While reflecting on Black History Month this February, I remembered how the required reading of Black Culture and Black Consciousness: Afro-American Folk Thought from Slavery to Freedom by the late UCB professor Lawrence Levine in my undergraduate sociology class significantly opened my mind to how little I knew about the richness of African American cultural history.

On the other hand, it also triggered my recall of how two years ago, and many many years after my sociology class, I was dismayed that my son’s 5th grade American Revolution school play made no mention of the institution of slavery nor those left out of the Declaration of Independence. So, in my opinion, Black History Month is useful if it reminds people of past and present Black history and celebrates African American contributions.

Regardless of the month, I encourage you to learn more about and advocate for Black lives all year round. You can read literature on the African American experience or by African Americans, attend events that honour Black history and culture, and visit websites like the Louisiana Slave Conspiracies project, which amplify voices of enslaved participants from the past so that they can be heard today. Read more here.

~Patty Frontiera, D-Lab Data Scientist & Data Services Lead

 

UC Berkley Cloud Meetup
February 26 | 1:00 -2:00 PM | Register for Zoom Link

Join us for the upcoming Cloud Meetup which is in conjunction with the upcoming event: Women in Data Science (WiDS) Berkeley

Alicia Tsai, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science graduate student, will give a brief introduction about WiDS, her experience and involvement with WiDS Taipei and WiDS Berkeley, and a little bit about herself in the field of data science.

Dr. Claudia von Vacano, Executive Director of the Social Sciences D-Lab & Digital Humanities at Berkeley, will present about the Measuring Hate Speech research project. The team used Google Cloud in their workflow and this talk will focus on the power this provided the team in terms of labeling comments to train a Machine Learning model using both Qualtrics and Mechanical Turk.

Everyone is welcome - this is a really inclusive group! You don't have to be an expert, or already know about cloud technologies; we get together so people can learn from each other.

D-Lab is hiring two MAXQDA Instructors

We are hiring two paid MAXQDA Instructors to lead our workshops. Applicants should have experience using advanced features of the software and be willing to design new workshop content. This role will work closely with D-Lab's Executive Director. Advanced workshop topics include using MAXQDA to write a literature review or research paper. Please apply here.

Beyond Academia Conference

February 25-26 | Register for Zoom

Beyond Academia is a non-profit organization run by UC Berkeley graduate students and postdocs with the goal of empowering graduate students and postdocs to expand their career options beyond the traditional academic track. We accomplish this career education through a series of events including an annual conference, workshops, tutorials, and panels that connect academics with those who have made a transition to non-academic jobs.

Our flagship conference is a two-day event with around 100 Ph.D. speakers who successfully transitioned to non-academic careers in a variety of fields in both STEM and Humanities and Social Sciences. 

As part of our conference, we’ll have keynote lectures, panels, and professional development workshops aimed at educating and preparing you to transition to careers outside of academia. D-Lab's Executive Director, Claudia von Vacano, will be speaking during the University Beyond the Classroom Session on Feb 25 from 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM. 

This conference is FREE and fully virtual, don't forget to register here!

---

D-Lab ADAPT & Coleridge Initiative Event

March 3-5 | Virtual Event | Register for Zoom Link.

The new D-Lab Applied Data Analytics Training Platform (ADAPT), made possible through a complex data use agreement with the Coleridge Initiative, provides UC Berkeley students with access to state agency data related to jobs and economic opportunity from California Department of Social Services. Learn how states have developed regional collaboratives around a framework of training, shared products, data standards and governance at a Coleridge Initiative two-day webinar mapping the strategy to grow data access, stewardship, and analysis for evidence-based policymaking.

Check out this year's schedule!

Register to Attend

---

WiDS: Women in Data Science Berkeley Conference

March 8-12 | Register for Zoom

WiDS Berkeley (see last year's agenda, 2021 coming soon) is a satellite event associated with the Women in Data Science conference at Stanford.

As part of this year's conference, we want to highlight the exceptional data science work completed by students at UC Berkeley. On Wednesday, March 10 from 11 am -12 pm, we will host a session of lightning talks (5-10 mins) that showcase completed and/or in-progress data science projects led by UC Berkeley students.
 

---

Women in Tech Symposium: New Era in Human-Computer Interaction


March 12 | Eventbrite registration
Join CITRIS for the 5th Annual Women in Tech Symposium on Friday, March 12, 2021. Keynote
speakers, panels, breakout sessions, and a career fair all focused on human-computer
interaction. Special prices for students and nonprofits. We hope to see you there!
Learn more and register!

---

Cal Data Visualization Network (CDVN)
SQL Mastermind Meeting: February 24 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Zoom Link
Tableau Meeting: March 9 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM 

The CDVN works to give staff opportunities to network, share ideas, and grow their skill sets. To that end, we collaborate with other, like-minded communities of practice on campus to share learning opportunities.

Here at the CDVN, we are dedicated to learning good data analysis and visualization practices, platform-agnostic, always open to learning, welcome to all staff, and dedicated to sharing knowledge in the efforts of empowering our staff.

To get a glimpse of the CDVN in action, check out one of their peer-led social learning groups!

To learn more about the network and for instructions on signing up for their mailing list and calendar info, please visit here!

Code for America Senior Quantitative Criminal Justice Researcher

Code for America believes the government can work for the people, by the people, in the 21st century. We build open source technology and organize a network of people dedicated to making government services simple, effective, and easy to use.

