New leadership duo plans to steer TRIADS forward, with former director Jacob Montgomery stepping down.
The Transdisciplinary Institute in Applied Data Sciences (TRIADS) has undergone a leadership transition this semester, bringing a new face to its team.
Bo Li, the Stanley A. Sawyer Professor in Statistics and Data Science, has joined TRIADS as its co-director. Tammy English, previously associate director of TRIADS, now co-directs alongside Li.
Li embodies the TRIADS mission of harnessing data science to address pressing real-world issues. Previously the chair of statistics at the University of Illinois, Li joined WashU this year as one of the first marquee hires of the newly established Department of Statistics and Data Science.
“I have always been passionate about transdisciplinary research, with my work spanning a range of fields including statistics, climatology, epidemiology, agriculture, ecology, and forestry,” Li said. “TRIADS' mission to foster innovative collaborations that address some of the world's most pressing social issues perfectly aligns with both my research interests and aspirations.”
“I am thrilled to be co-directing TRIADS with Bo Li,” English said. “She brings vast experience in leadership and interdisciplinary research that will undoubtedly help to accelerate our mission. We are fortunate to have Bo as part of our community here at WashU.”
Jacob Montgomery, TRIADS’ director since it launched as an initiative of the Arts & Sciences Strategic Plan in 2022, has stepped down from his position. Montgomery will stay involved with the group as one of its faculty fellows.
“Jacob’s vision, passion, and commitment to enhancing excellence in data science among social scientists were vital to our success in launching the TRIADS initiative,” English said. “It was a pleasure to serve with him in working to facilitate collaboration among diverse teams at WashU and with the broader St. Louis community.”
In its first two years of operation, TRIADS has provided seed funding to transdisciplinary faculty research teams, debuted a training series to help demystify data science tools for faculty and students, and presented the inaugural STL DataFest, which brought more than 200 data scientists and industry professionals to campus.
Li says that TRIADS will continue its efforts to connect data scientists throughout the St. Louis region.
“TRIADS will foster a collaborative research community, engaging scholars from both on- and off-campus, to tackle large-scale societal challenges in areas such as health and medicine, social equity, sustainability, environmental issues, and economics,” Li said. “We welcome any suggestions on how we can better serve the faculty in our college and across the university.”
