Hi, I’m Su.

I am currently the Director of Quantitative Research at the Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research and Science at Northwestern University. For the past three years, I have thrown myself completely into the world of violence prevention through the evaluation of community violence intervention programs. I came to this work with almost no public health experience, but I found a field full of promise and opportunity, where you would be hard-pressed not to be inspired by the frontline staff such as outreach workers and case managers who devote their lives to making their communities safer. They are the reason I endeavor to contribute to and advance the field of violence prevention as a community-engaged researcher.

Before coming to Northwestern, I completed my PhD in Geography (studying spatial optimization) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before that, I was a research associate in the Geographic Information Science and Technology group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. And even before that, I earned a master’s degree in urban spatial analytics from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in operations research and management science from the University of California, Berkeley. I consider the Sacramento area home but have a deep love and appreciation for the entirety of California.

Spatial data science, computational social science, network science, geographic information science… these are my things (see my CV). But I enjoy a lot of other things too, like surfing, paddling (outrigger canoe and dragonboat), Olympic weightlifting, playing basketball, and visiting breweries with my pets. I strongly believe in having an identity outside of work, but thankfully I am passionate about that as well.

About this website

I created this website to daylight past and current projects. There are tabs for research and service or passion projects. The research tab highlights research projects, while the passion projects tab highlights those projects produced from service, through graduate coursework, or in my free time (software if relevant are listed). This website is not an exhaustive collection of everything I have ever done, and updates may happen haphazardly. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions or connect using one of the links in the header.