Al Waskow, known otherwise as Margaret or Ales, is a research assistant in the Applied Innovations unit at Insight, University of Galway. They completed their BSc in Biosystems Analytics and Technology at the University of Arizona, USA, with a concentration in Statistics and Data Science.
Al’s current research centres around using machine learning to classify whitecap stages from sequential sea state images for applications in climate modelling of air-sea gas exchange.
Their most recent project at Insight was parallelizing and improving software for the reconstruction of 3D models of sea states from cameras in a stereo arrangement. Al’s past research includes time series analyses for infectious disease forecasting, predictive modelling of trash accumulation using GIS, and 3D reconstruction of agricultural crops using SfM photogrammetry on aerial images from UAVs.
Their research interests include systems analysis and modelling for ecological, climate, and agricultural contexts using machine learning strategies. Al is particularly interested in modelling polyculture crops and applications of biodiversity to increase crop yield and resilience against climate threats. Additionally, they enjoy fractals, math, and other methods of using modern computational capabilities to better model and understand the natural world.
