Jeff Walker is an environmental data scientist and engineer focused on making it easier to manage, share, and understand environmental data.
Combining a background in environmental science and engineering with advanced data science skills, Jeff builds innovative tools that bring environmental data to life.
Through his experience cleaning, organizing, and analyzing environmental data, he has developed a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with managing and making environmental data more accessible.
In his free time, Jeff enjoys exploring the Maine coast by foot, bike, boat, and drone with his partner, Elizabeth, and their two boys.
Technical Expertise
Data Science: Software development for scientific analysis and modeling (R, tidyverse, Python), R package development, reproducible research environments (RMarkdown, Quarto, Jupyter), source code version control (git), machine learning and AI modeling, geospatial data analysis and processing, large-scale database management and cloud computing platforms, and automated data processing pipelines.
Full-stack Web Development: Database design and implementation (PostgreSQL), cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure), modern front-end web application development (JavaScript, Vue.js), advanced data visualization libraries for scientific applications (D3, Leaflet), geospatial platforms (PostGIS, ESRI ArcGIS), RESTful API development and server-side architecture (Express, Django), continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, application containerization (Docker), and serverless infrastructure.
Environmental & Water Resources Engineering: Hydrologic and water quality modeling across multiple scales from local watersheds to regional systems, watershed management and climate change impact assessment, development and calibration of both mechanistic process-based models and statistical models, stream ecology and thermal habitat modeling, and integration of field monitoring data with predictive modeling frameworks.
Education
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering
Tufts University | Medford, MA | 2014
Dissertation: Web Applications for Interactive Environmental Modeling
M.Eng., Civil and Environmental Engineering
MIT | Cambridge, MA | 2007
Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
B.S., Science of Earth Systems
Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | 2006
Summa Cum Laude with Distinction in Research