After graduating from Harvard with an A.B. in Statistics in 2013, alumna Michele Zemplenyi had a plethora of career options to consider. Dr. Zemplenyi was not only a statistics concentrator but also completed premed requirements and a thesis in conjunction with the Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department. Choice is great, but it can also be intimidating (as our senior concentrators probably know!).
Fortunately, Michele shared with us how she carved out a career path, starting with statistics in undergrad to a PhD in biostats to a current Fellow position in the Federal Energy Management Program at the U.S. Department of Energy. Her journey has been sustained by a love of math and the biological sciences, and a desire to help solve climate issues. The responses below are revised excerpts from our interview with Dr. Zemplenyi.
1) Please introduce your current role and work.
Zemplenyi: For a year now, I’ve been working as an AAAS [the American Association for the Advancement of Science] Science and Technology Policy Fellow within the U.S. Department of Energy. The goal of our office is to help the whole federal government reach energy- and water-related efficiency goals. To give some context, the U.S. government is the largest energy consumer in the U.S., with a footprint of approximately 600,000 vehicles and 300,000 buildings. Under this administration, our office’s main objective is to decarbonize the federal government’s assets.
I’m currently working on a project for the White House Council on Environmental Quality analyzing which electric utility companies (out of the hundreds that serve federal facilities) carry the greatest loads. This will help us craft a government-wide strategy to procure more carbon pollution-free electricity by first engaging with the utility companies where we can make the biggest impact on the government’s carbon footprint.
Another priority in my work is to develop tools that help the government plan for and install electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The optimal charging infrastructure for a fleet of vehicles depends on many factors, including the size of the vehicles, daily mileage traveled, parking lot configuration, and the capacity of existing electric service panels and transformers. One of the teams at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory that I work with is developing a software tool to help facilities weigh the tradeoffs between different charging infrastructure designs and estimate the associated costs. My role is to think carefully about the data required for these cost estimates, look for new datasets, and work with federal partners to apply our team’s tools during site assessments. So far, I’ve been involved in assessments at several National Park Service sites, including Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.
2) What aspects of your time in the Harvard Statistics Department influenced you the most?
Zemplenyi: I benefitted from some very invested professors who were not only passionate about teaching but also wanted to ensure our future success in life. Professors Joe Blitzstein, Dave Harrington, Kevin Rader, and my undergraduate thesis advisor Tirthankar Dasgupta helped shape my career path. While I was working at my first job after undergrad at a software consulting firm, I was on my way to the American Statistical Association’s Joint Statistical Meeting in Boston when I ran into Dave Harrington on the silver line. It was very fortuitous; over coffee, we discussed what I liked/didn’t like about my job and what I missed about school. Dave said, “Have you considered biostatistics?” I really hadn’t, but a few weeks after that conversation, I started applying to PhD programs in biostatistics. Dave helped me realize that there are ways to incorporate my interests in math, biology, and science through a biostatistics degree. I’m really grateful to Dave and my professors for continuing our relationship after graduation to help guide me on my career path.
3) How has your career path evolved and been informed by your degree programs?
Zemplenyi: My positive experience in the Statistics Department in undergrad influenced my desire to continue on that path with a graduate degree in biostats. My PhD program, in turn, led to my interest in researching ways to reduce air pollution, which is what drew me towards working on climate and energy issues.
One of the great things about going into statistics has been that it is a very applied and flexible degree, so you can choose how to use it. While I don’t have specific training in energy-related issues, I can still apply my math, programming, and critical thinking skills gained from my statistics degrees in my current role at the Department of Energy. Even though I worked on a relatively narrow topic in my PhD program, focusing on the effects of air pollution on human health, the challenge of developing new statistical methods and learning new programming languages in graduate school gave me the confidence that I could teach myself the skills necessary to work on problems in other fields.
As far as my decision to pursue a fellowship in the federal government, well, I’ve long been inspired by past accomplishments of the government, say during the Manhattan Project and space race, and today, transitioning to a low-carbon economy is the next big challenge for the government to take on. It’s such exciting work to be a part of and people with a statistics skillset are valuable to the cause.
4) What advice would you give to current undergrads in statistics who are undecided about their careers?
Zemplenyi: 10 years out from college, I’m still not “there” yet! I’m still trying to define my career goals and the skills that I want to develop. For a lot of undergrads, the first job that you have out of college is most likely not going to be the one that you stick with for your career, so don’t stress about getting it perfect right away. There’s time for experimentation and iteration. Before the summer of senior year, consider internships that you really enjoyed (or didn’t enjoy) and issues that are interesting to you – these could be topics you find yourself reading about in your spare time. To learn about possible jobs in those fields, try to talk to people at organizations that seem interesting – you don’t have to wait for well-crafted experiences like the big recruitment career fairs. Instead, you can try reaching out to someone on LinkedIn, Twitter, or a Slack community to learn about their path. If you’re interested in a lot of different areas, like I am, it’s helpful to start cutting off the pathways simply by experiencing it all (both what you like and don’t like) and talking to other people about their careers. In time, you’ll get closer and closer to finding the right path for yourself.
5) Looking back on your Harvard experience, what do you miss the most?
Zemplenyi: I miss the fun of living in the houses with my closest friends and the vibrancy of campus, including all the concerts, dance performances, and incredible artists and speakers who would visit. In the average week, I could hear Yo-Yo Ma perform or listen to Andre Agassi discuss his favorite moments on the tennis court! When will I get opportunities like that again?
Stats: We appreciate Dr. Zemplenyi taking the time to speak with us about her career path and offer insights into the options available to our students. Through Michele’s work on the government’s plans to decarbonize in the coming decades, we see how our alums can leverage statistical thinking to have a meaningful impact on our world (and have fun in the process!).