Holmes wins prize at DataFest

Published 10:30 am Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Bainbridge Island native and Wesleyan University student Joli Holmes (formerly of Bainbridge High School) was a member of the Data Baes team that won the “Best Innovation” prize at the 2017 DataFest competition at Wesleyan University.

Seventy-five students from six institutions participated in the annual analysis competition, held March 31 to April 2.

During DataFest, students are presented with a large, complex data set and work over the weekend to explore, analyze and present their findings. Teams of three to five students work together and compete against other teams from Wesleyan, Connecticut College, Yale University, Lafayette College, University of Connecticut and Trinity College.

Under the auspices of the American Statistical Association, the event is organized by the Quantitative Analysis Center.

At the end of DataFest, each team had five minutes to present their findings to the judges. The judging panel included data scientists, research analysts and a biostatistician from Boehringer-Ingelheim, CKM Advisors, The Brattle Group, Pfizer and TEK systems at Pratt and Whitney. DataFest winners were honored with a $50 cash prize, a medal, a certificate, and a year-long membership to the American Statistical Association.

Founded in 1831, Wesleyan University is a private, non-sectarian liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut.