A data-driven response to a pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to challenge how societies and institutions function at macro and micro scales. In the United States, the novel coronavirus has affected everything from the economy to elections — and has raised difficult questions about MIT’s capacity to reopen in the fall. To help policymakers at MIT and beyond make informed decisions, the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS) has formed a volunteer research group, Isolat, that provides analysis of pandemic-related data. “This pandemic has energized the broader IDSS community to bring crucial skills to bear,” says IDSS Director Munther Dahleh, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science (EECS). “Probability and statistics are tools for measuring uncertainty, and we have expertise within IDSS in using scientific information to impact policymaking.” The IDSS COVID-19 collaboration (Isolat) consists of MIT faculty, students, and researchers from different departments, as well as partners from around the world. Isolat members are statisticians, epidemiologists,...