Real projects, real impact
The Institute of Data Engineering, Analytics, and Science collaborates on various research and community-based projects that leverage data science to solve real-world problems.
Current Projects
Our faculty and students work on diverse projects spanning education analytics, environmental data science, and community development.
My Number DNA
NeatonMathematics is home to MyNumberDNA, software used in K-12 in Flint area schools to help students meet state standards for mathematical proficiency. UM-Flint students have been helping analyze growth data to identify particularly helpful assessment tools.
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UM-Flint Herbarium Digitization
The UM-Flint Herbarium is home to over 4,000 specimens, some of which are over 100 years old! Over the past two years, the Tonietto Lab has mapped out a process to digitize the collection, starting with updates to decades-outdated taxonomy using Specify 7, an online SQL database system in part developed by the University of Michigan. IDEAS research assistant Autumn Harris is improving digitization workflow enabling the automatic importing of metadata pulled from herbarium labels.
Matlacha Pass Water Quality Analysis
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection monitors several water quality metrics at many of their Aquatic Preserves and other sites of interest. During the Winter 2023 semester, IDEAS students Aaron Moore and Abby Hause ran data analysis on several such metrics (levels of ammonia, nitrogen, chlorophyll, etc.) to visualize the health of the Matlacha Pass and surrounding areas.
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Flint River Watershed Monitoring
The Flint River Watershed Coalition oversees various Flint River water quality monitoring activities, including one which tracks benthic macroinvertebrate populations at sites across the watershed. Starting in Summer 2023, IDEAS students will begin visualization and tracking analytics to help diagnose areas needing further study.
Learn more →Making an impact
Active Projects
Across multiple domains
Community Focus
Serving Flint and beyond
Student Experience
Hands-on learning opportunities
Want to collaborate on a project?
If you're interested in learning more about our projects or proposing a collaboration, we'd love to hear from you.