Meet the Interns
- Virginia Tech: Ziad Bushnaq, Sophia Gavasheli (May - June: Coren Huff)
- William & Mary: Kyle Klemba
- University of Virginia: Sherlock Chen, David Xing
- Berea College: Alicia Bacani, Pride Techa, Saratou Bagassa
- The College of Wooster: Nebiyou Mengistu
Data centers and their impact on communities
- Client: Virginia Land Use-Value Assessment Program
- This project will estimate the effects of data centers on large land parcel values and, time permitting, other key aspects of local economies such as labor force or environmental outcomes.
- Students: Ziad Bushnaq & Saratou Bako Bagassa
Building an AI-Powered tool for Virginia Cooperative Extension
- Client: Virginia Cooperative Extension
- This project will build an AI-powered tool to help Virginia Cooperative Extension agents understand and forecast data on their communities.
- Students: Nebiyou Mengistu & Sherlock Chen
- Fellow: Xiaoyi Zhao
The role of Infrastructure accessibility in health outcomes
- Client: Ballad Health
- This project examines how infrastructure, including broadband access, transportation networks, and healthcare access, affects health outcomes in rural communities.
- Students: Sophia Gavasheli & Coren Huff
- Fellow: Pragati Dahal
Art vibrancy in the state of Virginia
- Client: SMU DataArts
- This project will develop an Arts Vibrancy Index for Virginia by adapting the SMU DataArts framework to measure arts and cultural activity across the Commonwealth.
- Students: Alicia Bacani & David Xing
- Fellow: Angana Chatterjee
Assessing the effectiveness of California's AB-413 "Daylighting" law of pedestrian safety
- Client: California Walks
- This project will evaluate the California daylighting policy that attempts to reduce vehicle-pedestrian accidents by increasing visibility around crosswalks.
- Students: Kyle Klemba & Pride Techa
- Fellow: Yuanyuan Wen
Suyog Gautam, a geospatial data expert, and Xiaofan Zhu, a statistics expert, are working with all projects.
MEET THE COHORT
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
NEWS AND UPDATES
Congratulations to Aziza Altyyeva, Berea College ’27!
Aziza, a 2025 intern with the Data Science for the Public Good program through the Kohl Centre, received the Best Undergraduate Paper Award at the Kentucky Economics Association Annual Conference.
"Attending the conference and presenting my research required a lot of bravery since it was my first time. What gave me confidence was the authenticity of our work and the effort we put into the project. Receiving the award was a recognition of our dedication throughout the summer during the DSPG program. I am truly grateful to my research mentors at Virginia Tech, my teammate Collin Holt, and my professors at Berea College for their constant support throughout this journey."
Alan Grant (right), dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, presents Winston and Marilyn Samuels with an award as they are inducted in the college's Hall of Fame.
Winston and Marilyn Samuels: Support and generosity to provide resources for a next-generation data scientist to participate in the experiential internship (read more)
Pictured: Alan Grant (right), dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, presents Winston and Marilyn Samuels with an award as they are inducted in the college's Hall of Fame.