Who am I?
I am an assistant professor in the Department of Methodology and Statistics at Utrecht University (UU). Although I now live and work in the Netherlands, I was born and raised in the United States. I received my PhD in Quantitative Psychology from the University of Kansas. I then completed a two-year postdoc at Texas Tech University (TTU). My postdoc focused on statistical consulting, and I was able to hone the consulting skills that I began to develop during graduate school. I also spent a substantial portion of my time at TTU leading the PcAux Development Team.
My first faculty appointment was as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Methodology and Statistics at Tilburg University (TiU). At TiU, I taught statistics and data science courses as part of the Data Science and Society master program and the Psychological Methods and Data Science bachelor major.
I began my current position at UU in July of 2021. I teach in the Applied Data Science program and various programs within the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences.
Teaching
I teach statistics, data science, and statistical programming courses to bachelor and master students. I also give continuing education workshops on diverse topics related to statistics, data science, data analysis, and statistical programming. To find out more, go here.
Research
My methodological research focuses on methods for treating missing data. I also collaborate extensively with substantive researchers from the social-, behavioral-, and health-sciences. To find out more, go here.
Development
Much of my work involves computationally intensive applications of data processing/analysis, so I spend a lot of my time on statistical computing. As a natural byproduct of this work, I dabble in software development, particularly R package development. To find our more, go here.
Consulting
Beginning as early as the final years of my bachelor studies, statistical consultancy has been an integral part of my career. In graduate school, I had the opportunity to work on several interesting projects, and consulting became the focus of my work during my postdoc. I have continued to provide consulting services as an assistant professor at Tilburg University and Utrecht University. To find out more, go here.
Extra Curriculars
To unwind, I prefer to get outside. Even though I’ve always lived in painfully flat parts of the world, I particularly enjoy the mountains. When I can get outside, I enjoy rock climbing, hiking, and backpacking/trekking. I developed my love for nature and the outdoors early. I grew up playing in and around the woods, lakes, and creeks of the Midwestern US: exploring, climbing trees, camping, fishing, and making a general mess of myself. When I was a child, our family vacations would frequently involve either camping in the Ozarks of southern Missouri or road-tripping to national parks. Now that I live in Europe and have easy access to iconic mountain ranges like the Alps and the Dolomites, I am doing my best to live out my life-long dream of adventuring in the mountains.
I also enjoy (non-outdoor) traveling and taking “city trips” with my wife and daughter. Such trips are always welcome as they allow me indulge my passion for trying new foods (or simply eating a bunch of those with which I am already familiar). When I’m stuck inside and at home, I enjoy weight training, reading (particularly science fiction and adventure), and chess.