Two weeks to spring break! Catch up on SSMU events before then!

📣 Announcements

1. Data Mini #1 Winners! 🎉
The Competitions and Opportunities Committee is happy to announce the winning team and honorable mentions from Data Mini #1! Congratulations to Stephen Yoon, Kaixiang Loke, Erica Lin, and Boram Shim on winning a Nasher/Commons meal and feature on the Statistical Science website! Honorable mentions went to the presentations by Wendy Wang, April Ren, and Fanghao Liu, as well as by Eileen Zhang, Lex Gu, and Charles Zheng.
 

2. Register for SSMU's second Data Mini! 🏆
Register for SSMU’s 2nd Data Mini! This series is run by the Statistical Science Majors Union's Competitions and Opportunities Committee and is open to all students. The kickoff is on Friday, February 27th, from 5:30 to 7 pm in Old Chem 001. This data mini will differ from the first and be more similar to the structure of DataFest: the kickoff will introduce the dataset and competition layout, and submissions (media, a link to a forked Git repository, and a recorded video presentation) will be due March 1st at 11:59 pm. Please note that teams should consist of 3-4 members, and all members must complete this form. If you would like to receive a random team, please specify during registration.

Physics 235

🌱 Competitions & Opportunities

1. The Duke Sports Analytics Club is hosting Sam Marks, Director of Business Strategy and Analytics at the Boston Bruins and a Duke alum for a special talk! View the flyer below for more information and to sign up: 


2. The Data+/Climate+ summer program welcomes students of all disciplines who are interested in exploring data-driven approaches to interdisciplinary challenges. Students join small project teams and collaborate with other teams in a communal environment. Graduate student mentors help each team work through their projects and liaise with the project leads. 

The 2026 deadline is February 28th (with rolling admissions after that until all teams are filled).

View ​2026 projects here and learn how to apply!

3. Duke undergraduates may now register for Summer Session 2026. Term 1 will be from May 13 – June 25 (Register by May 15), and term 2 will be from June 29 – August 10 (Register by July 1). This summer, the Statistical Science department will offer STA101 in term 1, STA199 in both terms, and STA230 in both terms. Tuition for summer session courses is reduced, and financial aid is available for qualifying students. Current Duke undergraduate students may view the course catalog and register through DukeHub. For additional information or questions, please contact summer@duke.edu.

4. Abstract submissions for The 2026 Duke Undergraduate Research Symposium are open! The symposium will take place on April 16, 2026 from 2-6 pm in The Edge in the Bostock Library. The event will consist of an Alumni Panel, Poster Sessions, Trinity Leadership Remarks, and Distinguished Senior Thesis Talks. Abstract submissions are open February 3 - March 27, or until they reach capacity, whichever comes first. Those who want to be considered for a Distinguished Thesis talk must submit their abstract and registration no later than March 18. Presenters will be notified by April 3. Apply now!

5. Register for ASA DataFest 2026! 📊🏅

ASA DataFest 2026 at Duke, organized by the Department of Statistical Science, will take place in Perkins Library on Duke University West Campus, Friday March 20 through Sunday March 22.

DataFest is a data analysis competition where teams of up to five students attack a large, complex, and surprise data set over a weekend. Your job is to find and communicate insights into these data. The teams that impress the judges will win prizes! The event is open to all undergraduate students at Duke and beyond, regardless of level of programming experience.

See the DataFest website for more details: https://dukestatsci.github.io/datafest/
Whether you form a team or wish to be assigned a team, registration is open! You can sign up here: https://dukestatsci.github.io/datafest/#signup

Please reach out to Dr. Alexander Fisher (alexander.fisher@duke.edu) with any questions.

Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you at our events!

Take care,
SSMU

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