2026-2028 Fellows
Iris Horng, Statistics and Data Science, Wharton
Faculty sponsor and advisor: Dylan Small, Universal Furniture Professor and Professor of Statistics and Data Science, Wharton
Iris plans to design and teach an Academically-Based Community Service (ABCS) course that introduces statistical literacy to high school students in West Philadelphia through music-centered, project-based learning and near-peer mentorship from Penn undergraduates.
Students will leverage their interest in music to explore how algorithms shape music recommendation systems and predictions of musical trends, while developing their own data-driven projects. Relatedly, Iris will examine how students learn and apply statistical skills through these music-based projects, investigating how this relates to their feelings of empowerment and interest in mathematics. Iris’s research focuses on causal inference and statistical pedagogy, and she is excited to work with the Netter Center to create learning experiences in mathematics and statistics that are creative, collaborative, and connected to students’ own lives, encouraging them to pursue these fields further. Prior to starting her Ph.D at Penn, Iris studied mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Anicca Liu, Social Welfare, SP2
Faculty sponsor and advisor: Sara S. Bachman, Dean of the School of Social Policy & Practice
Anicca plans to develop and teach an ABCS course in which Penn students and Philadelphia high school students partner to co-investigate health disparities affecting LGBTQ+ youth and develop community-driven research and action projects. The course will draw on queer theory and participatory research methods as a basis for addressing the intersecting crises of HIV/AIDS, nicotine vaping, and other substance use that disproportionately impact LGBTQ+ young people. Anicca’s research examines stakeholder perspectives on LGBTQ+ youth utilization of sexual health and tobacco cessation services in Philadelphia.