Astronomers Turned Data Scientists Podcast cover art

Astronomers Turned Data Scientists Podcast

Astronomers Turned Data Scientists Podcast

By: astro2data
Listen for free

A podcast featuring interviews with a variety of former astronomers / current data scientists. Created as part of the Astronomers Turned Data Scientists (ATDS) community (which also has annual meetings at the American Astronomical Society’s Winter Meeting).Copyright 2024 All rights reserved. Astronomy Astronomy & Space Science Career Success Economics Science
Episodes
  • 15. Isaac Shivvers
    Mar 11 2026

    Isaac Shivvers discusses his background in Astronomy, Geology, and Physics, his transition to Data Science, and his experience at various Data Scientist jobs, including the bankruptcy of Airware. He then dives deep into Computer Vision: his experiences, beginner projects, steps to take for those who have Astronomy experience and want to get into a Computer Vision role, and his predictions for the future in Computer Vision.

    Links

    Isaac’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishivvers/

    Airware Bankruptcy Article: https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/14/airware-shuts-down/

    Credits

    Intro Music: Tonight At Eight by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com (no relation)

    Outro Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com (no relation)

    Co-Hosts: Jeffrey Silverman and Joseph A’Hearn

    Recording: Jeffrey Silverman

    Editing: Joseph A’Hearn

    ATDS Podcast Logo: Joseph A’Hearn

    Thumbnail Headshot Image: Isaac Shivvers

    Thumbnail Design: Joseph A'Hearn

    We thank the American Astronomical Society for being an official sponsor of the podcast.

    Timecodes

    0:00 - Intro

    1:14 - Background in Geology, Astronomy, and Physics

    4:50 - The Decision to Leave Academia

    8:41 - The Decision to Enter Data Science

    13:30 - First Data Scientist Job at the Startup Airware

    23:44 - Subsequent Data Scientist Jobs and Computer Vision

    31:50 - How to Get into Computer Vision

    40:29 - Beginner Computer Vision Projects

    46:00 - Predictions for the Future in Computer Vision

    51:38 - Outro

    #Astronomy #DataScience #Transitions #Podcast #ATDS #Astro2Data

    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • 14. Marcos Huerta
    Jan 2 2026

    Marcos Huerta discusses his astronomy background, his transitions first to science policy and later to data science, and his current data science job at Carmax. He also talks about data science bootcamps, interviews, work-life balance, and his predictions for the future of data science and LLMs.

    Links

    Marcos’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcoshuerta/

    Marcos’s Website: https://marcoshuerta.com/about/

    Credits

    Intro Music: Tonight At Eight by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com (no relation)

    Outro Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com (no relation)

    Co-Hosts: Jeffrey Silverman and Joseph A’Hearn

    Recording: Jeffrey Silverman

    Editing: Joseph A’Hearn

    ATDS Podcast Logo: Joseph A’Hearn

    Thumbnail Headshot Image: Marcos Huerta

    Thumbnail Design: Joseph A'Hearn

    We thank the American Astronomical Society for being an official sponsor of the podcast.

    Timecodes

    0:00 - Intro

    1:07 - Astronomy Background

    4:18 - Transition to Science Policy

    8:06 - Transition to Data Science

    11:40 - Job Changes within Science Policy

    15:32 - Data Science Bootcamps and Alternatives

    21:55 - Interviewing

    26:20 - Data Science at Carmax

    33:50 - Day-to-Day and Work-Life Balance

    40:26 - Predictions for Data Science and LLMs

    47:46 - Final Advice

    49:40 - Outro

    #Astronomy #DataScience #Transitions #Podcast #ATDS #Astro2Data

    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
  • 13. Julia Silge
    Oct 20 2025

    Julia Silge discusses how she got into astronomy, her first non-data science positions after leaving academia, and how she then started blogging about data science and going to conferences, which opened up the door to new opportunities, including open source contributions, writing books, and data science positions. She shares advice for those who are considering making the transition from astronomy to data science. She also talks about the experience of speaking at SciPy 2024 about scientific computing across languages.

    Links:

    Julia’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliasilge/

    Julia’s blog: https://juliasilge.com/blog/

    ROpenSci: https://ropensci.org/

    Her first O’Reilly book: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/text-mining-with/9781491981641/

    SciPy Conference: https://conference.scipy.org/

    Her Talk at SciPy 2024: https://youtu.be/MVuxbtERZMI?si=1pSajS3Y1I5CjjBx

    Credits

    Intro Music: Tonight At Eight by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com (no relation)

    Outro Music: Savour The Moment by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com (no relation)

    Co-Hosts: Jeffrey Silverman and Joseph A’Hearn

    Recording: Jeffrey Silverman

    Editing: Joseph A’Hearn

    ATDS Podcast Logo: Joseph A’Hearn

    Thumbnail Headshot Image: Julia Silge

    Thumbnail Design: Joseph A'Hearn

    We thank the American Astronomical Society for being an official sponsor of the podcast.

    Timecodes

    0:00 - Intro

    1:37 - Astronomy Background

    7:45 - Careers After Leaving Astronomy

    8:49 - Emergence of Data Science

    10:36 - UT Austin Astronomy Conducive to Data Science

    12:45 - Getting into Data Science

    19:13 - First Data Science Job

    21:36 - Consulting Roles

    25:44 - Writing Books

    28:16 - Current Role at Posit PBC

    35:51 - Switch from Individual Contributor to Manager

    42:50 - Advice for Astronomers Becoming Data Scientists

    48:29 - Scientific Computing Across Languages

    56:13 - Outro

    #Astronomy #DataScience #Transitions #Podcast #ATDS #Astro2Data

    Show More Show Less
    57 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c
No reviews yet