Jeff Swaney

Jeff Swaney, PhD, has a diverse work experience that spans different roles and industries. Jeff is currently working at Exponent as a Senior Data Scientist, a position they have held since March 2023. Prior to this, they worked as a Data Scientist at Exponent from September 2021 to March 2023.

Before joining Exponent, Jeff was associated with UC Irvine, where they worked as a Graduate Research Assistant from December 2015 to September 2021. During this time, they conducted research with the CRAYFIS collaboration, focusing on using cell phone cameras as cosmic detectors for a crowd-sourced observatory. Their research findings resulted in three first-author publications, including the development of a machine learning and GPU-based trigger to detect particle tracks in camera frames. Jeff also built a cloud-based web application to monitor and optimize the global observatory of smartphones, redesigned the data pipeline to reduce storage costs, and conducted experiments to measure particle detection efficiencies. Jeff also served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at UC Irvine from September 2014 to June 2019.

In addition to their work in academia, Jeff has also worked as an SAT/ACT Tutor at Powerful Prep from October 2016 to May 2018. Jeff provided tutoring services to students preparing for college entrance exams.

Jeff's earlier experience includes research and teaching assistant roles at Vanderbilt University. As a Research Assistant from January 2013 to May 2014, they developed a model of universe expansion under quintessence theories of dark energy and created likelihood plots for model parameters. Jeff also served as a Teaching Assistant during the same period, tutoring introductory physics students and supervising a modern physics lab that required software-based data analysis.

Before their academic pursuits, Jeff worked at Totus Tuus Nashville as a Team Leader and Missionary from June 2011 to July 2012. In this role, they led a catechetical program in the Diocese of Nashville, managing logistics, conducting team meetings, and overseeing team finances.

Overall, Jeff Swaney, PhD, has a strong background in data science, research, teaching, and leadership roles, demonstrating their expertise across various fields.

Jeff Swaney, PhD, completed their education in astrophysics with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree from UC Irvine, where they studied from 2014 to 2021. Prior to that, they obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Physics and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University, graduating in 2014. In addition to their formal education, Jeff has acquired several certifications in data-related fields, including Advanced SQL, Data Cleaning, Data Visualization, Feature Engineering, and Intermediate Machine Learning, from Kaggle. Jeff completed these certifications in 2021, obtaining the majority of them in August 2021 and Intermediate Machine Learning in July 2021.