UCLA-DataSquad · jt14den · Mar 15, 2026 · Mar 15, 2026 · Mar 15, 2026 · Mar 15, 2026
diff --git a/_portfolio/01-carceral-ecologies.md b/_portfolio/01-carceral-ecologies.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+---
+title: "Carceral Ecologies: LAPD Surveillance Flight Data"
+image: assets/img/lapd-helio.jpg
+alt: LAPD helicopter in flight over Los Angeles
+
+caption:
+  title: "Carceral Ecologies: LAPD Flight Data"
+  subtitle: "R, Data Engineering"
+  thumbnail: assets/img/lapd-helio.jpg
+---
+
+Dr. Nicholas Shapiro and the [Carceral Ecologies Lab](https://carceralecologies.com/) came to the Data Science Center needing to work with large datasets tracking LAPD helicopter surveillance flights. The data was too large to load and analyze efficiently — initial load times ran around 318 minutes.
+
+DataSquad members Lawrence Lee and Madeline Kim collaborated with DSC staff to engineer a solution in R that brought load times down to roughly 2 minutes. That's a 99% reduction.
+
+The faster, cleaner pipeline made the research actually usable. With the DSC's support — hosting the R server, cleaning the data, and mentoring one of Dr. Shapiro's students — the Carceral Ecologies Lab went on to receive national media attention and secure a **$5 million grant**.
+
+> "This work wouldn't have happened without [the DSC] team. You supported us through technical assistance, helped one of my students grow her R skills, and hosted the R server that made this research possible."
+>
+> "This project became one of the crown jewels of South Campus' community-engaged work."
+>
+> — Dr. Nicholas Shapiro, UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics
+
+{:.list-inline}
+
+- Year: 2023–24
+- Team: Lawrence Lee, Madeline Kim
+- Category: Data Engineering, Research Support
diff --git a/_portfolio/02-refugee-artifacts.md b/_portfolio/02-refugee-artifacts.md
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+title: "Preserving Vietnamese Refugee Heritage Through 3D Technology"
+image: assets/img/vietnamese-refugees-boat.jpg
+alt: Vietnamese refugee boat on the ocean
+
+caption:
+  title: "Refugee Heritage: 3D Digitization"
+  subtitle: "3D Scanning, Digital Exhibits"
+  thumbnail: assets/img/vietnamese-refugees-boat.jpg
+---
+
+Working with Professor Kelly Nguyen and the [Refugee Material Cultural Initiative](https://humanities.ucla.edu/), the Data Science Center helped digitize and preserve physical artifacts from Vietnamese refugees — making cultural memory publicly accessible for the first time.
+
+Led by Emerging Technologies Librarian Doug Daniels with DataSquad members Bianca Badajos and Connor Lim, the team processed multiple artifacts and helped curate several digital exhibits. The centerpiece is a 7-day narrative tracing one refugee family's maritime escape across the Pacific Ocean.
+
+<img src="assets/img/vietnamese-animated.gif" alt="Animated visualization of a Vietnamese refugee family's maritime journey across the Pacific Ocean" class="img-fluid" style="max-width: 100%; margin-bottom: 1.5rem;">
+
+The project uses state-of-the-art 3D scanning technology to document fragile objects that could not otherwise be shared at scale. The resulting exhibits are open to the public.
+
+> The DSC's 3D resources allow researchers and faculty to document and preserve important cultural heritage — and make it available to everyone.
+
+{:.list-inline}
+
+- Year: 2023–24
+- Team: Doug Daniels, Bianca Badajos, Connor Lim
+- Category: Digital Humanities, 3D Digitization, Cultural Heritage
diff --git a/_portfolio/03-keel-injustice.md b/_portfolio/03-keel-injustice.md
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+---
+title: Shedding Light on Injustice
+image: assets/img/portfolio/keel-coroners-silence.jpg
+alt: Book cover of The Coroner’s Silence by Terence Keel
+
+caption:
+  title: Shedding Light on Injustice
+  subtitle: R, Python, OpenRefine, Tableau
+  thumbnail: assets/img/portfolio/keel-coroners-silence.jpg
+---
+
+Professor Terence Keel and the [Biocritical Studies Lab](https://www.terencekeel.com/research) have been building a comprehensive dataset of deaths in custody across the United States from 2000–2020 — integrating records from Fatal Encounters, The Guardian, Reuters, the LA Times Homicide Report, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The UCLA DataSquad supported this work continuously from 2021 through 2025, across four cohorts of consultants.
+
+The core challenge: law enforcement and medical examiners routinely undercount and misclassify deaths at the hands of police. The dataset exists to recover those hidden names.
+
+**2021 — First cohort (Julia Wood, Ethan Allavarpu)**
+
+Julia and Ethan merged four datasets, cleaned the data, and built Tableau dashboards visualizing fatal encounters by weapon, location, race, and ethnicity — including LA-specific views. Ethan ran chi-square tests to identify localities with statistically anomalous undercounts, helping researchers pinpoint where to look for hidden cases.
