News

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have found that sentiments in the nursing notes of health care providers are good indicators of whether intensive care unit (ICU) patients will survive. 

Hospitals typically use severity of illness scores to predict the 30-day survival of ICU patients. These scores include lab results, vital signs, and physiological and demographic characteristics gathered within 24 hours of admission. 

Photography by Jon White

Over 100 undergraduate and graduate students gathered in Mathematics 3 early Saturday morning to tackle large datasets at The Data Open, a competition that brings together the best minds in mathematics, engineering, science and technology to collaborate and compete using the world’s most important data sets. Students received the data sets at 8:00 a.m. and, in teams of three to four, had until 3:30 p.m. to analyze the data, extract meaningful insights, and propose solutions to a socially impactful problem.

Imagine analyzing 10 trillion data points, from a variety of sources, collected at an extremely fast rate. The data can help address business challenges companies faces every day, and possibly even predict client behavior– but you’re not sure where to start. How do you sift through the data that’s available to you, and draw out just the information you need?