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Big Data, Bigger Wins

Big Data, Bigger Wins

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The year 2023 was a significant one for Data Driven WV. One of the Chambers College’s research and outreach centers, Data Driven WV works to improve living and working conditions statewide through data-centric and technological solutions, with clients ranging from small businesses to large corporations.

The Center received a $150,000 donation from corporate partner WesBanco to ensure its continued operation and expansion. An investment like that requires outcomes, and Data Driven WV has plenty to show off, including a partnership with women’s self-defense nonprofit #500Rising and a collaboration with state government to expand broadband access statewide.

Data Driven WV also welcomed its inaugural class of Lewis Fellows, six students who will assume leadership roles in community impact projects. Additionally, the inaugural Denton Fellowship was awarded to Management Information Systems student Taggart Shea, who acted as project manager in a partnership with Monongalia Emergency Medical Services.

“2023 was a transformative year, advancing our mission for statewide betterment,” said Josh Meadows, director of Data Driven WV. “It was also a year of enriching student engagement, offering hands-on experiences in real-world projects. As we enter 2024, we're committed to continuing our work uplifting West Virginia's communities and fostering the next generation of leaders."

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A Refreshing Experience

Mason Harp is not only a Chambers College marketing junior, but he is also WVU’s Coca-Cola Ambassador. In fact, he is currently ranked 1st on the leaderboard for Coca-Cola Campus Ambassadors. “I am extremely excited to be working with Coca-Cola. The chance to add a Fortune 500 Company to my resume will help make me more marketable when applying for internships and other future opportunities,” Harp said. 

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Get Hyped

How did a global megacompany decide to invest in the Mountain State in developing the transportation of the future? Well, we have the Chambers College, Vantage Ventures and its Executive Director Sarah Biller to thank for helping land Virgin Hyperloop. The company announced it would build a certification center spanning nearly 800 acres in Tucker and Grant counties. When completed, the Virgin Hyperloop system expects to carry passengers in pods through a vacuum tube at speeds breaking 600 mph. Read more about it in an upcoming feature story in 2021 in WVU Magazine. 

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Cyber Successes

Christopher Ramezan, assistant professor of management information systems and coordinator of the business cybersecurity management program, was recently recognized for his teaching prowess by two different organizations. 

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First Pitch

Supported by Silicon Valley CEO Ray Zinn, the first ZinnStarter Pitch Competition, hosted by the LaunchLab, gave aspiring collegiate entrepreneurs an opportunity to win cash to build their ideas into the next groundbreaking product or business. Winners included: First place ($2,500): Emma Adams, WVU animal and nutritional sciences major, and her business idea PetRecord, which provides universal medical records for pets in emergency situations; second place ($1,500): Cameron Keefe, global supply chain management major, and her idea ThermoRoller, which combines physical massage with temperature control to relieve sore muscle pain; and third place ($1,000) to the team of Austin Davis, Anne Byer and Emily Thomas, from the University of Charleston, and their idea Second Chance, a program that helps give active control back to people with quadriplegia and paraplegia. 

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Tipping Points

Here’s a tip for New York City taxi drivers seeking bigger tips: Pick up tourists. Adam Nowak, associate professor of economics, and Amir B. Ferreira Neto, ’19, PhD Economics, studied data on yellow taxis in the Big Apple to see if tourists tipped more than locals. They do. Furthermore, theatergoers tip more than non-theatergoers, based on their findings that zeroed-in on drop-offs and pickups near Broadway. These differences between tourists and locals may affect the allocation of taxis throughout the city, conclude Nowak, Neto and Amanda Ross, of the University of Alabama.

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