Professional summary
Grace works as a data scientist within the Biodiversity Monitoring & Analysis Science Group. Her research involves applying computational and quantitative methods to a range of environmental challenges. The projects she is currently involved in include:
- AMI (Automated Monitoring of Insects) projects: The AMI system uses UV lights and high-resolution cameras to autonomously photograph moths, which are identified by machine learning algorithms. Grace is involved with the analysis of data from these systems, and presented the results from the UK 2023 deployments at the GEO BON conference (Canada, Oct 2023). Grace is also writing software for the addition of acoustics to the system, broadening its scope to additionally monitor birds and bats.
- AgZero+ project: Grace is designing and implementing a farm health check tool to support the UK’s transition towards sustainable, carbon-neutral, and nature-friendly farming. The workflow involves collecting data from farm management software and processing it through various UKCEH models to generate reports for farmers.
- GLiTRS project: Building on work started during her master's, Grace continued to develop the Dynameta shiny app, an interactive platform for ecological meta-analyses. She is also conducting her own meta-analysis on the effect of invasive species on terrestrial insects.
Grace graduated with a BSc in Biology from the University of Bath in 2021, including an industrial placement year at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. She then went on to achieve an MSc in Computational Methods in Ecology and Evolution from Imperial College London in 2022, before joining UKCEH in November 2022.