Asaro Biggar Professorships/Fellowships in Data Science
The Asaro Biggar Professorships/Fellowships in Data Science are a gift from Trustee Stephen Biggar ’92 and his wife, Elisabeth Asaro-Biggar ’92, to support data science at the University of Rochester.
Funds from the gift are used to support tenured or tenure-track School of Arts and Sciences and Hajim School faculty who use data science methods to frame, analyze, and resolve the most pressing issues in their fields. The Biggars’ gift helps the University to recruit and retain the best talent in the rapidly growing and competitive field of data science, by funding fellowships for junior faculty and professorships for senior faculty. Fellowships carry a three year term and allow the University to honor and encourage outstanding faculty early in their careers.
“Academic programs like these require the best people behind them. We saw this as an opportunity to help build the data science program at an important, formative stage. With top faculty, Rochester can be at the forefront of the field.”
Stephen Biggar ’92
Current Fellows
Aaron White
Associate Professor of Linguistics
Stephen Biggar ’92 and Elisabeth Asaro ’92 Fellow in Data Science (2026-2029)
Research Interests: Computational Linguistics, Natural Language Semantics
Yuhao Zhu
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Asaro Biggar Family Fellow in Data Science (2026-2029)
Research Interests: Computer Systems and Architecture, Computer Imaging and Graphics, Augmented/Virtual Reality, Human (Visual) Perception and Cognition, Computational Art, Art History, and Aesthetics
Past Fellows
2023-2026
Zhen Bai
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Asaro Biggar Family Fellow in Data Science (2023-2026)
Research Interests: Human-Computer Interaction, Augmented Reality, Tangible User Interfaces, Embodied Conversational Agent, Technology-Enhanced Learning, Computer-Supported Collaborative Work, Assistive Technology, Machine Learning for HC
Lee Murray
Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Science
Stephen Biggar ’92 and Elisabeth Asaro ’92 Fellow in Data Science (2023-2026)
Research Interests: Application and development of 3-D global models of atmospheric chemistry and climate to examine various couplings between atmospheric chemistry and the climate system in the past, present and future
2020-2023
Gourab Ghoshal
Professor of PhysicsProfessor of Computer Science
Stephen Biggar ’92 and Elisabeth Asaro ’92 Fellow in Data Science (2020-2023)
Research Interests: Theory and applications of Complex Networks, Non-equilibrium Statistical Physics, Game theory, Econophysics, Dynamical Systems and the Origins of Life
Gonzalo Mateos
Professor of Electrical and Computer EngineeringProfessor of Computer Science
Asaro Biggar Family Fellow in Data Science (2020-2023)
Research Interests: Statistical learning from Big Data, network science, decentralized optimization and graph signal processing, with applications in dynamic network health monitoring, social, power grid and Big Data analytics
2017-2020
M. Ehsan Hoque
Professor of Computer Science
Asaro Biggar Family Fellow in Data Science (2017-2020)
Research Interests: Human Computer Interaction; Artificial Intelligence; Interactive machine learning; Ubiquitous Computing; Assistive Technologies
Amanda Larracuente
Stephen Biggar ’92 and Elisabeth Asaro ’92 Fellow in Data Science (2017-2020)
Research Interests: Evolutionary genetics and genomics; Intragenomic conflict and the evolution of selfish DNA; Evolutionary and functional genomics of satellite DNA; Sex chromosome and dot chromosome evolution in Drosophila