Crunching data in the campaign cave
Like his Renaissance namesake who was an artist, architect, and engineer, Michelangelo D’Agostino ’02 has worked to master several fields, including journalism, astrophysics, teaching, artificial intelligence, and data analytics. Now add to that political game-changer. As a Harvard undergraduate, D’Agostino moved seamlessly between physics and literature classes. He has been known to juggle two or three difficult jobs at the same time. He once conducted astrophysics and particle physics research in Antarctica while contributing science writing to The Economist. So why shouldn’t this Renaissance man help President Barack Obama win re-election in 2012? Campaign manager Jim Messina had decided that fundraising appeals should be driven by a systematic attention to measurable data. To make that happen, he and Obama needed top-notch scientific minds. D’Agostino was comfortable with big data, statistics, and rigorous testing, and soon found a new home in “The Cave,” the windowless office in Chicago that housed the Obama digital...