BD Hubs: Collaborative Proposal: WEST: A Big Data Innovation Hub for the Western United States

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Big Data Innovation Hub for the Western United States will join stakeholders from academia, industry, non-profit institutions and the community who share common challenges and innovative approaches related to the acquisition, storage, analysis and integration of large or "messy" data, commonly referred to as Big Data. The West's Innovation Hub (Hub) will serve 13 states with Montana, Colorado and New Mexico marking the eastern boundary. This project will develop the organizational and governance structures for the Hub, and initiate efforts toward defining spoke activities for subsequent phases of the data innovation hubs program. The initial themes include Big Data technology, data-enabled scientific discovery and learning, managing natural resources and hazards, metro data science, and precision medicine. Partnerships fostered through the Hub will enable the use of Big Data to assess risks related to regional and long-term decisions. The Hub's structure will enable impact in later phases of the Hubs program that may include data-driven models for managing natural resources to tools for integrating self-collected patient data for more precise care options. Through coordination activities that inspire the action of its members, the Hub has the potential to facilitate the improved flow of commercial technologies in ways that maximize competitiveness for member organizations, such as universities, and vice versa: the Hub has the potential to expand the impact of its members' technologies through greater adoption or via start-ups. The Hub will be impactful by facilitating cross-discipline approaches to Big Data innovation and problem solving, influencing the next generation of thought leaders and data scientists. The partnerships enabled by the Hub will lead to professional certificate programs and student internships, creating a pipeline of graduates from partner institutions to impact corporations, public and governmental agencies, national labs, resource-planning agencies, and regulatory commissions. Project URL: BDHub.SDSC.edu