Sponsored by the American Statistical Association (ASA), the inaugural UGA ASA DataFest 2026 was held April 10–12 and hosted by the University of Georgia’s Department of Statistics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The event brought together a diverse group of student data scientists for a weekend of innovation, collaboration, and real-world discovery.

Over 48 hours, 94 undergraduate and graduate students from the UGA, Augusta University, Clemson University, Emory University, Georgia Southern University, and Mercer University worked in teams to analyze a large, complex dataset provided by an industry partner.

ASA DataFest is a national data analysis competition organized by the ASA. It is a 48-hour collaborative event in which teams of undergraduate students analyze a large, complex dataset provided by a real organization. Participants formulate meaningful questions, apply statistical and data science techniques, and present their findings. More information is available at https://ww2.amstat.org/education/datafest.

This year’s competition, organized by Prince Allotey, T.N. Sriram, and Abhyuday Mandal, highlighted the multidisciplinary and multi-institutional nature of modern data science. Participants represented 20 academic disciplines and formed 24 teams: 13 undergraduate teams with 50 students and 11 graduate teams with 44 students. Each team contributed a range of perspectives and skills. Throughout the weekend, participants combined statistical analysis, programming, and critical thinking to extract insights from real-world data.

Final presentations demonstrated strong technical work and clear communication. Students paired analysis with compelling narratives, presenting findings with clarity and professionalism. Their work reflected both analytical strength and the ability to translate complex results into actionable insights.

The event emphasized teamwork, problem-solving, mentorship from faculty and industry professionals, and networking among students, mentors and judges. Final presentations were evaluated on insight, creativity, technical rigor and communication.

The competition concluded with a judging process recognizing excellence across categories. Awards reflected both the strength of UGA teams and contributions from partner institutions. Undergraduate awards were earned by UGA teams, while graduate honors went to teams from Clemson University and Emory University, underscoring the event’s regional impact.

Award winners

Undergraduate students

• Best in show: 5Sigma (University of Georgia) — James Notoma, David Barrero, Brandon Srebnik, George Whittington, Rehman Khan
• Best visualization: 3Brothers (University of Georgia) — Tom Mai, Dang Hoang, Nguyen Bao Anh Lee
• Best use of external data: Data Dawgs (University of Georgia) — Nate Levy, Aidan Murray, Nikita Jha, Ella Wileman

• Honorable Mention – Pink Data (University of Georgia) Arushi Saravanan, Jasmine Nguyen, Bhaumi Nadella, and Sukanya Venkatraman

  Graduate students

• Best in show: TigeRs (Clemson University) — Antonio Pierrottet, Hannah Stribling, Julia Boone
• Best visualization: MAGNet (University of Georgia) — Nathan McEntire, Bingnan Li, George Katsoulis, Aiden Benise
• Best use of external data: CR7ausal Inference (Emory University) — Yixin Hu, Yingpu Guo, Meng Tang, Jingxuan Yang

The success of DataFest 2026 was supported by the American Statistical Association, the Georgia Chapter of the ASA, the Office of the Provost, the Office of Instruction, the Graduate School, the Morehead Honors College, the Department of Statistics, Franklin’s School of Computing, and the National Institute of Statistical Sciences. Mentors and judges from academia and industry contributed guidance and professional insight throughout the event.

UGA ASA DataFest 2026 provided hands-on experience in data science while strengthening participants’ skills in communication, teamwork and critical thinking. The event also fostered connections among students, faculty and industry professionals. As the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences expands its data science programs, DataFest highlights student talent across institutions and the growing impact of data science across disciplines.