learning and data mining techniques in the nanomanufacturing field. While earning his doctorate, Mu worked as a data scientist contractor for Bayer, a pharmaceutical and life sciences company. Now, he works full-time as a senior data scientist for international convenience store brand Circle K.

Jessica Hensley

Hensley graduated in 2018 with a master’s degree in statistical data science from the Department of Statistics, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Hensley is now a data analyst for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, where she creates data visualizations for data ranging from finances, strength and conditioning, and audits, as well as statistical models to predict athletes' performance trajectories and medal probabilities for the Olympic Games.

Qiuping Xu

Xu graduated with a master’s and Ph.D. in mathematics from the Department of Mathematics, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Throughout her degree programs, Xu developed technical skills in fields such as spectral geometry and machine learning methods. After graduating in 2015, Xu worked as a data scientist for Intel for two years before accepting a position as a senior applied scientist for global e-commerce giant Amazon.