Niál Perry
Data and statistics for environmental applications
Projects
Below are some projects I have participated in that were particularly interesting.
Optimising individual-tree management decisions
My PhD project is to develop an optimisation algorithm for individual-tree management decisions. This work represents a big increase in precision over the status quo: forest management planning is typically performed at a coarser spatial resolution. We want to consider several objectives simultaneously, such as economic value, biodiversity, and resistance to natural disturbances.
Detecting urban air pollution hotspots
Outside of my main research, my colleagues and I developed a method to detect urban air pollution hotspots. We published it here in the Nature Partner Journal Clean Air.
The lead up to the publication was, in my opinion, a cool arc of events. I met the co-authors by chance at a networking event. With some fellow stats students, we then developed a lot of the methodology together for a group coursework. The final job was tying together the loose ends into a neat paper during some late-night coding and writing sessions. I also got the chance to present our results at the African Clean Air Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, in July 2025!
Manchester University Data Science Society
During the 2021/22 academic year I served as President of the Manchester University Data Science Society (MUDSS). This was the society’s inaugural year on campus. Having no precedent, we improvised many things on the fly, but thanks to the great and engaged team, everything worked out well.
Our team planned, researched and delivered around fourty data science workshops. Through partnering with local companies, we were also able to organise two datathons, and we helped place a handful of students in data science internships.
MUDSS is still running today, and it seems that they are doing even bigger and better things. It’s nice to have contributed to a project that lasts.
