CoDEx 2026 Draws Strong Campus Engagement Around Computational and Data‑Intensive Research
Posted Date: May 6, 2026
Northwestern University’s annual Computation and Data Exchange (CoDEx) symposium returned to Norris University Center on April 21, welcoming approximately 200 attendees from across multiple research disciplines for a day of talks, posters, visualizations, and networking centered on data‑ and computation‑driven discovery.
Hosted by Northwestern IT Research Computing and Data Services (RCDS), CoDEx 2026 showcased how faculty, staff, and student researchers are leveraging computation, data science, and visualization to enable or accelerate their research outcomes across the University.
Throughout the event, attendees engaged with peers across schools and campuses, connected with research computing and data experts, and visited corporate sponsor booths. The student poster session and visualization challenge reflected the depth and breadth of student-led work, with many participants lingering to discuss methods, tools, and potential collaborations with interested attendees.
Opening and Welcome
The symposium opened with remarks from Jackie Milhans, director of research computing and data, who welcomed participants and emphasized CoDEx’s role in building a connected, collaborative research computing community at Northwestern.
CoDEx brings together researchers from across disciplines to share practical approaches, learn from one another, and strengthen the ways in which computation and data support research at Northwestern.”
Director of Research Computing and Data
Northwestern Information Technology
Keynote Panel: Research Replication in the Modern World
A major highlight of the day was the keynote panel, Research Replication in the Modern World: Challenges and Opportunities, which explored the growing importance of rigor, transparency, and replicability in data‑intensive research.Panelists included:
- Elizabeth Tipton, Professor of Statistics and Data Science, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
- Jessica Hullman, Ginni Rometty Professor of Computer Science, McCormick School of Science and Engineering
- Jacob Schauer, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine
Moderated by Christina Maimone, associate director of research data services, the discussion examined sampling, heterogeneous effects, and the role of data visualization and statistical methods in improving the generalizability of results across domains.
The Keynote Panel was especially relevant given today's expectations from funders, journals, and the public for validated and trustworthy research outcomes.
Research Talks and Student‑Led Sessions
In the morning, the student poster competition and visualization challenge showcased research happening at Northwestern on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses. These sessions offer valuable opportunities to learn about projects in different domains and to meet researchers applying similar or different methods to new problems.
The afternoon featured parallel research talks by faculty, graduate students, and research staff, highlighting advances in areas such as AI‑enabled analysis, data visualization, and computational modeling.
Awards were presented to the winners of the poster competition, visualization challenge, and the People’s Choice Award. Congratulations to the winners!
A Growing Community Around Data and Computation
In addition to scheduled programming, CoDEx 2026 placed strong emphasis on informal connections. Attendees moved between talks, vendor booths, and the RCDS consultation table. The venue allowed students, faculty, and staff at Northwestern to connect through research, data, computing, or simply their Northwestern connection.
By the close of the symposium, attendees and presenters were able to engage in moments that celebrated research accomplishments at the University, simply by coming together and supporting the research scholarship showcased.
As Northwestern continues to expand its research computing ecosystem, CoDEx remains a central forum for celebrating innovation, sharing best practices, and fostering cross‑campus collaboration in computation and data science.
Northwestern IT thanks the Office of the Provost for their support, and our corporate sponsors Google Cloud, Comsol, Cambridge Computer and Nvidia, Lenovo AMD, Amazon Web Services, Redesign, and Dell Technologies for their generous contributions and participation.