By Robin Brooks

The eScience Institute and the West Big Data Innovation Hub co-hosted the National Transportation Data Challenge Launch Event, held May 2 – 3, 2017. The event drew dozens of participants in-person at the WRF Data Science Studio and the Husky Union Building Lyceum, and more via online streaming, to learn about the rising number of traffic fatalities across the nation and what the application of data resources can do to help mitigate these issues.

Daniel Morgan, chief data officer of the U.S. Department of Transportation, gave the keynote speech, and Christine Gregoire, former governor of the state of Washington, provided remarks at the closing reception. Attendees had a variety of activities to participate in, from learning about cloud platforms, to an informative “fireside chat”, to listening to lightning talks highlighting innovative, data-driven approaches to transportation issues presented by academic and private sector speakers from across the United States.

Watch part of the May 3 event on YouTube (video starts at the one-minute mark). To get involved with the Challenge, submit an application on the Big Data Hubs website by clicking the orange button at the bottom of the page.

The Challenge continues in Denver, Colorado, in June at the West Hub Annual All Hands Meeting, which is open to all.

The event was sponsored by the following groups: