Meet a Member – Josh Clinton
Josh Clinton
executive committee member
How did you get involved with data science?
During graduate school I ended up completely reinventing myself — changing from a scholar of political philosophy to a scholar that uses the tools of statistics and data science to study politics and political data (e.g., public opinion surveys, election results, voter file data, etc.). This occurred because of some fabulous advisors and tremendous opportunities. For example, during the internet “boom” I was able to create my own internship (and title!) as a “statistical research scientist” at a start-up founded by my advisor. Not only did this provide me with the data for my dissertation, but it also gave me a lot of opportunities to pursue new interests and apply insights that I was learning in my political science, statistics, and economics classes to actual data problems. While I briefly considered staying in the private sector — the opportunities that being an academic provided were far too great to resist.
When you’re not at the DSI, what can we find you doing?
Riding my Mosaic Ti bike around the foothills and country-roads surrounding Nashville. I find that there is nothing like being able to lose yourself in a long ride to un-plug from contemporary concerns and focus on the essentials. When it is just you and your bike on a long uphill grind it is amazing how easy it is to put aside a demanding email in-box and lose yourself in the moment. I also have a family that keeps me busy — including a fabulous artist wife, a “neurotypical” son, an intellectually-disabled and autistic daughter with a rare genetic-disorder, and an overactive puppy.
Last Book You Read?
Pelosi, by Molly Ball
Favorite place to eat in Nashville?
How have you been spending your quarantine?
Riding my bike while not in one of the seemingly endless Zoom meetings I seem to be scheduled for.
If you could only have three apps on your smartphone, which would you pick and why?
I sometimes (often?) wish I didn’t have one. But if I had to choose 3 apps: Strava [for riding], Alltrails [for hiking/exploring], Photos [for creating and capturing memories].