📢 International Scholar Lecture: Accounting for Unknown Unknowns and Black Swans in Data Science

MS Program in Disaster Risk Management and Resilience (MDR) is pleased to host an International Scholar Lecture on July 2, 2025. All faculty members and students are welcome to join!

This lecture will be delivered by Dr. Robert B. Gilbert, Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and Chair of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He will explore key challenges in data science, especially the treatment of uncertainty, unknown risks, and "Black Swan" events.

📌 Event Details

• Title: Accounting for Unknown Unknowns and Black Swans in Data Science

• Speaker: Robert B. Gilbert PhD, PE, D.GE, NAE

• Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2025

• Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

• Venue: 7F Salon, Zonghe Lecture Building, National Taiwan University

• Registration: https://forms.gle/v8wwfbkQ654xwoWu7
  
  

📖 Lecture Overview

Bayes’ Theorem forms the foundation of artificial intelligence and information processing, yet defining prior probabilities in the absence of information remains a persistent challenge. This lecture introduces the Decision Entropy Theory, a rational framework for establishing non-informative priors by maximizing decision uncertainty. Practical examples, including the 2014 fatal landslide in Washington State, will be discussed to demonstrate the importance of this approach in risk analysis.