The George J. McMurtry Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award is named for the former associate dean of the College of Engineering who was instrumental in the founding of the College of IST. The award highlights recipients’ innovative teaching, commitment to learning and creative interface in the classroom or in online courses they teach.

“Unleashing the Problem-Solving Potential of Next-Generation Data Scientists”

In this talk, Wang will reflect on his approach to teaching and the strategies he has developed to inspire and empower students in the rapidly evolving fields of data science. By focusing on the value of mentorship and hands-on learning, he’ll explore how these experiences help students reach their full potential. He’ll also highlight key principles such as critical thinking, active learning, and fostering independence—using the DS 340W Applied Data Sciences course as an example—to demonstrate how these approaches enable students to navigate complex interdisciplinary challenges. He aims to show how a supportive and dynamic educational environment enables students not just to complete tasks but to grow into independent problem solvers.

About the Speaker:

James Z. Wang is a distinguished professor in the Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence area of the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State. He received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota (1994) and holds a master’s degree in mathematics (1997), a master’s degree in computer science (1997), and a doctoral degree in medical information sciences (2000) from Stanford University. His research interests include image analysis, affective computing, image modeling, and image retrieval and their applications. He was the recipient of an NSF CAREER Award (2004), Amazon Research Awards (2018–2022), and the George J. McMurtry Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award (2023).