In 2012, it was estimated that humans create 2.5 exabytes of digital data every day, and this number, a quintillion bytes, is growing. This data is most valuable when it is reliable, secure, private and useable. In his research, computer science and computer engineering professor Xintao Wu focuses on ways to process and protect large amounts of data in various domains including retail, social networks, healthcare, and genomics.

Xintao Wu has over a decade of experience in research and teaching in the area of data mining, data privacy and security, and database application testing. In one of his current projects, he is applying the state-of-the-art cloud computing technologies to process data for a technology company. The company collects huge amounts of denial log data from its millions of clients and wants to analyze it to improve the functioning of mobile devices, but the data files are huge and disorganized. Wu is mining the data to make sense of it in order to generate timely reports for the company.

In another project, Wu is looking at ways to combine information from social networks with information from retailers. This could lead to more effective and targeted advertising on social networks, as well as better service for retail customers. A third project is a program that helps people lose weight by collecting data on social and physical activity, combining this with biomarker data, and developing data mining tools to help understanding the influence of healthcare social networks on sustained weight loss.

Of course, projects like these involve a lot of sensitive data, and participants need to be sure that their data will remain private and secure. Wu has been conducting research in this field for a decade, developing new privacy preserving data mining approaches to protect data. He has received several grants including a Faculty Early Career Award from the National Science Foundation for his research in this area.

This semester, Wu is teaching a data mining course for undergraduates. He explained that he was drawn to the University of Arkansas because of the emphasis the College of Engineering has put on its research strengths. Three of Wu’s research focuses--big data, cybersecurity and healthcare--have been identified as emerging research areas for the college.

Wu is originally from China. He received a bachelor’s degree in information science from the University of Science and Technology of China, a master’s degree in computer engineering from the Chinese Academy of Space Technology and a doctorate in information technology from George Mason University. Before coming to the U of A, he was a professor of software and information systems at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He will hold the Charles D. Morgan/Acxiom Endowed Graduate Research Chair. His wife, Guohua Wu, is an architect. They have two sons.