Science to Data Science and Beyond!

Anna Peng is the Senior Data Scientist at MVF, a pioneering integrated media and marketing company. She did her PhD in Computational Cognitive Science and also has a background in fine arts, working as an interior designer before. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and making stained glass. ACM Membership: https://www.acm.org/membership LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-peng-phd-b0917712/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Fiona Reid is currently the Senior Data Scientist in Cognitive Computing at Lloyds Banking Group. She did her PhD in Earth Sciences at Oxford and spent over 20 years working in academia before transitioning to data science. In her spare time, she enjoys hillwalking and climbing and has climbed all the Munros 3 times, Compleating the SMC Full House of Hills. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fiona-reid-464696aa/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Laurens Geffert is Head of Science at Ocean OS, an environmental services company devoted to making ocean AI models for actionable insights. He received his PhD in Geography at Cambridge and has worked at many notable companies, including Google in their geospatial team. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, exercising, and time with his wife and children. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurensgeffert OCEAN/Big Five personality test: https://bigfive-test.com/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Thank you for listening to Science to Data Science and Beyond! No episode this week, but we'll be back in 2 weeks again! Please leave your questions and comments below.

Ryan Varley is a Data Engineering Fellow at Magnite, the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising platform. He was previously the Senior Vice President of Technology at the education technology startup Boclips, responsible for the Data, Product and engineering Teams. He did his PhD in Astrophysics at UCL and talks about how to make brilliant people work brilliantly together on his LinkedIn and newsletter titled “Brilliant people, Exceptional teams”. In his free time, he enjoys rock climbing. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanvarley/ Newsletter: https://newsletter.ryanvarley.com/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Theresa Offwood-le Roux is the Senior Principal Data Scientist at NetSuite, the world’s first cloud company founded in 1998. She has a PhD in Financial Mathematics and worked as a quant in a bank for 3 years in South Africa before moving to London and transitioning to data science. Theresa is a mother to 2 beautiful little girls and loves spending her free time with them. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-offwood-le-roux-08716b46/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Andy Symonds is a Data Scientist at Thoughtworks, a global tech consultancy blending design, engineering, and AI to help businesses thrive through innovation. He did his PhD in Neuroscience and Zoology at the University of Western Australia and spent over a decade at King’s College London as a Research Associate. In his spare time, he strives to maintain a good balance between work and raising young children. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-symonds-260b8682/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Alexander Hampton is a Data Scientist at the London North Eastern Railway (LNER), one of the UK’s leading long-distance train operators. He did his PhD at Durham University in Synthetic Organic Chemistry. In his spare time, he enjoys travelling, snowboarding, and watching American football. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-hampton-758398a0/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Godfrey Leung is a “full-stack” data scientist, or as he prefers, a data “magician/wizard”, at Collinson, a customer services company dedicated to helping people travel with ease. He has a PhD in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics and is originally from Hong Kong but has spent over 14 years now living in England. He is an avid football fan and has actually seen Stephen Hawking in person during his masters at Cambridge. Medium: https://medium.com/@godfrey.leung.cosmo/act-smarter-data-science-should-be-about-why-problem-solving-6d78f873ec77 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/godfrey-leung-phd-aab19879/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Neri Van Otten is the CEO and Founder of Spot Intelligence, a fast and secure document processing platform that uses state-of-the-art artificial intelligence to extract crucial business information. She has participated in several S2DS programmes as both a technical mentor and a project partner. In her spare time, she enjoys running, travelling, and spending time in nature. Spot Intelligence: https://spotintelligence.com/blog/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nerivo/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

We'll be taking a break, but expect the next episode back from us on 14 May!

