Events
Past Event
Data Science Nights - JANUARY 2022 Meeting (Speaker: Qian Cao, U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
5:15 PM
Details
JANUARY MEETING: Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 5:15pm (US Central) via Zoom.
DATA SCIENCE NIGHTS are monthly talks on data science techniques or applications, organized by Northwestern University graduate students and scholars. Aspiring, beginning, and advanced data scientists are welcome!
AGENDA:
5:15: Data Science Night Meet & Greet on Zoom: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/97300898035
5:30: Presentation by Qian Cao on Zoom
6:00: Post-talk coding on Gather Town
SPEAKER: Qian Cao, Visiting Scientist, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
TITLE: Turning a bone imaging research project into a job at the FDA
ABSTRACT: 1 in 5 American women over age 50 has osteoporosis, which increases the risk of bone fracture and can lead to hospitalizations and premature death in older people. Assessment of bone fragility is a key part of staging and management of osteoporosis. Bone mineral density (BMD) is commonly used for evaluating fracture risk and can be measured by quantitative computed tomography (CT) or dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). However, bone fragility also depends on both mineral distribution and microstructure. Therefore, recent efforts have emphasized characterization of bone microarchitecture (or bone texture) as a basis for more reliable estimates of fragility and disease progression. I will briefly discuss my research in measurement of bone microstructure and development of texture biomarkers in CT. I will also discuss my experience as a research fellow at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
BIO: Qian Cao is a Visiting Scientist at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where he works on projects involving assessment of bone health. He completed his PhD in 2020 in the Dept of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, where he developed new 3D imaging and reconstruction methods to visualize bone at higher resolution, as well as new analysis methods. Following graduation, he worked at the FDA for almost a year as a research fellow on developing texture biomarkers for the assessment of bone health.
For more info: data-science-nights.org
Supporting Groups:
This event is supported by the Northwestern Institute for Complex Systems and the Northwestern Data Science Initiative.
Time
Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 5:15 PM - 7:30 PM
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Steven Franconeri, Northwestern University "Point Taken: A gamified Intervention that Creates Enlightened Disagreements"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Steven Franconeri, Professor of Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences; Professor of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Title:
Point Taken: A gamified Intervention that Creates Enlightened Disagreements
Abstract:
Should we drop standardized testing for college or Ph.D. admissions? Allow athletes to join teams based on gender identity? When organizational and public policies bind behavior, human coexistence requires a way to determine that collective policy. Because individuals and like-minded groups have incomplete information, constrained strategies, and biased perspectives, thoughtful debate on those policies is critical. Unfortunately, those debates too often degrade into chaotic fights.
Point Taken provides a scalable solution by translating best practices in conflict resolution and critical thinking into a structured dialogue that can be learned and played in 30 minutes. In this interactive session, you'll play a short game to feel its effects.
Players replace persuasion with a common goal of discovering why they disagree. Dialogue then unfolds thoughtfully and calmly, through chains of short written reasons and responses. We've tested the game extensively in schools and organizations, and conducted a formal pilot study. All show powerful improvements in the tone and quality of debate, across longstanding and strongly-held disagreements. I’ll give background on best practices for enlightened disagreement, show how they translate to the game, ask you to play a game, and then ask for your advice on next steps.
Speaker Bio:
Steven Franconeri is leading scientist, teacher, and speaker on visual thinking, visual communication, and the psychology of data visualization. He is a Professor of Psychology in the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences at Northwestern, Director of the Northwestern Cognitive Science Program, as well as a Kellogg Professor of Management and Organizations by Courtesy. He is the director of the Visual Thinking Laboratory, where a team of researchers explore how leveraging the visual system - the largest single system in your brain - can help people think, remember, and communicate more efficiently.
His undergraduate training was in computer science and cognitive science at Rutgers University, followed by a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Harvard University, and postdoctoral research at the University of British Columbia. His work on both Cognitive Science and Data Visualization has been funded by the National Science Foundation, as well as the Department of Education, and the Department of Defense. He has received a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award, given to researchers who combine excellent research with outstanding teaching, and he has received a Psychonomic Society Early Career award for his research on visual thinking.
Location:
In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/97198523514
PW: NICO26
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems, data science and network science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)