POWERING THE ECONOMY: THROUGH A STRONG INFRASTRUCTURE AND WORKFORCE.

• Position: RESEARCH: NORTH CAROLINA: THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL

Since its founding in 1789, UNC-Chapel Hill has served as an engine to drive North Carolina's economy. Over two hundred years later, Carolina continues to invest in critical infrastructure to grow and attract new industries to the state and generate the workforce needed to staff them.

NEW SCHOOL FOR DATA SCIENCE & SOCIETY

Recent announcements by Google and Apple to locate major operations within the state will create great demand on its workforce of data scientists, software engineers, and machine learning and AI innovators. To support the needs of our data-intensive industries, the university will establish the new UNC School for Data Science and Society in the fall of 2022.

UNC's Data Science School will foster the region's next generation of data science leaders. Beyond teaching the elements of managing and interpreting data, it will train students to apply data science to solve complex problems that achieve public good. Built on a cross-cutting model, the new school will feature faculty with joint appointments in other schools to ensure the expertise required to apply data science skills. Both graduate and undergraduate programs will be offered, as will training opportunities for campus and industry partners.

TAPPING DIGITAL HEALTH'S BUSINESS POTENTIAL

The oceans of data generated by today's digital society, especially within the health care industry, offer transformative business opportunities.

A case in point--the unique collaboration of Dr. Eric Weimer in the UNC School of Medicine and Katherine Newhall, PhD in the UNC College of Arts & Sciences' Department of Mathematics. Their work intersected after Weimer, an organ transplant specialist, wondered if mathematical modeling could enhance the precision of matching patients in need of organ transplants to donated organs compatible with their immune systems.

Enhancing a process that had previously been conducted in labs using tests and the best judgment of doctors, the two collaborated on a predictive mathematical model to better refine compatibility determinations. Ultimately, they enlisted experts from Microsoft to develop a machine learning process that trains computers to amplify the accuracy of these multifaceted risk assessments.

Weimer and Newhall's process was supported by UNC's Digital Health Venture Studio, a novel program which rapidly advances promising digital health technologies. The team completed an intensive and competitive venture development process that culminated...