Cooper Oelrichs

c.oelrichs@gmail.com, +49 176 59356490, Nuremberg, Germany

https://medium.com/@c.oelrichs, https://github.com/cooperoelrichs

About Me

I graduated from UQ with a Civil Engineering degree (1st class hons) before moving into the transport modelling field where I worked as a model developer and analyst. Transport modelling involves the combination of statistical and physical models of the behaviour of people and transport systems. Developing and improving these models requires skills in software engineering, data science, and predictive modelling.

After working in transport modelling for 4 years I transitioned to working as a data science and modelling consultant. I have consulted in the real estate development and financial industries, working both independently and as part of my client’s teams. This work has involved data analysis, developing a range of predictive models, and reporting on and visualising the results of this work.

I have worked pro bono as the treasurer of SIES, a non-profit NGO, since 2015. Examples of my work include writing grant applications, presenting project proposals and outcomes to funders, and providing data science skills to project teams. This work has included collecting and analysing satellite imagery and other data.

At the end of 2018 I was part of an international team of conservationists that set up a project to study and monitor critically endangered rhino populations in Indonesia. I am responsible for researching and developing a prototype computer vision model for identifying individual rhinos from camera trap images. The resulting data will allow for the targeted protection and management of rhino.

In my spare time I improve my data science and programming skills by attending meetups, and test my machine learning skills in Kaggle competitions.

Public Code and Published Blogs

Public code:

https://github.com/cooperoelrichs

Example research blogs:

Modelling Economic Change Using Monte Carlo Simulations

Developing a model to isolate the effect of location on property value

Automated Identification of Indonesian Rhinos

Professional and Technical Skills

Core Technical Skills: Data Science, Statistical Analysis and Predictive Modelling, Machine Learning, Programming, Graphical Visualisation, Transport Modelling, GIS and mapping, Financial Modelling, Monte Carlo Simulation.

Professional Interpersonal Skills: Developing and maintaining relationships within the workplace and with clients, reporting and presenting projects and results, working closely and flexibly with team members.

Core Tools: Programming (Python, limited Haskell, Ruby, Java), Machine Learning and Modelling (Tensorflow, Keras, sk-learn, PyMC3, XGBoost), Data Science (SciPy, Pandas, SQL, et al.), Visualisation & Mapping (Matplotlib, QGIS, et al.), OmniTrans, Bash, Git, Google Office, MS Office.

Other: PADI Open Water Diver, SLS Bronze Medallion and Aquatic Rescue, Defibrillation, Worksite Safety.


Professional Experience

Bachelor of Civ. Eng. (1st Class Hons) from The University of Queensland - 2009 - 2012

Received the AECOM Scholarship in Civ. Eng., the premier scholarship awarded by UQ’s Civ. Eng. school.

AECOM (Professional Experience Intern) - 2011
EarthCheck (Environmental benchmarking of business operations) - 2011 - 201
2

Veitch Lister Consulting (Transport Modeller)
2012 - 2016

http://www.veitchlister.com.au

My work included: Analysing transport related data sets, for example census data, spatial transport network data, and temporal public transport and traffic timetable data; developing transport related models - from nested logistic regressions of individual mode choice to dynamic traffic assignment models; and developing the software required to perform these tasks and presenting the results to VLC’s users and clients. At VLC I was involved in researching and developing machine learning models for use in VLC’s transport models. 

Data Scientist and Predictive Modelling Consultant
2016 - Continuing

See public code and published blogs above.

Since 2016 I have been working as a data science and modelling consultant. I have consulted in the real estate development and financial industries, working both independently and as part of my client’s teams. This work has involved data analysis, developing a range of predictive models, and reporting on and visualising the results of this work. A recent job involved collecting and fusing a range spatial and temporal datasets relating to real estate. This data was then analysed in detail, including the use of Bayesian statistical models which allowed for the exploration of latent random variables and making predictions with probability distributions. Finally, the dataset was used to train and evaluate more complex real estate pricing and housing attribute models with higher predictive accuracies such as random forests and neural networks.

Machine Learning Developer and Researcher
2018 - Continuing

Blog Post Introducing the Overall Project and its Context & Automated Identification of Indonesian Rhinos

Based on my work with SIES (see below) I am part of an international team of conservationists that set up a project for improving the conservation of the two critically endangered Indonesian Rhino species. I am responsible for researching and developing a prototype computer vision model for identifying individual rhinos from camera trap images for the purpose of monitoring and studying them.

Other Experience and Projects

Save Indonesian Endangered Species Fund (SIES) (Treasurer)
2015 - Continuing
http://www.siesfund.org

SIES is an incorporated NGO which supports conservation in Indonesia. My responsibilities include writing project proposals, providing data science guidance to projects, and reporting to funders and stakeholders.

Real Estate Development (Data Scientist, Financial Modelling, and Investor)
2016 - 2019

Co-founder, investor, financial modeller, and market analyst for a series of ecotourism cabins near Byron Bay.