Mentor: Dakota McCoy, Assistant Professor, Ecology & Evolution
Yorik Chuang is a first year in the College from Taipei planning on studying Data Science and Political Science. He is passionate about effective government communication, environmental law and using quantitative methods to demonstrate the importance of policy-making. His research interests include the effects and efficacy of environmental policy, and the role of such regulations in international relations.
As a Polsky Research Fellow, Chuang worked in the McCoy Lab, which focuses on the study of solar-powered animals (Coral, Anemones, Sea Slugs, etc) that utilize symbiotic relationships with photosynthetic algae to gain energy, specifically how those relationship are disrupted by climate change-related stressors. Chuang worked on two main areas: Data cleaning and modeling coral bleaching data across multiple papers, and optical modeling of coral skeletons to investigate how well they diffuse light.
“This internship reinforced my interest in climate-related data science research while also informing my specific interests in government climate policy and the economics of climate change. I plan on using the experience this fellowship has given me in conjunction with my double major to pursue climate change policy-related research after I graduate..”