Data Science Spring 2025 Capstone Project Showcase
Capstone projects are the culmination of the MIDS students’ work in the School of Information’s Master of Information and Data Science program.
Over the course of their final semester, teams of students propose and select project ideas, conduct and communicate their work, receive and provide feedback, and deliver compelling presentations along with a web-based final deliverable.
Join us for an online presentation of these capstone projects.
A panel of judges will select an outstanding project for the Hal R. Varian MIDS Capstone Award.
Judges
Bill Chung
Senior Staff Data Scientist
Cepheid
Dr. Chung is currently a senior staff data scientist at Cepheid and teaches DATASCI 203 in the MIDS program at UC Berkeley's School of Information. He received his B.S., M.S., Ph.D., and MIDS degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Chung has published approximately 50 papers, with his work cited over 1,000 times. He was awarded the most deployable research project of the year by UC Berkeley and received over $380,000 to evaluate the performance of a network screening method for detecting high collision concentration locations. Recently, he developed a nonparametric method for selecting biomarkers based on RNA sequencing data, which has been filed for a patent by Cepheid. In addition to teaching DATASCI 203, Dr. Chung has published a comic book about linear algebra, which will benefit students taking 203, 207, 241, 261, and 271. He plans to make his book freely available to MIDS students in 2026.
Anirud Mittal
Machine Learning Manager
Palo Alto Networks
Anirudh Mittal is an AI/ML leader with 13+ years of experience driving enterprise AI strategy and launching AI-driven security products. Currently a machine learning manager at Palo Alto Networks, he leads high-performing teams to build scalable ML solutions that mitigate cybersecurity risks. Anirudh holds 12 AI/ML patents and has pioneered innovations like AI-Access for GenAI security. He earned his master’s in data science from UC Berkeley in 2018 and a bachelor’s in software engineering from San Jose State University.
Sue Applebaum
Head of Enterprise Analytics and Business Intelligence Services
Wells Fargo
Sue Applebaum is a 20-year data and analytics professional who currently serves as the head of enterprise analytics and business intelligence services. Applebaum leads Wells Fargo’s Analytics Leadership Council and drives engagement across the company’s analytic community by supporting cross-enterprise learning and development activities for more than 11,000 analysts. Applebaum also supports delivery of complex cross-enterprise analytic programs and provides consulting services and solutions for analytic teams embedded within the firm’s business units.
Applebaum began her Wells Fargo career in 2005. She has managed multiple enterprise data platforms across the company’s consumer, small business banking, and wealth & investment management (WIM) businesses, and led the development of the WIM analytics environment (WAE) following the Wells Fargo–Wachovia merger. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Applebaum was the director of operations and services for a Minnesota-based consulting firm specializing in data management, business intelligence, and analytics, where she delivered solutions to Fortune 500 companies nationwide.
She is active in Wells Fargo’s Women’s Employee Resource Network, Generation Connection, and Women Excelling in Data & Analytics as well as in various Minnesota community support efforts, including the Create-a-Memory Foundation
Applebaum holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Catherine’s University.