Dr Federico Botta

Hi!

I am a Senior Lecturer in data science in the department of computer science at the University of Exeter. Between October 2021 and September 2024 I was a Turing Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, the UK national institute for data science and AI. Between October 2021 and May 2023 I was an ESRC/ADR UK 10DS fellow (more details below).

My research aims to provide a deeper understanding of human behaviour, both at the collective and individual level, by using novel data streams. Large data sets are constantly being generated thanks to our interactions with large technological systems, such as the Internet and the mobile phone network, or they can be collected through our usage of smart phone apps and tracking sensors. I use tools from data science, network theory, behavioural and computational social sciences to analyse these data sets and investigate different aspects of human behaviour.

I have extensive experience delivering research at the intersection of data science, AI, and urban transport inequalities. I was awarded an ESRC/ADR UK fellowship to work across 10DS (data science team at 10 Downing Street) and the ONS Data Science Campus, where I worked on projects using data science for the public good. I led the publication of a paper co-authored with policy makers from 10DS and the ONS on how to best extract value from government data. I am working on a number of projects related to how we can study the cost, accessibility and performance of public transport in the UK. I am broadly interested in how we can use better data and data science methods to improve our transport systems, and support policy makers design better transport policies.

I regularly collaborate with a number of policy makers, and I am particularly passionate about how data, data science and AI can be used to support the policy making process.

I am an academic editor for PLOS ONE and I act as a reviewer for several international journals.

I was also a co-founder and organiser of Databeers Warwick, an informal networking event for all those interested in data stories.

In 2024, I led the organisation of the Confernce on Complex Systems (CCS2024; https://ccs24.cssociety.org), the largest conference in the area of Complex Systems.

I am offering to supervise self-funded PhD students in the areas of:

- computational social science and data science, in particular to study human behaviour using new forms of data (such as social media or mobile phone data)

- urban systems

- behavioural data science

• data science for public policy

I am also the Department of Computer Science's Deputy Director for Education and Students Experience, looking after our PGT portfolio.