Discovery Informatics

An undergraduate degree in discovery informatics is a rare and valuable commodity. You’ll find yourself sought after by employers and graduate programs that are desperate for college graduates who are qualified in this emerging field. Federal law enforcement, security, and intelligence agencies have long been aware of the power of automated knowledge discovery.

Data sets come in all forms, not just numeric but also video, graphics, text, speech, music, etc. Right now, there are existing opportunities for careers in finance, bioinformatics, and consumer marketing. Other segments of the economy, from retail stores to the insurance industry, are looking for ways to reap new value from the vast storehouses of data they have accumulated. As more businesses and industries start to realize the potential of this field, career choices will multiply.

College of Charleston Advantages

This is a groundbreaking program, the first undergraduate program of its kind in the United States. You’ll be one of the first with a sought-after degree in an exciting field with limitless possibilities.
Our program is interdisciplinary, connecting mathematics, statistics, computer science and artificial intelligence with biology, economics, marketing, physical education, psychology and sociology. And that’s just the beginning.

Discovery informatics is all about gleaning new knowledge from existing information. Computer technology gives us the ability to gather and store vast amounts of information in the form of data sets or data streams. By combining mathematics and computer science in innovative ways, discovery informatics can be applied to any large body of information to reveal new meanings and unsuspected patterns.

Discovery Informatics is based on the following three broad disciplines:

Deductive Inference

Logic studies the rational principles involved in determining when certain statements follow necessarily from other premises.
Proof Theory studies the way true statements are proved with an eye toward automating this process so that a computer can discover new truths based on logic.
Computability studies problems of computation and decidability.

Inductive Inference

Statistics studies means of inferring universal truths by looking only at examples.
Learning Theory studies how we and machines learn to predict, simulate, and understand the input/output patterns of complicated “black-box” mechanisms.
Information Theory studies effective ways to encode information and knowledge suitable for analysis, storage, searching, and communicating.
Artificial Intelligence explores working definitions of intelligence and ways of building machines that are intelligent.

Dynamic Inference

Computational Complexity studies how hard it is to find and verify solutions to specific decidable problems.
Complex Systems studies how seemingly simple rules can display exceedingly complicated emergent behavior over time.
Evolutionary Algorithms studies the feasibility and effectiveness of having algorithmic code evolve in much the same way as species evolve.

Active Learning Opportunities

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) A chapter of the national organization, this student group welcomes members from all majors to participate in club events and activities, and to discuss how technology and computers relate to their respective disciplines.

Other Special Opportunities

You’ll be exposed to a variety of computer systems and languages (e.g., Java, SQL, C+). Our outstanding facilities include high-performance computers running both Windows and Linux. You also have access to a 48-node Beowulf cluster (also known as a “supercomputer”). Its multiple processors can solve in a day problems that would take conventional computers months. An added bonus: Discovery informatics students have 24/7 access to computer resources; all majors have an access code to enter labs at any time.
A Gigabit-switched network and full campus wireless access are available to all undergraduates.

“Discovery informatics is a different slant on computer studies. It’s more of an application of principles than a technical pursuit like programming. I think being one of the first to get involved in discovery informatics at the undergraduate level makes it very interesting.”

Stacy Pullian ’09