Liam Smith Email & Phone Number

New York, United States

Wrote R scripts and developed R packages for data management and quality control of long term ecological monitoring data at the Rocky Mountain Inventory and Monitoring Network. Assisted with fieldwork at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument to assess plant biodiversity and soil health.

Answered student questions regarding programming logic and syntax for an introductory computer science course in Python. Advised students in topics including functions, iteration, conditionals, recursion, and basic data structures.

Middlebury, Vermont, United States

Helped students understand coding concepts in R and provided assistance on labs and problem sets in two of Middlebury’s data science courses: Data Science Across Disciplines (an intensive winter term course) and Place-Based Data Analysis (a full-length semester course). Drafted new labs to teach students about descriptive spatial statistics, point pattern.

Middlebury, VT

Helped students develop spatial analysis, cartography, and troubleshooting skills in QGIS, Python, and R. Graded exams, hosted office hours, assisted students with labs, and proofread course materials for Middlebury’s introductory GIS class during the fall 2021 and spring 2023 semesters as well as the upper-level open source GIS class in fall 2023.

Middlebury, Vermont, United States

Contributed to an open-science research effort seeking to address the reproducibility crisis in the field of geography by reproducing a published paper on social vulnerability to natural hazards. Coded the original authors’ analysis in Python, critiqued the statistical methodology of the Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI), and extended the original work.

Penfield, New York, United States

Coached recreational gymnastics classes, teaching the fundamentals of gymnastics and preparing students for more advanced training.

Middlebury, VT

Managed and analyzed household survey and land use data around protected areas in Sub-Saharan Africa. Tasks included digitizing data, formatting spreadsheets to facilitate data sharing and analysis, and analyzing GPX tracks in QGIS and R to document changes in property geometries and ownership.

Middlebury, VT

Assisted students in understanding linear algebra concepts and completing problem sets. Hosted drop-in help sessions and improved my quantitative communication skills.

Organized lobby days in which 150+ youth volunteer lobbyists met with 100+ state legislators. Led a coalition campaigning to eliminate non-essential fossil fuel tax expenditures in New York State. Hosted press conferences, wrote press releases, submitted budget testimony to New York State’s budget hearings, and spoke on the radio about fossil fuel.

Created a network of climate activists across college campuses in New York State to engage in protests and lobbying efforts. Researched the fossil fuel holdings of the SUNY and CUNY systems as potential targets for the NY Climate Advocacy Project and the #DivestNY Coalition.

Bachelor'S Degree, Geography, Mathematics

Semester Study Abroad

Regents Diploma With Advanced Designation With Honors