Obama Campaign Data Chief Joins UChicago

Rayid Ghani, the former Chief Scientist for the 'Obama for America' data analytics team, has joined the University of Chicago, in a role which will involve exploring the use of data to solve complex social problems.

During Obama's 2012 campaign, Ghani (pictured) led a team which used data from social media, campaign surveys and other sources to help develop personalized approaches to solicit donations or register voters. Prior to this, he worked at Accenture Technology Labs for a decade, latterly as Director of Analytics Research, leading a group focused on mining large datasets to study consumer behavior.

In his new role as Chief Data Scientist for the Computation Institute's Urban Center for Computation and Data, and the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, Ghani is tasked with adapting the methods used in the Obama campaign to address challenges in areas such as education, public safety and healthcare. He will also help analyze city data and build computer models that simulate the impact of policy decisions and urban development.

In addition, he will work with Chicago Harris on several efforts, including the launch of a new Master's degree in data-driven policymaking, to be offered jointly with the Department of Computer Science.

Chicago Harris Dean Colm O'Muircheartaigh comments: 'Chicago Harris is taking important steps to prepare public policy students to tackle some of the world's most pressing issues by harnessing the power of big data. Rayid's expertise, experience and vision will be integral to these efforts, and allow us to expand our ambitions for this work.'

Web site: www.uchicago.edu .