Sina-Marie Mayer, a Master of Public Informatics student, described on Apr. 1 her academic journey combining data science and artificial intelligence with public policy. Mayer is currently pursuing a double degree between the University of Konstanz and the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Mayer said her interest began while studying Politics & Public Administration in Germany, where she observed that policymakers often had access to large amounts of data but lacked the ability to turn it into meaningful action. This experience led her to focus on data-driven decision making for government and policy, ultimately bringing her to the Master of Public Informatics program.
“The MPI program pushed Sina to expand beyond quantitative foundations into applied technical work. Courses such as Machine Learning for Public Informatics and Advanced Quantitative Methods helped her think not only about building predictive models, but also how to use it responsibly in public sectors,” Mayer said. She highlighted the value of working with real-world clients through courses like Public Informatics Studio, which emphasize teamwork and communicating insights effectively.
Her research includes analyzing Reddit discussions about artificial intelligence using natural language processing (NLP) techniques to study how fear and stress appear in online discourse. Additionally, she contributed to developing an NLP pipeline designed to detect early signs of dementia from speech data while ensuring explainability for clinical use.
The Edward J. Bloustein School is part of Rutgers University, according to the official website. The school focuses on fostering just, socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and healthy communities at local, national, and global levels according to its official website. Its research centers address issues such as community development, transportation, health care access, workforce development and energy policy according to its official website.
The school has earned national recognition for its programs: third place nationally for graduate urban planning programs and fourth place for undergraduate public health programs according to its official website. Stuart Shapiro became dean in 2023 according to the school’s official site.
The school also recognizes distinguished alumni through a Hall of Fame established in 2013 as well as annual achievement awards dating back three decades according to its official website.