Finding the story in the numbers: data science at UF

Four years ago, when Mallory Tyler’s journey began at the University of Florida, she started as an exploratory major who struggled with the age-old question that plagues many idealistic first-year students: How do I choose the major that is right for me? With interests in computer science, mathematics and hobbyist beekeeping, Tyler wasn’t sure there was a singular niche at UF to suit her needs. That is, until she stumbled upon data science.

She didn’t have to choose between her interests anymore; analyzing data gave her the freedom to carve her own path.

Now, in her fourth year, Tyler has been able to explore a multitude of opportunities within the data science major, from 48-hour hackathons to analyzing medieval tax documents during a summer abroad. Truly the only limit is her imagination.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, degrees in fields related to data science and statistics constitute one of the fastest-growing markets, with a projected 34% employment growth over the next decade. UF stands at the forefront of developing the next generation of analysts, with majors in data science and statistics, minors in actuarial science and statistics and a certificate in data analytics.

Yet the real significance of the numbers that data analysts and statisticians use is derived from the stories the figures tell.

For Tyler, who had loved honey bees since she was in sixth grade, her honors thesis was a way to give context behind the mortality rates of her favorite insects.

“The media almost tries to scare you,” she said. “Honey bees are dying around the country, yes this is true, but it doesn’t tell the complete story … I talked about what’s actually going on behind the scenes.”

Through research into honey bee splitting, a process where beekeepers take current hives and split it into two colonies; varroa destructors, which are parasites that latch onto bees to weaken them; and data from the United States Department of Agriculture, Tyler was able to create predictive models to see where bee colony members would be in the next ten years, create a story map in ArcGIS and advocate for future restoration of honey bee populations.

Her paper won the 2026 Best STEM paper at the UF Undergraduate Research Symposium in April.

“You can really do data science with anything,” Tyler said.

For Demetris Athienitis, the undergraduate coordinator for the Department of Statistics, the allure of data science is derived from identifying patterns and piecing together a narrative from the evidence.

“It still interests me that we use data in every aspect of our lives,” he said. “Whenever we make a decision, we use our experience, that’s a data point … data is everywhere and utilized the correct way it can help you.”

From Disney to Carnival Cruises to Starbucks, there is data in every facet of life, Athienitis said. Collecting ethical data is something we prioritize at UF, he said, which is why one of the required courses to receive a degree in the Department of Statistics is to take a philosophy and ethics course.

“The issue with AI is it hallucinates,” he said. “Sometimes it misses the big picture, the way it builds things, the architecture might work for individual tasks but when trying to combine all that together or expand it, AI fails. It’s not able to look under the hood and figure out what’s happened.”

AI takes all the puzzle pieces but doesn’t always make the correct puzzle, Athienitis said. That’s why keeping humans in this field to tell the deeper meaning behind the numbers is so important.

“Stats was developed to solve a problem,” said Elizabeth Johnson, associate instructional professor in statistics.

These fields aren’t isolated positions, she said. Being an analyst means knowing how to work with consultants in the field and use the numbers collected to fill in holes within the research.

Beyond crunching the numbers, the social skills of being able to communicate what the data is saying is crucial in this field, Johnson added. Oftentimes analysts act as a translator, collaborating with people knowledgeable on the subject, taking data that’s collected, and then interpreting it.

“The core skills are the same, no matter whether we’re working in sports, or national archives, or agricultural research,” she said. “It’s just a matter of how we apply it … it’s an exciting time to be a data scientist [or] statistician; you’re never going to get bored!”