By Madeline Kim published on Nov 17th, 2024

At the UCLA Library Data Science Center (DSC), we’re here to help researchers and faculty understand data and learn coding skills through both education and consultation, with partners both on and off campus.

The DataSquad is a group of undergraduate students who work under the DSC, focusing on consulting for and supporting data-related projects at UCLA. We can help you learn more about your data, whether it’s by making visualizations to make data more accessible, or advising on choosing and implementing the best statistical analyses you can use to reach your goals.

All DataSquad members can help with the following services:

• Coding Consultations
• Data Cleaning and Manipulation
• Data Visualization
• Statistical Consulting

If you’d like to schedule a consultation, use our Calendly to meet with us on Zoom!

Or, visit us at Room 11630L in YRL for our walk-in office hours, no appointment necessary. We’re located behind the sliding glass doors past YRL Collaboration Pods on the lobby floor. You can find our hours here.

DataSquad Members:

Eric Huang is a 4th-year Data Theory major and Data Science Engineering minor. He’s one of our data consultants at the DSC, and he mainly works in R and Python.

Eric claims he can tie his shoelaces (one shoe) in under 5 seconds, and when we timed him at the DSC, he did it in 3.41 seconds! He’s also very into making coffee, and says his favorite coffee in LA is his own. In Westwood, it’s Espresso Profeta. In addition to our main services, Eric can help you with data modeling and optimization, SQL, and database management.

Loretta Hu is another one of our data consultants, and she’s a 4th-year Statistics and Data Science major. She works in R and Python.

Loretta is 5’3, but she’s incredibly strong for her size. She’s even placed 2nd in a jiu jitsu competition before! In addition to martial arts, she likes reading and thrifting, and recommends farmers’ market popups for thrifting! Loretta specializes in public health research, and has experience working with glaucoma patient data from the Fielding School of Public Health.

Madeline Kim is a 4th-year Statistics major and Digital Humanities minor. She’s the technical writer for the DSC, and a data consultant as well. Her main coding languages are R and Python.

Unlike Eric, Madeline is not a coffee aficionado, but she does love a good matcha (still on the hunt for the best in LA!). For restaurants in LA, she recommends Lalibela for Ethiopian food, or the Alcove in Los Feliz for a cute brunch spot. Madeline has experience working with research in psychology, as well as research in linguistics.

Lawrence Lee is our Project Manager for the DataSquad. He’s a 4th-year Mathematics of Computation major, and is proficient in R, Python, C+++, HTML, JS, and CSS.

He also hasn’t been able to touch his toes since he was 11.

Lawrence was previously a data consultant at the DSC last year, and we’re thrilled to have him back this year!

Full-time Staff

Tim Dennis is the Director of the Data Science Center, and the Program Co-Director of the DataSquad.

Leigh Phan is a Data Scientist at the DSC, and the Program Co-Director of the DataSquad.

Doug Daniels is an Emerging Technologies Librarian at the DSC and Lux Lab.

Jamie Jamison is a Collection Manager at the DSC.

Staff Spotlight

Kristian Allen is a Software Architect for the DSC, and he’s originally from Buffalo, NY (cold!). On the weekends, he likes to visit local museums, and recommends the Hammer, USC’s Center for Digital Arts, and the Academy Museum for free movies and lectures! Kristian is into live music, and his favorite venues are the Lodge Room in Highland Park and Ace Theater in DTLA. He’s also a fan of all the tiki bars in LA, with Tonga Hut and Tiki-Ti topping the list.