Our Lab is thrilled to welcome two new research assistants (RAs) to our team this summer! Scout Correa and Andrew Martin, who have backgrounds in environmental health sciences, political science, and peace, war, and defense, will bring fresh perspectives and unique expertise to the Lab.
Working on various projects with other scientists and RAs in the Lab, we are excited to see the work they accomplish and what they gain from their experience. Read more about our new RAs:
Scout Correa
UNC-Chapel Hill ’26
Scout Correa is a rising senior majoring in Environmental Health Sciences and minoring in Data Science. With the DDL, Scout will work with Katherine Burley and Sarah Berk on our cooling pavements and urban heat stress project in Raleigh and heat monitoring in Chapel Hill/Carrboro. Outside academics, she enjoys playing water polo, reading, and baking.
We asked Scout some questions about what drew her to DDL and what she hopes to gain from her experience here:
What drew you to pursue this opportunity with the Lab?
I was drawn to the Lab because its mission perfectly combines my interests in environmental health, data science, and sustainability. When interviewing Katherine [Burley] and Sarah [Berk], I could tell how passionate and knowledgeable they were about their projects, and I knew I’d enjoy working with them.
What do you hope to take away from your experience with DDL?
I hope to hone my data analysis skills and further understand data-driven climate research methods. I am excited to gain hands-on experience with temperature sensors and collaborate with a diverse team to support equitable change.
Andrew Martin
UNC-Chapel Hill ’26
Andrew Martin is a senior majoring in Political Science and Peace, War & Defense, and minoring in GIS. Andrew is contributing to the UESI by working on global remote sensing data to study urban heat island phenomena. Andrew will also compile global administrative boundary data for the ClimActor R package. Outside of the lab, Andrew’s hobbies include playing tennis and fishing.
We asked Andrew the same questions about his interest in DDL and what he hopes to gain from his experience:
What drew you to pursue this opportunity with the Lab?
I am interested in public policy, especially global issues like climate policy, and am fascinated by how different public and private entities tackle these issues together. I also get the opportunity to sharpen my GIS technical skills every day, which I really enjoy, as I’ve always loved a good map.
What do you hope to take away from your experience with DDL?
This is my first time working in a research lab, so I hope to learn more about developing research methods and analyzing environmental policy on a global scale. On the technical side, I hope to dive into remote sensing data!
We look forward to seeing what these talented people accomplish with DDL! You can follow along with their work by following Data-Driven EnviroLab on LinkedIn and @datadrivenlab.bsky.social on Bluesky and by signing up for our email newsletter here.
