Data analysis key to problem-solving

DOING THE MATH: Jan S. Hesthaven, Brown University professor, shows off the supercomputer at the Brown Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics. / COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY
DOING THE MATH: Jan S. Hesthaven, Brown University professor, shows off the supercomputer at the Brown Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics. / COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY

Jan S. Hesthaven, a professor of applied mathematics at Brown University, firmly believes the ability to understand colossal amounts of data will be the driving force behind the advancement of the world’s economy and of society. In fact, he says the changes have already begun.
As the director of Brown’s Center for Computation and Visualization, and the deputy director of their Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics, Hesthaven sees the challenge of processing large amounts of data as a problem that needs greater recognition. Several of his colleagues agree.
“There are a lot of very rich opportunities that come out of this area, where you combine data with computing and modeling,” he said.
On Jan. 25, Hesthaven and three other Brown faculty members appeared before the World Economic Forum’s Ideas Lab in Davos, Switzerland, to speak on the potential of large amounts of data in solving global problems. The forum invited business, political and academic leaders to attend and discuss global, regional and industrial problems and solutions.
The Brown contingent included Hesthaven and three others with dissimilar specialties; John Donoghue, professor of neuroscience; Susan Alcock, professor of archaeology; and Casey Dunn, assistant professor of biology.
Hesthaven introduced the concept that sifting through massive reams of data can enable countries to overcome major challenges such as climate change, alternative sources of energy, curing cancer and lifting people out of poverty.
The professors attested that analyzing a growing wealth of data has diverse applications. Dunn lectured on its uses in the field of genome biology, where he can show how complex, multicellular organisms, including humans, were formed. Alcock discussed using data to realize the economic potential of archaeology, while Donoghue spoke on using large quantities of data sets to evaluate neuro-technologies to cure brain disorders. Hesthaven and his associates believe there are limitless opportunities for the processing of a lot of data and its application has no boundary in potentially solving some of the biggest issues confronting the world today, including medicine and agriculture.
The analysis of data is well-suited for the university’s ICERM supercomputer, which can store and sort a lot of data. Donoghue and Dunn are using the computer to store data collected from experimental devices, then using the computer to help draw relationships. Without it, he said, they would not be able to remain competitive in their research.?In Donoghue’s case, he has studied and recorded data on what happens in the brain when a person’s arm moves. This is a massive amount of data and Donoghue is attempting to understand its reverse process; that an input of data into the brain would result in the arm moving. In this manner a thought from the brain could move an artificial limb. “This requires substantial computational resources,” Hesthaven said, “but it is within reach.”
“Companies like IBM, Google and Microsoft, they are all doing this, it’s called business analytics. They are developing computers and software that they can sell to other companies to do these types of things,” Hesthaven said. “All the big companies see this as a business model or they are trying to use it as part of their business. But it is complex and the smaller companies need to get up to speed.” In support of his case, Hesthaven refers to a recent article by Fortune magazine which listed “data scientist” as the most-desirable educational background to have for employment in the year 2022.
In a similar manner, he believes that the way in which children are educated needs to change, that memorizing things like the capital of every state now serves no purpose. That information is now easily found thanks to the Internet. He believes it is more important to be able to resource the data and find out what to do with the information. Hesthaven also believes it is crucial for small and midsize companies to be part of this revolution.
“There has to be a model where large global companies play a mentor role with small companies to get them out of the more traditional roles of production and manufacturing,” he said. He also said that bigger companies would benefit by upgrading their supply chain to match the small companies and they would also develop a better workforce.
Most data, Hesthaven said, is produced by private enterprises, social networking and satellites, to name a few. Efforts must be made to share the data between the business world and educational facilities so that all may benefit and grow. “A whole new mode of operation must be developed between the private and public sector,” he said.
In Alcock’s case, she specializes in classical archaeology, a study of the Mediterranean world. She directs the school’s Petra (Jordan) Archaeological Project, named as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World by the Swiss New7Wonders Foundation in 2007. It is the largest tourist attraction in the country.
Studying the site is data intensive, documenting certain features and their associated age as well as use and location. Satellite imagery, different light spectra, photography, surveys, excavation and ground-penetrating radar are all measurements that are taken. Not only must it be stored, but it must also be cross-referenced. “That’s all part of the challenge,” Alcock said. “You need to have a good database-management system to make it work.”
She is already incorporating massive data analysis into her curriculum. “Part of [Hesthaven’s] project is to get computational thinking more familiar throughout the whole campus. It’s quite exciting because it’s something that we will all be dealing with and we have to train students to learn it,” she said. •

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