Computer science students solve one of the biggest unsolved mysteries by examining thousands of documented UFO sightings.

A shiny object near Mount Rainier collided with Roswell. For thousands of years, people have looked up into the sky and seen unidentified objects flying. But are the signs of this alien civilization the result of terrestrial phenomena such as balloons of the era, rocket launches and even the launch of a pop science fiction movie?

These are some of the questions answered by 60 USC Masters students in Computer Science in an advanced content and data analysis lesson developed by associate professor Chris Mattmann in “Material Data Detection and Analysis”. last semester. A lifelong space lover, Mattmann is a senior data scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and head of USC’s Data and Information Science Group.

Students’ UFOs seen: concrete evidence of extraterrestrial life?

In the classroom, students work in small groups, studying thousands of documented UFO sightings to discover how observation patterns influence factors such as movie releases. and weather events.

What did they find? They found no specific evidence of extraterrestrial life visiting the Earth, but students found interesting patterns hidden in the data.

“We have found that the launch of science fiction films is associated with increased visibility,” said Matheos Asfaw, who follows the spring course. “We’ve also found that there are many reports of events such as hurricanes.”

Asfaw, who graduated in May and did a full-time job with Santa Monica software company Cornerstone OnDemand, is part of Team 8 with Eric Hachuel, Pablo Guidice, Bruno Mazetti and Teague Ashcraft. The hunting team can be viewed and evaluated.

Analysis of 60,000 observations of public databases

The theme of UFOs may be laughable, but make no mistake: large amounts of unstructured data, including eyewitness data, locations, and explanations, need to be carefully researched to explore this mystery.

Each team analyzed a public database of more than 60,000 observations and pooled them with data from other sources during the semester. Finally, we used data visualization techniques to evaluate data analysis tools and communicate ideas. In the process, I learned an important lesson on how to use data to understand complex problems.

“Because I wanted to become a computer scientist, I went to USC to get a master’s degree,” Hachuel has a degree in industrial engineering and worked as a software flight intern at SpaceX this summer.

“I really enjoy this process because data scientists have taught me the process. It’s a dynamic process. It’s not easy and can be frustrating. You have to dig in to find the answer, and that’s what you’ve learned.”

Last data type meeting

After graduating in 2007, Mattmann had the opportunity to undertake a project that had real impact on USC-eligible students. At that time, he developed Apache Tika software, which is used to extract data from the Panama Papers, to show how the rich are abusing foreign tax systems.

She wants to offer her students the same true experience by focusing on a variety of real topics for each course. Previously, students exchanged information about Arctic ice, two separate research projects that Mattmann was working on, and selling illegal weapons online.

Most importantly, regardless of the level of practice on the first day, Mattmann expects students to leave the classroom to manage the most difficult details.

“In this class, students want to uncover how to gather real data from start to finish, how to collect them, how to do them, and how to access information that is ethical and responsible knowledge, “Mattmann said.

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