In May, Professor George Michailidis of our department was appointed the new Faculty Director of Fundamental Data Science (FDS) within the DataX initiative. A double Bruin, Michailidis is a leading expert in high-dimensional statistics, optimization, machine learning, neural networks, and network modeling.
Dr. Mark Handcock, the outgoing director and also a faculty member in our department, expressed strong support for the appointment: “George’s deep knowledge of fundamental data science in its many forms, and his broad administrative experience in data science institutes, will greatly benefit UCLA.”
As the founding director of FDS, Handcock will remain a core faculty member of DataX. His exemplary leadership, thoughtfulness, and creativity have laid a solid foundation for the initiative and fostered a strong and enduring connection between our department and DataX.