efrén is a new data scientist in the Research Computing and Data Services team. Their responsibilities include working with researchers across Northwestern on data science and machine learning projects.
Before joining Northwestern, efrén was a postdoctoral data science fellow at the Michigan Institute of Data Science and the Center for the Study of Complex Systems at the University of Michigan. Their research focused on the complex interactions of social and artificial intelligence systems. In particular, efrén studies the technological, cultural, institutional and cognitive mechanisms through which machine learning algorithms reproduce historical biases and discrimination. Practically, this is achieved by enhancing common machine learning tools with agent based modeling, causal inference, and complex systems theory. efrén has also taught classes in agent based modeling, computational statistics, and the mathematics of political processes.
efrén is passionate about interdisciplinary collaborations, and has worked with scientists and artists on several projects, including automated human mobility assistance, archaeological trade networks identification, musical trends and cultural transmission, cancer classification, Parkinson’s Disease early detection, and speculative art. efrén received their PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, where they worked on nonparametric kernel estimators. efrén is a member of the Tierra Común network, a network of activists and scholars dedicated to the decolonization of data related practices.