Karen Bonilla’s journey to the Data Science PhD program at WPI began six years before she officially enrolled. As one of ten students in WPI’s Data Science Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, she spent that summer analyzing participant data from a data visualization literacy experiment led by Professor Lane Harrison.
“I very much liked this area of research and wanted to continue working on it,” Bonilla says. When Harrison offered her a chance to stay on as a part-time contributor, she gladly accepted.
Now, as a full-time PhD student in Dr. Harrison’s lab, Bonilla is continuing the same line of research, helping improve people’s graph interpretation skills. “The goal,” she explains, “is to enable others to make better data-based decisions.”
That work recently earned her a major honor: being named a Fellow for the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). “It’s a very humbling achievement that I am extremely grateful for,” Bonilla says.
Bonilla’s work also reflects her commitment to making research more accessible. She hopes her research will not only help individuals, but also provide a foundation for future data scientists. “In my planned research, one of the goals is to make sure the studies’ results are accessible to other researchers, so that they can build on my completed work,” she says. “The results I find can be used as the basis for new research which can then expand on my work.”
Although Bonilla came from a background in business and economics, the transition to a more technical field was made easier by WPI’s supportive environment. “At the start, I was not sure if I could bridge the gap between these studies and the math and computer science foundations required for data science,” she says. “But with the help of my lab mates, friends at WPI, and my advisor, I am feeling much more prepared for the years to come.”
She credits Dr. Harrison as a pivotal mentor in her academic journey, both during the REU program and in her decision to pursue graduate school. “He encouraged me to apply for a graduate program when I was working in industry, and has been an amazing mentor all these years.”
Bonilla highlights the impact of other key people involved with the Data Science program at WPI, including Professor Elke Rundensteiner, Dr. Kelsey Briggs, and Ana Maria Young. “They have been incredibly supportive of me and other students, and I am very grateful for the work they do every day to make this program possible and successful.”
Dr. Briggs has also been a collaborator in Bonilla’s efforts to support and inspire others through the Women in Data Science (WiDS) Central Massachusetts chapter. “I always enjoy working with and learning from her,” she says.
Bonilla has embraced WPI’s project-based learning model, which allows her to apply theory in hands-on ways. “I feel like I learn much better when I get to apply the theory in practice, and get feedback on the projects my groupmates and I work on.”
Looking ahead, she plans to work as a User Experience researcher, applying her human-computer interaction research to areas such as food waste reduction or the circular economy. But she’s also open to staying in academia. “If there is an opportunity, I would consider working as a postdoc,” she says. “Or at the very least, I’d love to mentor students who are working on similar areas of research.”
Reflecting on her first year in the program, Bonilla says, “Joining this PhD has been one of the best decisions of my life.” Though the challenges have been real, her mindset is resolute. “Failure is not an option,” she says, quoting Apollo 13. “I have to continue towards my goal no matter what obstacles are thrown my way. Persistence is probably very important in this process.”
And as for where she chose to pursue that goal? “WPI, Data Science, and my lab and advisor were my first choice for a PhD,” Bonilla says. “I could not have chosen a better place for my PhD and personal development.”