PPG Digital team applauds next generation of data scientists

Published : 18-Jul-2022

​​Nearly 100 in-person and virtual attendees at PPG's recent Digital Organization Town Hall meeting had a glimpse of the future after a team of high school students from the Pittsburgh area demonstrated their command of data and data analytics as winners of the 2022 DataJam. Sponsored by Pittsburgh DataWorks with support from PPG and the PPG Foundation, the annual competition introduces high school students to the fields of big data and data science, and encourages them to consider professions in the growing industry.

This year's winning team, comprised of freshmen and sophomores from Norwin Area High School near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, spent nearly nine months examining the legacy of racially motivated 'redlining' in Pittsburgh neighborhoods in the 1940s. As part of the project, the three-member team worked with University of Pittsburgh student mentors to collect, prepare and analyze extensive housing and demographic data sets dating back nearly 100 years. Based on their findings, they developed data-based recommendations to help address inequities that still linger in some Pittsburgh communities.

“PPG and other Pittsburgh-area companies are helping to shape the future of big data," said Judy Cameron, Ph.D, director, DataWorks, and a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. “DataJam builds a pipeline of young people interested in and trained to participate in big data of the future. We're happy to partner with PPG to provide them with  learning opportunities to take data science to the next level."

The students shared their project with members of PPG's Digital Organization during a recent Town Hall, and fielded multiple questions from PPG's data scientists about their processes, data sets and overall project learning.

“These bright and engaging students represent the future of data science," said Devashish Saxena, former vice president and chief digital officer, and a member of the Pittsburgh DataWorks Advisory Committee. “Their grasp of complex data sets and their ability to integrate them into viable recommendations was remarkable. This exposure to real-world data science applications will be invaluable to them as they begin to chart their path. We're glad that PPG can play a part in their journey."​