+
+<img src=”assets/img/portfolio/policedeath2.png” alt=”Tableau visualization of fatal encounters with police in Los Angeles by race and ethnicity” class=”img-fluid” style=”margin-bottom: 1rem;”>
+
+See Julia’s full [Tableau visualizations](https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/julia2053) and the [animation of the hidden](https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/julia2053/viz/AnimationoftheHiddenFatalEncounters/HiddenAnimation).
+
+**2023 — Second cohort (Tristan Dewing)**
+
+Tristan continued the data integration work — tracing hidden names back through the original source data, updating summary statistics, and calculating rates of death against census population figures across six counties.
+
+**2024–2025 — Third cohort (Lawrence Lee)**
+
+Lawrence did the most extensive normalization work: standardizing names with OpenRefine, resolving duplicate records, flagging newly surfaced entries that appeared when source data was updated, and building a reproducible pipeline that subsequent analysts could maintain. The dataset shrank by roughly 30% after deduplication — and became far more reliable.
+
+<img src=”assets/img/portfolio/policedeath.png” alt=”Animation of fatal encounters with police across the United States, highlighting previously hidden deaths” class=”img-fluid” style=”margin-bottom: 1rem;”>
+
+The results of this multi-year collaboration are now part of Professor Keel’s published book:
+
+<img src=”assets/img/portfolio/keel-coroners-silence.jpg” alt=”Cover of The Coroner’s Silence by Terence Keel” width=”260” style=”margin-bottom: 1rem;”>
+
+*The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence* (Beacon Press, 2025) — which Keel has been presenting at talks and conferences. He was also one of six recipients of UCLA’s **2024 Public Impact Research Award**.
+
+[Check it out at the UCLA Library](https://search.library.ucla.edu/permalink/01UCS_LAL/tk6osu/alma9997265754106533) · [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-coroner-s-silence-death-records-and-the-hidden-victims-of-police-violence-terence-keel/176e80a41aa79205?ean=9780807017517)
+
+> “[The UCLA DataSquad] is one of the most impactful resources I’ve engaged with at UCLA.”
+>
+> — Grace Sosa, Biocritical Lab manager
+
+{:.list-inline}
+
+- Years: 2021–2025
+- Team: Julia Wood, Ethan Allavarpu, Tristan Dewing, Lawrence Lee
+- Tools: R, Python, OpenRefine, Tableau
+- Category: Data Integration, Social Justice Research
diff --git a/_portfolio/04-voter-file.md b/_portfolio/04-voter-file.md
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+---
+title: "Making Voter Data Usable for Research — at Scale"
+image: assets/img/voting-picture.jpg
+alt: Hand touching a voting machine screen showing presidential candidates
+
+caption:
+  title: "10TB Voter File: Making Data Research-Ready"
+  subtitle: "Redivis, Data Engineering"
+  thumbnail: assets/img/voting-picture.jpg
+---
+
+When UCLA acquired a 10TB national voter file from L2, it arrived as thousands of fragmented, state-level files — too large and inconsistent to use locally.
+
+The Data Science Center chose [Redivis](https://redivis.com/) to manage the challenge. With Redivis, the DSC integrated the data into a single, analysis-ready dataset with secure, flexible researcher access and full version control for reproducibility.
+
+The dataset now supports interdisciplinary research across UCLA:
+
+- **Political Science**: Election administration (Joshua Ferrer), gentrification (Alexandria Davis)
+- **Economics**: Population behavior and public policy
+- **UCLA Health**: Health and voting studies (Straus, Thompson, Vavreck, Naeim)
+
+By simplifying access and strengthening reproducibility, the project ensures the data keeps delivering value — for researchers, and for democracy.
+
+<img src="assets/img/l2-ucla-redivis.png" alt="L2 voter data loaded into the Redivis platform at UCLA" class="img-fluid" style="margin-bottom: 1.5rem;">
+
+{:.list-inline}
+
+- Year: 2023–present
+- Tools: Redivis, Python
+- Category: Research Infrastructure, Data Engineering
diff --git a/_portfolio/project4.md → _portfolio/05-como-q.md b/_portfolio/project4.md → _portfolio/05-como-q.md
diff --git a/_portfolio/project6.md → _portfolio/06-datasquad-international.md b/_portfolio/project6.md → _portfolio/06-datasquad-international.md
diff --git a/_portfolio/project7.md → _portfolio/07-first-datasquad.md b/_portfolio/project7.md → _portfolio/07-first-datasquad.md
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diff --git a/_portfolio/project3.md → _portfolio/10-buddhist-text.md b/_portfolio/project3.md → _portfolio/10-buddhist-text.md
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       margin: 0 auto;
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+      img {
+        width: 100%;
+        height: 220px;
+        object-fit: cover;
+        display: block;
+      }
       .portfolio-hover {
         position: absolute;
         width: 100%;

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