Heather Lynch, Institute of Advanced Computational Science

Abstract: This talk will introduce students to the newly funded Science and Research to Inform Decision (STRIDE) training grant. STRIDE is an innovative training program that will provide STEM graduate students with unique interdisciplinary skills to assist, create, and eventually lead in the translation of complex data-enabled research into informed decisions and sound policies. In addition to training in cutting-edge data analytics and visualization, STRIDE includes the trans-disciplinary skills of decision support including science communication, understanding the perspectives of various stakeholders, and translating scientific uncertainty, that are too often not explicitly taught.

This end-to-end training program aims to transcend traditional graduate education by integrating multiple disciplines and novel training elements that span spatial data, advanced visual data analytics, high-performance and data-centric computing, a science discipline, communication including interpersonal skills and modern media, decision making, and relevant internships

Bio: Heather Lynch is an Associate Professor in the Ecology & Evolution Department, whose research is focused on integrating satellite imagery and statistical modeling to understand the distribution and abundance of Antarctic wildlife. She has a BA in Physics from Princeton University, an MA in Physics from Harvard University, and a PhD in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University. Her most recent interest is in developing machine learning-based tools to automate the interpretation of commercial satellite imagery, and in building cyberinfrastructure to enable more efficient use of satellite imagery in polar sciences..