We’re looking for an expert on criminal justice research who is also curious about people, technology systems, and government. We strongly value empathy, initiative, and pragmatism. Most importantly, you are excited to use your skills and knowledge in the service of real change for real people.  As an applicant, you are also expected to have at least four years of highly relevant experience or a Ph.D. that involved justice system research

To learn more about the position and how to apply please visit here!

---

The Center for Effective Global Action is Hiring

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at UC Berkeley is hiring! We're recruiting for a Research Associate, Senior Associate or Project Manager, Finance and Reporting, and an Events and Communications Associate.

The Research Associate will support the Center’s Faculty Director, Edward Miguel, coordinating field research activities for rigorous evaluations of social and economic programs in Africa, with a focus on the Kenya Life Panel Survey project. They will also provide critical administrative support including coordinating the Working Group in African Political Economy (WGAPE), budgeting/contracting, events management, and outreach/communications. Hiring staff will first review applications by 2/28/2021 and applications submitted after this date will be reviewed on a rolling basis. 

The Senior Associate or Project Manager, Finance and Reporting will work closely with the Director of Operations in support of the Center’s operations. This is a challenging opportunity for professionals who are interested in research administration and global development; have a strong desire to use and deepen skills in project management, reporting and evaluation, and systems that advance financial planning and knowledge sharing; and are energized to contribute to the long-term success of a dynamic organization. 

The Events and Communications Associate will support center-wide communications and events. The Associate will work across the Center to “translate” research into lessons for policymakers around the world, the media and the general public, as well as manage high-profile dissemination events. First review is 3/15/2021 and applications submitted after this date will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Click here to learn more and apply!

 

---

MData Lab Postdoctoral Researcher

 The Multi-Data lab in the Information Systems Department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is seeking a two year full-time post-doctoral researcher. Candidate will work with Dr. Vandana Janeja in multi-domain data analytics. This will involve addressing heterogeneity modeling, working with complex and massive datasets.

To apply:
Candidates should submit the following materials electronically to vjaneja@umbc.edu. Please include “PostDoc Application 2021” in the subject line.
*Email a single PDF file that includes*

1. A brief statement of interest describing your relevant background

2. Current CV (including publications list)

3. The names and contact information for two references (letters of recommendation will be solicited from finalists)

4. Two published papers, or equivalent writing samples that best demonstrate your expertise and fit for the position

Review of applications will begin February 20, 2021, and continue until the position is filled.
To learn more about the position and the application process, please view here!

---

OASIS Consulting Statistician

OASIS—Organizing to Advance Solutions in the Sahel—works to create a healthy and resilient Sahel where women and girls are educated and free to make critical life choices. We focus on three strategic priorities critical to this goal: 1) developing, strengthening and scaling-up evidence-based programs that complement education and health systems; 2) conducting ethnographic, formative and operations research to inform education and reproductive health policy and practice; 3) building local leadership and advocacy capacity to support an enabling environment for women and girls to thrive.

OASIS is seeking a statistician to provide technical support for program research and evaluation design, electronic data system development, and statistical analyses. Applicants are expected to have strong French language skills, a Ph.D/Ph.D in statistics, epidemiology, or equivalent, strong interpersonal and cross-cultural skills, and excellent writing skills.

Work will be as needed throughout 2021, with an estimated time commitment of 8 hours per week.

To apply please submit a resume and one paragraph highlighting your fit for this position, including French proficiency if applicable, to mdeluce@venturestrategies.org.
 

---

Short-term Database Admin Job Opportunity related to COVID-19

The Berkeley Water Center (BWC) is developing innovative tools to detect the concentration of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater influent. These innovations, once operationalized, will help to determine the epidemiological distribution of Covid-19 among the Bay Area populace. The San Francisco Estuary Institutue (SFEI) is partnering with BWC to develop a data visualization dashboard to complement this research. SFEI has approximately 100 hours of work for a talented PostgreSQL database expert specializing in database design, PostGIS, and ETL operations to support these efforts. If you are interested in such an opportunity, please contact Gemma Shusterman (gemmas@sfei.org) for more details.

---

Program Assistant position available at Social Science Matrix

Social Science Matrix is a cross-disciplinary research unit in the College of  Letters and Science within the Social Sciences Division. We are an incubator for early stage, interdisciplinary research and we work to promote  social science research on campus. Critical to this work are the public- and campus-facing events we organize, which include lecture series, workshops, colloquia, conferences, book talks, and panel discussions. Our events seek to draw on the breadth and depth of research expertise within and beyond the Social Science Division, examining important  topics and ideas that are reforming the contours of social science research today. This Spring semester all  programming will be online only and the program assistant will work remotely.

We seek a graduate student to help develop, organize and publicize some of our public events and programs,including our annual call for proposals for  research teams.

The position will be a 50% position, starting immediately with an end date in June 2021.

Please apply with a resume/CV and two short writing samples that summarize some kind of social science research.

Click here to read more. Questions and submissions should be directed to evaseto@berkeley.edu.

---

Paid Graduate Positions at the D-Lab

Become a D-Lab Consultant!

D-Lab is looking for graduate students familiar with a range of qualitative, quantitative, computational, and data methods, tools, languages, and software to join our consulting team on an hourly basis. You determine how many hours and when to work, allowing you to easily fit this into your current schedule. If you're interested in developing your skills by helping others through consulting, then please fill out this survey.

 

---