Carmen Galaz García

Carmen Galaz García is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UC Santa Barbara. She teaches data science courses including EDS 220 and capstone projects, emphasizing accessible technical education and DEIJ initiatives. Previously, she worked at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), analyzing remote sensing data and developing educational resources. Carmen holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics (UCSB) and a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Guanajuato/CIMAT, Mexico.

Her research focuses on environmental data science applications such as invasive species mapping using machine learning and geospatial analysis. She actively contributes to reproducible workflows in Python and collaborates on topological data analysis in environmental contexts. Professional affiliations include NCEAS and Bren School's environmental data programs.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Mathematics, UC Santa Barbara (2021)
• B.Sc. in Mathematics, Universidad de Guanajuato/CIMAT (2015)

Research emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches combining mathematics, ecology, and data science to address environmental challenges. She leads capstone projects integrating real-world environmental datasets and mentors students through collaborative data science workflows.