Data, Humanity, and the Future
Dr. Dan Runfola on the Science of Thriving
In this episode of DeanCast, Dean Schmidt sits down with Dr. Dan Runfola, Chair of Data Science at William & Mary, to explore the fascinating intersection of satellites, artificial intelligence, and human well-being. From mapping poverty from space to modeling thousands of online personalities, Dan’s work asks a powerful question: what makes humans thrive?
They discuss how a childhood art competition led to a lifelong curiosity about technology, why solving climate change requires understanding people as much as the planet, and how global satellite data can help predict, and ideally prevent, human crises. Dan also shares how his GeoLab empowers undergraduates to lead real-world projects and how William & Mary is preparing students for the era of generative AI through innovative coursework and a new minor in AI.
This episode was posted on October 30, 2025.