DCiFR GitHub Repository
-This is the GitHub repository for DCiFR, where all of the code for the GUI and instructions on how to run it can be found.
DCiFR
This is a graphic that outlines the DCiFR software interface.
Sophomore year was one of unexpected circumstances, posing a new challenge and prompting big (but temporary) life changes. Throughout it all, I was able to grow as a student, a future professional, and as a person.
Academics: This was my first year as an official data analytics major, which allowed me to start developing the foundation for my data analytics education. However, online school definitely made this adjustment to taking more advanced classes more difficult, and I found that I was disappointed in the quality of learning that I was receiving in my core classes for my major. However, I was able to take several general education courses and sociology courses for my minor that I enjoyed, of which Comparative Studies 2864H: Modernity and Post Modernity, and Sociology 2290: Culture and Pop Culture, were highlights. I also enjoyed gaining more experience coding in R and taking statistics courses specifically for data analytics majors, and am looking forward to more advanced statistics classes along my academic path.
Research/Internships: This fall, I dedicated a lot of my time to applying to internships, building a LinkedIn profile and creating connections online, which opened up a lot of opportunities. However, after applying to over 20 internships, and being ghosted after a final final interview and promises of a position, I was not able to land an internship for this summer, and made the decision, in my best interest, to focus on myself and my other current projects instead, especially after a grueling year of online school.
At the start of 2021, the two graduate students that I worked with on a computational social science research project in the Translational Data Analytics institute reached out to me, and I decided to re-join the project to create DCiFR, or Demographic Characteristics in Facial Recognition, a python graphical user interface that allows users to analyze the characteristics of any photos that they have, with the help of deep learning models. I am the first author of this software, and have been working on coding the interface throughout this past semester, which is in its final stages of development and will be available for the public to use soon. It has been an incredible experience to work on a project from scratch on my own, and be able to see the process of how a research project is created, from start to finish. I will be third author on the paper that we plan to publish in the near future.
Personal:
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I made the decision to spend this year in my hometown of Bloomington, Indiana. This was a difficult decision to make, as I knew that being away from campus, Columbus, and my friends was going to be hard. Taking only online classes for a full year forced me to develop new organizational, time management, and work habits, and I struggled without the social resources that being at Ohio State provides. However, I think that this decision allowed me to not only be more successful in my academics and extra curriculars, but also allowed for me to manage the limitations and events of the past year in a more calm and controlled way. I could not be more excited to come back to Columbus in the fall, but I am also grateful for the lessons and the growth that this past year in Bloomington has brought me.
Research Experiences:
Department of Sociology Research Assistant, Computational Social Science, January 2020-May 2020, January 2021-Present
In the spring semester of my first year, I joined a computational social science project through the Translational Data Analytics Institute under graduate students Peter Choi and Erik Axxe. This project focused on researching the significance of race and skin-tone on the internet, using a variety of large databases, as well as Python facial recognition scripts that were trained to accurately identify the skin-tone of someone in a photo. This research experience was my first introduction to doing real data analytics work, and I developed my data-oriented Python skills using Jupyter Notebook. I was introduced to a wide variety of new data analytics topics and languages, including R, natural language processing, sentiment analysis, facial recognition, and more. This experience helped me realize my interest in computational social science, and specifically the application of data analytics in the sociology field for research. I am hoping to continue to research in this field and develop my senior research thesis on a computational social science project, and plan on continuing to work under Erik and Peter this next year.
Now, in 2021, I am continuing to work with Erik and Peter on the final parts of the research project, including writing the research paper and creating the DCiFR software to publish with it, of which I am the first author. I have worked on coding this interface for most of the semester, and strengthened my Python and software development skills, and was able to learn about how to use the PyQt GUI package effectively. The interface will allow for users to upload either one image or multiple image, and runs DeepFace, a deep learning algorithm, on those images, to produce a CSV results file of the attributes for which the user selected. This paper and software will be published sometime soon, most likely this summer, as we continue to work on the project after the semester has finished.
