Last Friday, the Arts and Science Faculty Society (ASUS) formally launched its new project, called The DATA Journal, establishing a website and creating anticipation for their first issue. 

“The DATA Journal is a faculty reviewed research journal focusing in the field of Computer Science and any related work at Queen’s,” Editor in Chief Zac Baum, ArtSci ’17, explained. 

Students from any department within ASUS will be able to submit research papers, as well as work from courses or external projects. 

“We also plan to run a few events to promote undergraduate research in computing over the rest of this semester,” Baum said. 

The DATA Journal, he said, was created as a byproduct of “strong relations” that have grown between ASUS and COMPSA. 

“There was a lot of interest from the administration to get something like this off the ground and up and running” Baum said. He spoke highly of the benefits to them, as well as to the student body at large. 

“Publishing work as an undergraduate is often seen as intimidating and unattainable,” he said. “By having a faculty reviewed journal at Queen’s, this will no longer be the case for students working in the fields of and relating to computer science.”

The DATA Journal can also help undergraduate students find the right supervisor should they become interested in research or want to pursue a Master’s or PhD. Recently, ASUS also announced the creation of an Indigenous-focused journal that will publish academic work on Indigenous issues.

Baum explained that with The DATA Journal being in its first year, there were many different paths that could’ve been taken. Baum and ASUS Academics Commissioner, Mitch Thibault, ArtSci ’17, came up with a few ideas during the summer of 2016. 

“When the rest of the editorial board was hired in September and October, we doubled down on those ideas and got to work with planning events, designing logos, and reaching out to faculty to gauge their interest,” Baum said. 

Baum said that The DATA Journal should have been created a long time ago, but is happy that he has been able to be a part of it now that it has. 

“I think that it is so important that we continue to promote undergraduate inquiry and research in computing so that we can keep the calibre and size of our graduate program for years to come.”