Meet the Forum team: Jenny Liu

What got you interested in the intersection of the environmental field and data science? 

I first became interested in stats and data science as a major when I was exploring more into the energy world and understanding the technical side of things. I realized that it's very useful to have a background in stats for understanding the visualizations, the ways data is collected, and how data is represented. I think of stats as more of a means, not the end itself, and a way to augment my Environmental Studies major. 

What drew you to environmental studies? 

I applied to Yale as an Urban Studies major, and then I expanded it to Environmental Studies. Freshman year, I did Directed Studies and I just took a bunch of unique classes. Then I did a study abroad program in Australia that was focused on conservation and learning more about marsupials. But I realized that wasn’t a field I was extremely interested in exploring in my academic and professional career right now.  

This made me start thinking, “What is the biggest problem to tackle in terms of climate change right now?” Answer: The decreasing reliance on fossil fuels. So what is the solution to that? Answer: Renewable energy. That's how I thought of it, in a very simple framework, to concentrate on demand. So, I focus on where I can be useful and in an interesting field. That's how I settled on energy. 

I also think my interests came from lived experiences growing up in the projects in New York City with public housing and the larger ideas when you think about the inner city and how people live in an urban environment. There can be great disparities in how people live, and I definitely experienced that because I was born in China before my family immigrated here. 

We entered a public housing lottery system. I just didn't have access to green infrastructure — the sanitation was terrible. We lived right near the FDR Drive, the highway on the East Side. We lived there when Hurricane Sandy hit. And I think retroactively, that sparked a huge interest in me to just explore what my relationship to the environment fundamentally was. For example, “What are communities' relationships in the environment?” and “What are the larger systems that drive this?” 

I thought of energy as an interesting field because it ties in a lot of different things that everyone has to think about anyway. Energy is what defines which communities can withstand a hurricane and which can rebuild after. Energy animates the world. It really governs how we live. Without energy, modern life would not exist as we know it. 

How does the Forum fit into this vision you have—your intellectual curiosity of both your lived experience and then also the synthesis of data, energy, and environmental inquiry? 

I think of CBEY as a brain trust for people who are interested in exploring questions and also wanting to get some answers to questions, too. There are a lot of different centers, like we both worked for the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC). I've also done a summer fellowship with CBEY. 

And now being involved in the Forum there's a lot of different ways to explore clean energy through talking to people and engaging in programming. I think the best way to get involved is just to show up and be present and see what we can actually learn and contribute outside of a classroom setting. I feel like CBEY is definitely a way to do this. 

I’m excited to work on the Forum, to learn from the team at CBEY, and to keep talking with people. I just want to learn more and share what I learn with others. If we can bring more people into the conversation, then I think we can start to make a difference.