• Currently, a Ph.D. candidate in Operations Research at Cornell studying fair and transparent machine learning
• 5+ years of industry experience

Connor is a Ph.D. Student at Cornell studying Operations Research, and is returning for his third year teaching. A proud graduate of University of Toronto industrial engineering, and iX Data Science 2016, Connor’s spent the last few years obsessing about breathtaking visualizations, tidy data, and insightful statistical models.

Committed to using data science to drive real impact, Connor has worked on a number of industry data science projects including building AI-based trading algorithms at RBC Capital Markets, dashboards at BlackRock, and smart sales strategies at Salesforce. Currently, Connor spends most of his time thinking about how we can make machine learning algorithms fair and better suited for the real world. Away from his computer, you can usually find Connor hiking, guzzling coffee, or trying to balance his chakras in a yoga class.

Q&A with Connor:

What do you enjoy most about your industry?

The variety! No two data science projects are alike and as a data scientist every new project is a chance to learn a new skill – whether it be recommendation systems, neural networks, or even 3D graphing. There’s always something new to learn – what’s not to love?

What are you working on right now?

My research currently focuses on developing new machine learning algorithms that are fair and transparent. With the explosion of artificial intelligence in recent years, automated decision making has begun taking over key decision-making tasks in a variety of areas ranging from finance to driving. However, with machine learning dictating decisions as important as lending, hiring, and college admissions, a natural question is whether these algorithms are fair to all those affected? Unfortunately, recent results have shown machine learning algorithms to be racially biased in a range of applications. I focus on trying to mitigate these shortcomings and ensure that when someone uses a machine learning model they can understand why decisions are being made and that they’re not adversely affecting minority groups. I also like to dust off my engineering skills from time to time and work on more applied projects. Currently, I’m helping Cornell develop an optimization model to schedule classes during COVID-19.

Why did you decide to get involved with teaching and how do you continue to keep things fresh?

Teaching is a dream job! Not only do I get to learn more about new topics in data science, but I also get to talk about them with students passionate about learning. There’s really nothing quite like seeing coding ‘click’ for a new student, or be blown away by a final presentation – it certainly keeps me coming back year after year. Keeping things fresh is the easy part – data science moves so fast that my material tends to come outdated by the time the next course comes around.

How do you see the industry changing in the next 10 years? What skills will industry professionals need to have?

The technical barriers to doing data science are becoming smaller and smaller every year. You no longer need access to a supercomputer and a graduate degree in computer science – you can learn how to build cutting edge neural networks in a 20-minute medium tutorial. What’s really going to distinguish data scientists over the next 10 years is the ability to communicate effectively and affect change through their analysis.

What are you looking forward to about the program?

I can’t wait to demystify coding for a new batch of students! There’s no greater joy than watching students realize that coding isn’t some difficult untameable beast and that they can master the fundamentals in a couple short weeks.

What skills will students have after graduating from your class?

I hope my students will leave my class as a well rounded data scientist – not only knowing the fundamentals of python and machine learning, but also strong communication skills ands the toolkit to approach real world data science problems.

What’s one piece of advice that you have for the class of 2021?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! This program is a bootcamp (it’s meant to be challenging!) and you’ll get the most out of it by asking for help, thinking critically about what we talk about in class, and pushing yourself to understand as much as you can.

What would students be surprised to learn about you?

Outside of the classroom I’m an adrenaline junkie – I’ve sky dived, bunjee jumped, and done the highest via ferrata in the world. Looking for the next challenge!

What are your ‘desert island’ books or movies?

I’m a sucker for Wes Anderson. There’s no bad day that can’t be cured by re-watching the grand Budapest hotel.