Dr. Charles Davis, University of St. Thomas professor of management in the Cameron School of Business, has been appointed a Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from November 2012 through April 2013. Davis, who is on sabbatical from UST this year, will collaborate with logistics faculty on research at MIT’s School of Engineering in the rapidly developing field of business analytics.

“Modern business information systems generate massive amounts of data, called big data, which continues to grow exponentially,” Davis said. “Forecasters insist there will soon be a shortage of analysts who can help evaluate and interpret this volume of data for decision making. With a strong demand for these skills already permeating the job market, and the expectation for this demand to increase as our world becomes increasingly data-driven, the need for talented analysts in the field is growing.”

Davis’ work at MIT should help CSB develop research and coursework to train UST business students in this emerging new field.