EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

2018 – Present: University Of Leeds – MSc River Basin Dynamics and Management with GIS

• Key modules: Issues and skills in river basin management; Hydrological processes and analysis; Geographic data visualisation and analysis; Programming for geographical information analysts; Digital image processing and environmental remote sensing; River basin management for water quality.
• Dissertation: (provisional): Modelling peat depth in blanket peatland: Comparing a linear model with the performance of a geostatistical model which accounts for spatial autocorrelation.

2011 – 2014: University Of Sheffield - BSc (Hons) Environmental Science, 1st class degree (75%)

• Awarded: Laverick-Webster-Hewitt Prize for best final exam performance in Environmental Science.
• Key modules: Atmosphere and oceans; Glacial environments; Sustainable agriculture; Geographic data analysis; Ecosystems and environmental change; Plant habitat and distribution.
• Project: Biochar: Effect on soil moisture content and yield of two cultivars of winter wheat.

2004 – 2010: Dumfries High School

• Scottish Advanced Highers: Physics, English, History - all grade A
• Scottish Highers: Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Geography, History, English - all grade A

EMPLOYMENT in RESEARCH

University of Leeds: Institute for Transport Studies, EMPOWER project (EU Horizon 2020)

Project worker: February 2018 – May 2018

• Organised secure transfer of data from project partners in cities across Europe who had implemented a scheme encouraging uptake of sustainable travel options.
• Performed geostatistical analysis in R of GPS data from scheme participants. This involved mapping the journeys taken, identifying the most popular travel routes and analysing the success of the scheme across different times of day, parts of the city and user demographics.

University of Leeds: Leeds Institute for Data Analytics (LIDA)

Data science intern: September 2016 - May 2017

• 4 months working with academics from POLIS (School of Politics and International Studies) investigating the success of the UK parliament’s e-petition system using data from conversations on Twitter.
• Analysed tweets on e-petitions using natural language processing and text mining in R.
• Conducted a social network analysis in R to assess who was taking part in the conversation, how they interacted and who the influential users were.
• 4 months working alongside Leeds City Council to analyse footfall data from cameras in the city centre from the last ten years.
  • Cleaned and aggregated camera data and plotted it to gain insights into temporal trends in footfall.
  • Built a model in Python for predicting footfall based upon variables including day of the week, holidays (bank, school, university) and weather (rain and temperature).

Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE)

Research project worker : September 2015 – September 2016

Research intern: September 2014 – September 2015

• Involved in projects researching impacts of energy policy and energy efficiency improverments.
• Conducted quantitative data analysis, including using an in-house modelling tool, the National Household Model, to plan energy efficiency strategies for DECC and the Scottish Government.
• Performed leading role in qualitative data analysis projects. For example, organising, implementing and analysing the transcripts of interviews reviewing the use of district heating in social housing.

Crichton Carbon Centre

Intern with Sustainable Process Improvement (SPI) team: June-August 2013

• Created a database of referenced recommendations for businesses aiming to cut their carbon emissions.
• Utilised CloudApps software to establish the baseline carbon footprint of such businesses.

OTHER EMPLOYMENT

University of Sheffield

Support worker, note-taker and in-class mentor: 2012-2014

• Supported students with physical disabilities with navigating the campus and with practical work.
• Attended lectures and compiled concise and clear notes for students.
• Provided academic support and guidance through a one-to-one mentoring scheme in a secondary school.

Project Trust

Volunteer teacher: 2010-2011

• Teaching maths, science and music in a rural school in Uganda for 12 months.
• Presented at schools and careers fairs in UK subsequently to encourage students to consider gap years.

PUBLICATIONS

Asher, M., Leston-Bandeira, C., and Spaiser, V. 2018. [Post-print]. “Do Parliamentary Debates of e-Petitions Enhance Public Engagement with Parliament? An Analysis of Twitter Conversations.” Policy and Internet.

SKILLS

Data analysis and programming

• R, Python and SQL for querying and cleaning data, statistical analyses, environmental modelling, spatial analysis, statistical analysis and agent-based modelling for environmental data analysis.
• Spatial analysis in ArcGIS, QGIS and R and land surface analysis in ERDAS Imagine.
• Version control using tools such as Github.
• Preparing documents with LaTeX.
• Experience of analysing hydrological data such river discharge and rainfall data.
• Exposure to both 1D and 2D flood modelling software, including Delft3d and TUFLOW.

Literature review

• Researching topics to a high standard using a broad range of sources, before synthesising and concisely reporting the findings.
• Managing and accurately recording literature sources used in compilation of a report.

Written and verbal communication

• Strong professional communication skills and ability to form good working relationships.
• Polished presentation skills with experience of presenting research findings in open seminar series.
• Excellent written communication skills, including:
• Compilation of technical scientific reports and advisory policy documents.
• Co-authoring a paper awaiting publication in the journal ‘Policy and Internet’.
• Writing summary pieces accessible to a layman and contributing articles to the community media outlet ‘the Bristol Cable’.