Sonia Ingram is a freelance AI consultant, currently the interim Global Director of AI at the world’s largest jewellery brand, where she leads their AI transformation. Her PhD was focused on biomedical immunology, and her data science career includes many notable names such as Lloyds Banking Group and Harrods. In her spare time, she enjoys snowboarding, scuba diving, and hiking. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonia-louise-ingram-phd-0383354a/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Eyal Kazin is a Lead Data Scientist at Zimmer Biomet, global manufacturer of medical products and technologies. He is an ex-cosmologist turned data scientist with 20 years experience in solving challenging problems and a colleague of his once said that one of his strengths is “facilitating stakeholders to make data driven decisions”. His claim for fame is living in four different continents between the decade of 2004-2014, including three tennis Grand Slam cities: NYC, Melbourne, and London. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eyal-kazin Medium Publications: https://eyal-kazin.medium.com Selected articles: 🚪🚪🐐 Lessons in Decision Making from the Monty Hall Problem https://bit.ly/mh-lessons Introducing the problem and its history, various ways of solving, and discussing lessons learnt in data decision making. 🚅 Information Theory for People in a Hurry https://bit.ly/info-theory-hurry A series of intro articles on quantifying information and its applicability data analysis and machine learning. ➡️ Start Asking Your Data “Why?” — A Gentle Intro To Causality https://bit.ly/start-ask-why-medium An intro to causal thinking with links to follow up articles for making one's first steps. Video diaries: -blog post on concept: https://eyalkazin.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/video-diaries -blog post about 2020 video "The Year We Stayed Home" including link to YouTube: https://elzurdo.github.io/2021/01/01/video_diary_2020.html "Half a joke in the New York Times" -Link to article, see under "one young employee offered an affectionate toast": https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/politics/cambridge-analytica.html -Full context in autobiography, see under SCL Group / Cambridge Analytica (2014-2018): https://elzurdo.github.io/autobiography/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Thank you for listening to Science to Data Science and Beyond! We will have a new episode ready in 2 weeks time, but none this week as we were busy preparing for the start of the S2DS Spring 2025 programme. Please comment in the description about any topics you'd like to hear about or any questions you have!

Julia Förster is currently a Software Engineer at PwC, a network of firms providing assurance, tax, and advisory services using AI and technologies. She studied mathematics and holds a PhD in Psychophysics before going on to work as a freelancer in a few tech startups. In her spare time, she likes to practice Olympic lifting. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-f-2596338a/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Damian Rumble is the Global Head of Data Science and Analytics at Laing O'Rourke, a multinational construction company. He has a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Exeter enjoys playing ultimate frisbee in his spare time. Last year, he even attended the European Masters Ultimate Club Championships in Vienna. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damian-rumble-69025336/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Pavan Sangha is the Head of Data Science at Halfords, the UK's leading retailer of automotive and cycling products. He did his PhD in Theoretical Computer Science at the University of Liverpool. In his spare time, he enjoys playing football. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-pavan-sangha-b598b9141/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Ana Solaguren-Beascoa is the Lead Machine Learning Researcher at CoSyne Therapeutics, an AI Drug Discovery company creating precision medicine through AI. She was born in Barcelona where she did her bachelor’s and master’s before moving to Munich for her PhD in Theoretical Particle Physics. She has since spent 7 years in London before returning to live in Barcelona and enjoys cooking in her spare time. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anasolagurenbeascoa/ Medium: https://medium.com/@ana.solagurenbeascoa Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Former S2DS technical mentor Jon Leslie, now Big Data & AI Manager at Vodafone, and S2DS alum Andras Szabo, current Senior Data Scientist at Trilateral Research, join for a special Christmas episode. We discuss Advent of Code, an online advent calendar of coding challenges with fun Christmas themes that anyone can try and use to improve their coding skills. https://adventofcode.com/ Jon Leslie LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-leslie/ Jon Leslie X: @jlesliedata Andras Szabo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andras-szabo-5a283024/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org

Vasiliy Demchenko is a Senior Data Scientist at the Stepstone Group, a world leading online recruitment company. He did his PhD in Cosmology at the University of Edinburgh. In his spare time, Vasiliy likes to read (mostly fiction), practice yoga, and travel to see new cities or go on hikes and walks. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vasiliy-demchenko-a49aba17b/ Pivigo: pivigo.com S2DS: s2ds.org