Dennis Sun
Director, Program in Data Science
Dennis Sun is the Director of the Program in Data Science, including the Data Science B.S., Data Science & Social Systems B.A., and Data Science minor.
He has a bachelor’s degree in Music and Mathematics from Harvard College, and he completed his master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Ph.D. in Statistics at Stanford University. As a TA, he was the recipient of the Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, Stanford's highest teaching award.
Until 2022, he was an Associate Professor of Statistics and Affiliate Professor of Computer Science at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He returned to Stanford in 2023 as an Associate Professor of Statistics and assumed the Directorship of the Program in Data Science in 2024. He is also a Staff Data Scientist at Google.
His research is focused on making statistics and data science more accessible by improving the way statistical ideas are taught and communicated, as well as developing software tools that make it easier for practitioners to use existing methods. In addition to his research in statistics education and software, he also collaborates with researchers in music and public health.
Outside of school, he enjoys trivia, hiking, and classical music.
