Assistant Professor. Computer and Data Scientist at The University of Chicago
I research data ecology, a concept I created to study how data shapes our world and how we can shape it back.
I’m Raul Castro Fernandez, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago and co-founder and Chief Research Officer at invocate. I originated the concept of data ecology, which frames my research on how data moves through and transforms technological, economic, and social systems—and how we can design interventions (technical, economic, and social) to make those ecosystems more valuable, equitable, and resilient.
I lead work in data ecology, data discovery, and related areas such as data markets and data integration. My group develops both theory and systems that help people and organizations find, evaluate, and use data effectively.
I’ve been honored with the SIGMOD Test-of-Time Award (2023), an NSF CAREER Award (2024), and a Sloan Research Fellowship (2025). I co-lead the Data Ecology research initiative at the Data Science Institute, and I co-run Chicago Data Night, a forum that brings together industry and academia in Chicago.
Take a look here if you want to read a bit more about my bio
AUGUST'25 Speaker at the Incentives for Collaborative Learning and Data Sharing. TTIC Summer Workshop
FEBRUARY'25 Named Sloan Research Fellow
JANUARY'25 Talk on data ecology at the AI/ML Affinity group at the US Census Bureau
JANUARY'25 Manuel Cebrian visited our group
NOVEMBER'24 Talks on data ecology at the Harris School of Public Policy, on data discovery at GSL@Microsoft, and on data sharing at an IDEAL workshop.
OCTOBER'24 New Safeinsights project Safeinsights project kick-off meeting
See a log of all updates
Here you will find a list of our publications.
Below I include Postdocs, PhD, and Master students. In addition to these, I’m fortunate to work with great undergraduate students and occasionally with external students.