Data Project Management

Durga N. Kafle

US WORK AUTHORIZATION: US PERMANENT RESIDENT (GREENCARD HOLDER)

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Extensive scientific and academic research background solidified by experience in the field and

public record.

Experienced in the collecting and analyzing user behavior via usability, field and diary studies,

remote interviews and surveys.

Excellent analytical ability with a strong background gathering requirements and translating

them into research.

Excellent working knowledge of statistics and the principles of experiment design

Proven background in report writing, project management, and research presentation.

Research and technical expertise includes the following:

o Statistical analysis

o Research and program evaluation

o Laboratory instrumentation, data collection and data analysis

o Statistics and advanced data analysis and data mining

o Report writing and database design

o Project management

o Statistical software such as SAS and R

o Giving presentation of findings in national and international meetings

o Project development and grant writing

o Programming languages such as SQL, R, SAS, Python, SPSS, IDL, MatLab, NCL, and

FORTRAN

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Computational physics and scientific programming.

Ground-based remote sensing, in situ measurements, data analysis, accuracy assessment and

error analysis.

Programming languages: IDL, NCL, R, SPLUS, SAS, Python, SPSS, SQL, FORTRAN, C, C++, MATLAB

in Windows, LINUX/UNIX platforms.

More than 5 years of experience in Shell Scripting and SQL.

Experience of using statistical packages such as R, SAS, and SPSS.

Ability to navigate through chaos, drive discussions, and reach conclusions across various groups

through excellent communication and presentation skills

More than 3 years of experience in Hadoop.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Appa;achian State University, Boone, NC 2014-Present

Research Professor

University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 2012-2014

Post-doctoral Scholar

Worked with designers, product managers, engineers and research managers to prioritize research

opportunities in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment.

Identified and analyzed big data sources, data types, data transformations to evaluate model

simulations (especially global climate models), machine learning and data mining.

Worked in laboratory environment, was involved in researcher.

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Performed descriptive statistics and provided visualization using histograms, box plots and other

means as necessary.

Used shell scripting and SQL (LINUX/UNIX systems).

Analyzed and interpreted the results of research experiments through various statistical models.

Solved analytical problems using quantitative approaches.

Worked with CALIPSO, (Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) format) data (vertical profiles of extinction

coefficients) to incorporate to CAM model.

Coordinated with collaborators and other agencies’ personnel to obtain required data; designed,

organized and developed research plans, prepared budgets, and submitted grant proposal to DOE.

Presented research findings in national and international conferences and published the results in

conference proceedings.

Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 2009-2012

Post-doctoral Researcher

Designed and implemented big data stores both for operational data stores as w ell as real time data

access for the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program data archive center.

Identified and analyzed big data sources, data types, data transformations for DOE ARM projects.

Performed descriptive statistics and provided visualization using histograms, box plots and other means

as necessary as well as experienced in machine learning and data mining.

Developed novel approaches for using data collected by the ARM Program and the second ARM mobile

facility, from a variety of locations world-wide (including oceans and poles), in modeling of climate

effects. Reviewed and compiled scientific field research and literature; wrote technical articles for

journal publication; made presentations at conferences.

Gained a great deal of fieldwork experience in setting up ARM mobile facility (AMF1 and AMF2)

instruments, as well as other weather monitoring equipment.

Used query tools such as SQL Server and shell scripting as well as Hadoop.

Designed, developed, queried and maintained databases to develop new reports based on data derived

from ARM data archive (Similar to case management data warehouse).

Performed Lab research including both long-term and short-term field projects.

Worked with an ARM Program group to study various meteorologica l phenomena, ocean-atmosphere

interactions, atmospheric physics, climate and boundary layer dynamics, and climate change (cloud and

aerosol properties and their effects on the atmospheric radiation budget at a variety of locations world -

wide, including oceans and poles) by using lidar, sodar, and other remote sensing techniques.

Assisted the supervisor in developing and coordinating planning activities and preparing annual reports

for research projects.

Played a pivotal role in operating, calibrating and data ingesting for scintec sodar.

Documented the operation, calibration, maintenance, data collection and handling procedures for

various ARM instruments.

Worked with NOAA Air Resources Lab’s HYSPLIT model and performed airback trajectory analysis .

Designed, built and extracted large and complex data sets.

Lead design and implementation of statistical data quality procedures for existing and new data

sources.

Developed relational data bases and designed methods.

Worked with statistical software such as SAS or SPSS.

Presented research findings in national and international conferences and published them in peer

reviewed journal articles.

Utah State University, Logan, UT 2005-2009

Graduate Research Assistant

Researched the atmospheric gravity wave activities in the stratosphere and the mesosphere and lower

thermosphere region by using lidar remote sensing techniques.

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Mentored several undergraduates in senior research projects that involved the use of the lidar system

at USU to study atmospheric dynamics and wave activities.

Initiated research and statistical investigations and planed, designed, and conducted the activities of

such investigations; recognized the need for further research and statistical investigations in the field.

In addition to IDL programming, used R, C+, and SAS programming for projects.

Advised scientific community and concerned of research findings and/or procedures; prepared

narrative reports of findings with valid conclusions and statistical significance, projected program

impacts, and provided trend analysis.

Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL

Graduate Research Assistant, 2002-2004

Worked with antimony-121 Mössbauer spectral study of Eu(14)MnSb(11) and Yb(14)MnSb(11) zintl

compounds.

Used FORTRAN and R.

ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS

Utah State University (USU), Logan, UT

Ph.D. in Physics (Remote Sensing, and Data Processing), August 2009

GPA: 3.92/4.0

School of graduate studies dissertation fellowship, 2009

Howard L. Blood Endowed scholarship for outstanding academic performance, Physics

Gene Adams Endowed scholarship for outstanding academic performance, Physics,

Dean’s List

Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL

M.S. in Basic Physics (minor in Material Science), December 2004

HONORS AWARDS

Gene Adams Endowed Scholarship for outstanding academic performance, USU, Physics

Howard L. Blood Endowed Scholarship for outstanding academic performance, USU, Physics

Named to the School of Graduate Studies Honor Roll (Dean’s List)

Elected to the USU Chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics honorary society, for distinctive achievement

and high scholarship in physics.

School of Graduate Studies Dissertation Fellowship for the 2009- 2010 academic year

American Geophysical Union Student Travel Grant

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

More than 30 publications in peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings.

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