Dr. Ben Baumer is the Director of the Statistical & Data Sciences Program at Smith College, and an Assistant Professor in the Program in Statistical & Data Program. He is a data scientist — his research and teaching is focused on extracting meaning from data. This interest is informed by both his graduate work, which focused on discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science, and his professional experience, where he served as the Statistical Analyst for the New York Mets from 2004 to 2012. Having extensive experience and training in mathematics, computer science, and statistics, Ben enjoys the interplay between these three fields, particularly in data science and network science. Ben is also knowledgeable about sabermetrics, sports analytics, applied statistics, statistical modeling, analysis of algorithms, combinatorial optimization, data visualization, graph theory, and combinatorics.