Boiler Up, Hammer Data winners announced; voting is open for the BTAA Data Viz Championship

Institutional Data Analytics + Assessment (IDA+A) has announced the winners of the 2026 Boiler Up, Hammer Data Challenge, held as part of Love Data Week today through Friday (Feb. 9-13). This annual event celebrates data and its impact on research and education. One student winner and one faculty/staff winner are advancing to the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) Data Viz Championship.

Voting for the best data visualization is open through 1 p.m. ET Friday. See the student gallery and faculty/staff gallery to explore the data visualizations and vote for the Love It! Award winners. Visualization authors will present their work during the showcase on Friday, and the champions will be announced at the end. Advanced registration is required to attend the Love Data Week events and showcase.

Boiler Up, Hammer Data Challenge winners:

Purdue Data Visualization Excellence Award — $1,000 award
Kinaya Hines – The Gold Standard
*Will represent Purdue at the Big 10 Data Visualization Competition

Daniels School of Business Excellence in Business Insights Award — $500 award
Rajsri Raghunath – Rah, Rah, Rah! The Analytics of University Fight Songs

Purdue Libraries Visionary Visualization Award — $500 award
William Schnefke – The Periodic Table of College Fight Songs

Faculty/staff winner
John Race – Winter Session: Undergrad Online Course Report
*Will represent Purdue at the Big 10 Data Visualization Competition

In addition to the Data Viz Championship, Purdue University faculty, staff and students are invited to participate in Love Data Week’s no-cost, virtual events. Session topics include practical strategies for responsible AI implementation, digital accessibility, careers in data and more. Interested participants can register for events and visit Purdue’s Love Data Week webpage for more information.