Renata Diaz
(she/her)
Machine Learning Data Engineer
At the Cornell Lab, I research methodologies for eBird Status & Trends, and work on integrating new methodological changes to production.
I’m a field ecologist turned computational ecologist, with a particular interest in combining field approaches with novel computational tools to understand how ecological systems are changing.
As an undergraduate and postgraduate, I spent several years doing fieldwork in desert, savanna, and tropical forest ecosystems broadly focused on species interactions and global change. I was fortunate enough to work in a highly interdisciplinary lab for my PhD, where I was able to explore data science, software development, novel statistical approaches, field ecology, and global change ecology.
My doctoral work focused on using data- and computationally-intensive tools to understand how ecological systems do (and don’t!) change at scale over time. Following my PhD, I did postdoctoral research on simulation modeling of eco-evolutionary dynamics, and worked as a research software engineer at the University of Arizona. I particularly enjoy opportunities to learn new statistical and computational approaches and apply them to never-before-considered problems.
Education
Ph.D., University of Florida, Interdisciplinary Ecology, 2022;
B.A., Princeton University, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2015
Beyond the Cornell Lab
I have at least three different favorite habitats. I grew up splitting time between New England woods and aridlands in Colorado, and I love to disappear into a cold forest or quiet desert. I’ve spent most of my adult life in northern Florida, and I’ve learned to appreciate vibrant greens and an abundance of tiny lizards.
