Join the YPPDO for a presentation by Sabrina Cales (Institute for Defense Analyses, University of Wyoming PhD, Yale Postdoc) focusing on her transition from astrophysics into the world of data-driven evaluation of military systems. Sabrina is a research staff member at the Systems Analysis Center at Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) a non-profit Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), where she designs test concepts, uses statistical techniques to analyze their results, and provides input to reports that inform the Office of the Secretary of Defense and Congress of the effectiveness and suitability of various U.S. military programs. By ensuring that these systems actually work, this oversight role helps save taxpayer’s dollars and more importantly the lives of our sailors, marines, airmen, and soldiers. The presentation will cover Sabrina’s think-tank journey; the differences between academia and think-tank analyst; the IDA interview process; analysis topics she has recently leveraged; and resources to help you gain a better understanding of the world of systems evaluation.
Host: Wen Xiong, Jay Hyun Jo
Lunch will be served at 12:30pm right before the talk in WL-216.