An article published in July’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences features the research of Distinguished Professor Judea Pearl and his former graduate student, Elias Bareinboim (now an assistant professor of computer science at Purdue). Barenboim and Pearl have developed a mathematical tool (a structural causal model) that decides how information from one source should be combined with data from other sources. This could help improve scientists’ ability to understand a myriad of issues in areas that have great societal impact—health care, economics, the environment, etc.
