YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State University will host three lectures this month, covering data science in mental health, intergroup relations and Holocaust refugees.
YSU’s Science Club will present Pim Welle, chief data scientist at the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, for a discussion on the role of data science in addressing mental health crises.
The lecture, titled “Data Science for Mental Health Crises,” will take place at 4 p.m., Tuesday in the McDonough Museum of Art lecture hall as part of the Beecher Art & Technology Lecture Series.
The talk will showcase how advanced data science techniques, including machine learning, predictive analytics, survival modeling and nonexperimental causal inference, are being used by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services to analyze the mental health system, particularly involuntary commitments, also known as 302s.
The lecture will offer a case study on the intersection of data science and public policy, illustrating how statistical methods can be applied to evaluate and improve public mental health systems. The event is free and open to the public.
Welle, an MIT graduate with a Ph.D. in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University, has dedicated his career to developing machine learning and predictive analytics tools for government institutions. His work focuses on evaluating system effectiveness and directing resources to individuals with the greatest needs.
The talk is presented by the YSU Data Science Club, the Mahoning Valley Mental Health Speakers Fund, Psychological Sciences and Counseling, the Beecher Art & Technology Lecture Series and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
From 2-3 p.m. Friday, YSU’s Department of Psychological Sciences and Counseling program will present its Spring 2025 Colloquium, which will include a lecture from Xian Zhao, an assistant professor of psychology at Ohio University. The lecture is titled “Common Subgroup Identity Model for Promoting Intergroup Relations.”
To be held in DeBartolo Hall, Room 132, the colloquium will cover the Common Subgroup Identity Model, a new method for understanding intergroup relations.
This theoretical framework is intended to find mechanisms that reduce intergroup conflicts and foster cooperative interactions in culturally diverse and globalized settings.
And at 7 p.m. March 31, the university’s Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies will present a lecture by David Frey, a professor of history at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The lecture is titled “Holocaust Refugees who Fought Back: The Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie.”
The talk, which will be held in DeBartolo Hall, Room 132, will focus on the “Richie Boys,” Holocaust refugees who joined a special intelligence unit in the U.S. army at Camp Ritchie, Md., to go back to Europe, infiltrate the Nazis and help the Allies win the war.
The event is co-sponsored by the YSU Army ROTC, the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation and the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission. A dessert reception will follow the lecture.