University of Maryland in College Park is launching a new social data science center, which Facebook will support over the next three years, according to a Sept. 9 news release.
UMD's new data science center will use survey methods, measurement, information management, data visualization and analytics to help researchers better access, analyze and apply social science data to healthcare, government and policymaking challenges.
Facebook will support the center's research and education programs over the next three years; the social media giant is also working with UMD and other universities including Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins on a public survey tool that tracks the global spread of COVID-19.
"[Social data science] researchers solve data challenges with immediate, real-life implications. Whether improving measures of national economic activity or gathering COVID-19 symptom data, we transform the whole data life-cycle — how it is collected, analyzed, communicated and visualized — enabling data-driven solutions to today's critical problems," said Brian Butler, co-director of the center, according to the news release.