Internship Experiences:
Garyfallidis Research Group (GRG), May 2020-Present: Software Development Intern
This summer, I joined GRG to work as a software development intern for the FURY project, working on developing tutorials, new features, and reviewing code. FURY is an open-source Python library for 3D visualization, used for scientific research across the globe. FURY was developed to simplify 3D visualization and animation in Python for the DIPY project, another open-source Python package for medical and scientific visualization, specifically computational neuroanatomy and brain imaging. Currently, I am still involved in the GRG group, editing and looking over recent FURY pull requests, as well as reviewing and editing a variety of papers that have or are in the works of being published. This experience has allowed me to develop my software development skills, and I now feel confident in my ability to use Python. Working with a large research group from a variety of locations also helped me learn about online version control, and I became proficient in using Git remotely and GitHub. I was able to apply my learnings from both Linear Algebra and Calculus III to visualize new shapes and prisms in three dimensions, and learned about texture mapping, timers, and camera movement to create animated scenes in Python.
Summer 2020 Internship: Garyfallidis Research Group (GRG)
Here are some artifacts from my software development internship at GRG through Indiana University’s School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering.
FURY Website
My FURY GitHub Pull Requests
My Tutorials:
Freshman year was packed full of new experiences, people, and opportunities. Ohio State is now my second home, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next three years will bring.
Academics: As a pre-major in data analytics, I saw freshman year as an academic survey of Ohio State. I took 7 general education classes in a variety of subject areas, including philosophy, world cinema, West African history, and physical anthropology. I submitted my application to the data analytics major in May of 2020, and am eager to delve deeper into what data analytics at Ohio State has to offer. It was difficult at first for me to adjust to the demands of college classes, but I was able to learn about what worked best for me academically and learn how to succeed and thrive in my challenging classes.
Research/Internships: I knew that I wanted to start exploring research opportunities as soon as possible, and I did so by applying to join a computational social science project in the department of sociology at the end of the fall semester. Little did I know, the experiences and learning opportunities I had through this research position would open my eyes to how invaluable computational research methods are to any area of study, and I was fascinated by the intersection of data analysis and sociology, especially in relation to the present-day problem of racial discrimination on the internet, as well as the value of open-source programming in today’s world. This amazing opportunity led me to change my minor to sociology, and I’m excited to continue doing research in computational social science.
A screenshot of the animation from a recent tutorial I created for FURY. Click on the photo to watch a GIF of the animation!
Another highlight of this year has been interning for the Garyfallidis Research group at Indiana University’s School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. This research and development group specializes in scientific data visualization, as well as many more software engineering areas of interest. I have learned so much about the coding backbone of these animations and 3D visualizations, and I am able to see the vast potential for data visualization that these technologies provide, specifically into the medical and scientific world of study, which is a large focus for the research group. I have been developing tutorials for users of FURY, an open-source scientific visualization Python library, available to anyone who wants to learn more about the capabilities the library has. Most recently, I created a tutorial walking users through making an animation of our solar system, with planets following their accurate orbital paths.
Extracurriculars: I purposefully tried not to over-extend myself during my first year, as I know it to be a non-beneficial tendency of mine. Instead, I worked hard to invest time in my academics, social life, personal time, and extracurriculars that I was genuinely interested in and cared about. I joined the Big Data Analytics Association, which allowed me to find a community within the Data Analytics major, and learn more about professional opportunities after finishing my undergraduate. This organization has so many amazing resources, and I was able to connect with many of the members, including upperclassmen, to help me start to find my path within this area of study.
My first time lead belaying at the climbing club’s clinic. We went to the Scioto Audobon park in Columbus, an outdoor climbing facility and nature preserve.
I also joined the Ohio State rock climbing club, as rock climbing is one of my biggest hobbies, and met many awesome new people. I frequently went to practice at off-campus gyms in Columbus, and was even able to learn how to lead climb, which was a big accomplishment! I plan on participating in some competitions through the team in the near future.
Personal: I found my first year at Ohio State to be really fulfilling, despite that it did include some struggles to adjust to, as well as bumps along the road. I loved living in Bradley Hall, and was able to meet some incredible friends. Football games were definitely a highlight of my fall semester, as I’ve never seen school spirit quite like Ohio State’s. I’m definitely a proud buckeye now! The adjustment as an out-of-state student did make things somewhat difficult at first, but the resources the university had to offer helped to ensure my success during my first year. It was sad to see the spring semester come to a close earlier than expected as a result of COVID-19, and I was sad to leave Columbus so abruptly. Despite that things are still uncertain for the coming academic year, I’m looking forward to seeing what my next year at Ohio State will bring.
