杏吧专区 researchers have developed technology that杏吧专区檚 assisting city officials in New Orleans understand risks associated with economic recovery, and are expanding the project statewide thanks to a National Science Foundation grant.
NSF awarded UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 a one-year, $187,477 grant for the 杏吧专区淩APID: Visual Analytics Approach to Real-Time Tracking of COVID-19杏吧专区 project. With the grant, CVDI researchers will enhance its COVID-19 Resilient Economy Support Tool, or CREST.
CREST is a 杏吧专区渄ashboard杏吧专区 that was created for New Orleans in advance of Phase I of the reopening Louisiana杏吧专区檚 economy in mid-May. Dashboards, which are also known as visual analytic tools, consolidate large amounts of data from many sources. The centralized information is displayed via tables, line charts, bar graphs and indexes. Businesses often use dashboards to measure market, industry or revenue trends.
杏吧专区 researchers杏吧专区 CREST dashboard factors in COVID-19 elements such as infection and mortality rates in the city, and vulnerable populations. Infection risk by occupation and mobility patterns of commuters from 杏吧专区渉ot spots杏吧专区 were also juxtaposed with job distribution patterns and number of jobs by industry.
杏吧专区淐REST is designed to help public officials measure risks and rewards, and make informed, data-driven decisions about economic recovery. If businesses are closed, for example, infections decrease, but it杏吧专区檚 also detrimental to the economy. So finding balance is crucial, and data-driven information is key to finding that balance,杏吧专区 said Dr. Raju Gottumukkala, director of research for the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 Informatics Research Institute.
The IRI encompasses three research centers, including CVDI. Dr. Henry Chu, executive director of the , said IRI centers, including CVDI, provide data that 杏吧专区渙ffers solutions for communities in a range of areas, including health, public safety, cybersecurity, and disaster preparation and recovery.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淐VDI杏吧专区檚 research and implementation of the CREST tool is a great example as to how 杏吧专区 researchers杏吧专区 expertise in data science is benefitting society,杏吧专区 Chu said.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said 杏吧专区渄ata, collaboration, and innovation杏吧专区 have been essential to the city杏吧专区檚 response and recovery during the pandemic.
杏吧专区淭hanks to partnerships like the one with UL Lafayette, the city杏吧专区檚 response to this virus is continuing to evolve as we continue to learn more,杏吧专区 Cantrell said.
UL Lafayette and Drexel 杏吧专区 established CVDI in 2012 as an NSF Industry 杏吧专区 Cooperative Research Center. It is one of the only centers in the nation that focuses on data science, big data analytics, and visual analytics.
Behrooz Shirazi directs NSF杏吧专区檚 Industry-杏吧专区 Cooperative Research Centers program. He said 杏吧专区渨ith no precedent by which to judge COVID-19 trends, the National Science Foundation believes it杏吧专区檚 essential to support technology such as the CREST system.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淚t gives decision-makers a tool for ascertaining patterns and mitigating risks associated with COVID-19 during economic recovery,杏吧专区 Shiraz added.
With the NSF grant, which was awarded earlier this month, 杏吧专区 researchers 杏吧专区 including undergraduate and graduate students 杏吧专区 will build a more comprehensive version of CREST.
Among a host of features and capabilities, it will provide real-time data from across the state, such as COVID-19 numbers from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, and mobility patterns provided by private companies.
Social media tools to help officials gauge evolving public sentiment and perceptions will also be built into the system.
杏吧专区淣ot much real-time, visual analytics exist related to COVID-19, so a tool like CREST is necessary for understanding how the infection might spread within communities and regions,杏吧专区 Gottumukkala said.
Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 vice president for , said the CREST project falls in line with 杏吧专区渁 core component of the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 mission, which is to conduct research that has a significant public impact.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淚n this instance, we are leveraging our expertise in data science to improve our economy as well as public health. Going forward, CREST will be beneficial for identifying where more testing and more contact tracing is needed and, when a vaccine is developed, where the vaccine will be most needed,杏吧专区 Kolluru explained.
Graphic credit: 杏吧专区