Dr. Firman M. Firmansyah, Research Manager at the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC), has been selected for the Data Science for Education (DS4Edu) Fellowship, a competitive one-year program supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES). He will work directly alongside leading data and learning scientists at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
The central focus of his fellowship project will be the creation of an interactive data dashboard designed to translate complex waste characterization studies into intuitive, accessible visual insights. By turning detailed waste stream data into clear metrics, the dashboard will educate municipal stakeholders, industry partners, and the public on what is actually ending up in local trash and recycling streams.
“By translating complex waste data into interactive visual tools, we hope to help communities make informed recycling and waste-reduction decisions,” noted Dr. Firmansyah.
By combining environmental data with educational design, the project aims to enhance public waste literacy, highlight contamination patterns, and support data-driven waste reduction strategies across communities, bringing WDAC’s essential research out of spreadsheets and into actionable public awareness.
Congratulations Dr. Firmansyah!