A picture from my first football game!
As an honors student at The Ohio State University, my current actions and future plans for my four years align with the principles of G.O.A.L.S., and I am proud to share how I will work towards each individual category of this framework.
Firstly is Global Awareness, of which I plan to pursue through an eventual study abroad or overseas internship. Accumulating knowledge of our world and its diverse set of cultures is extremely important to any student, no matter what they are studying. Learning to appreciate and understand diversity through an educational study abroad would prepare me for a professional career full of professionals from a variety of backgrounds, especially in the potential professional fields of technology consulting or working for a larger technology company, as networking and making connections is crucial to the job. I hope to find a unique learning experience to teach me both about an academic area of interest and the appreciation of a new and unique culture.
One of the things that excited me the most about coming to Ohio State was the immense breadth of research opportunities. I am excited to make faculty connections in my first semesters to pursue undergraduate research in an area that interests me, directly associating with Original Inquiry. I will be working to gain research experience to eventually complete a senior thesis, exploring individual and original research projects. During the spring semester of 2020, I took my first step into the world of original inquiry at Ohio State as a research assistant in the department of sociology. This research opportunity opened my eyes to the power that research holds, and how high the demand for data analytics skills are within any area of study to take inquiry to the next level. This experience led me to change my minor to sociology, and I’m looking forward to delving deeper into computational social science research in my next three years at Ohio State.
In regards to Academic Enrichment, my major is the perfect fit for my future career. I believe that data analytics will best prepare me for jobs of interest in the professional world after my undergraduate, as I wanted to gain these technological and statistical skills to analyze data and information professionally. However, I also have sought out general education classes that interest me outside of my major, and that make me excited to learn more. Two of my general education highlights so far have been Environmental Citizenship and Honors Introduction to Philosophy, both of which have challenged the way that I think about the world around me. Both of these classes have influenced me to think about potential minors, which is a very exciting way to enrich my academic experience at OSU. This summer, I took History of Modern West Africa, which I found to be one of the most intellectually stimulating classes of my Ohio State career.
As a first year, I have not had many opportunities yet to gain experience in Leadership Development, but I have made developments into a variety of student organizations that I intend to gain leadership experience in. As a member of BDAA, I have the potential ability to gain experience leading within my academic area of interest, which would be extremely valuable to benefitting both my academic and leadership skills. I am also a member of the OSU climbing club, of which I have really enjoyed the social connections and team based interaction. Working towards a leadership position in this physically competitive environment would be extremely fun and very enriching to my leadership experiences.
Lastly, as an Eminence Fellow, I am working with the members of my class to create our eminence service project, which we will develop and carry on throughout our time at Ohio State. I am extremely excited to see where this project takes me, and I know that it will be very valuable experience to connect with my community and be involved in Service Engagement. I am also still exploring other service organizations, specifically technology related service opportunities. The breadth of OSU’s student service organizations will allow for me to stay connected to the important value of service throughout my time at Ohio State.
My name is Melina Raglin, and I am a fourth-year student and Eminence Fellow majoring in data analytics and minoring in sociology. I’m interested in the applications of technology and data analysis in various areas of professional work and study, as well as several other subjects of study, including sociology, design, and sustainability. I am a member of Ohio State’s Big Data Analytics Association, a unique data analytics oriented organization here at Ohio State. I am also a member of Cultivate Columbus. I am planning to graduate this upcoming spring of 2023 and will be seeking a full-time job as a data analyst with a projected start date in fall of 2023.
In spring of 2020, I was a research assistant for a computational social science project through OSU’s department of sociology and the Translational Data Analytics Institute, studying the impact of race and inequality on the internet using web scraping, facial recognition software, and data analysis tools. During the summer of 2020, I interned for the Garyfallidis Research Group at Indiana University’s School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, working on software development and creating tutorials for FURY, a scientific visualization Python library.
At the beginning of 2021, I started my research assistantship in the Sociology department back up, acting as first author of DCiFR, or Demographic Characteristics in Facial Recognition, which I have been coding and developing throughout the spring semester of 2021. DCiFR is a software interface that allows users to run facial analysis on their own photos with the help of deep learning models, which is available for download on GitHub and PyPi.